INC NEWS - question regarding city agencies

[John Schelp]

Washington, DC, has a "Vacancy Tax" on the books that increases the costs for landlords to keep their properties unoccupied...


> Just to follow up - while i was typing up the original
> message, i heard back from the Inspections Department that
> they were going to forward my concerns back to NIS.
> 
> So, all three of the potentially relevant agencies have now
> informed me that this issue does not fall under their
> jurisdiction.
> 
> Barry Ragin
> 1706 Shawnee St.
> ---- bragin at nc.rr.com wrote: 
> 
> =============
> Hi all - there is a rental property on my block that has
> raised some questions. After having to evict his last
> tenants, the owner has allowed the property to sit
> unoccupied since October 2006. Fair enough. It's his
> property, and if that's what he wants to do with it i
> suppose he can.
> 
> The question is, about 6-8 weeks ago, he hired a contractor
> to do some exterior work. The contractor has busted up the
> driveway, removed the front porch, and opened up some
> gaping holes in the brickwork just above the foundation. 
> 
> And not returned for 6 weeks. I've left a message with
> the contractor trying to find out what his plans are for
> finishing the project, but it has not yet been returned.
> I've also emailed the directors of Neighborhood
> Improvement Services, City and County Planning, and City
> and County Inspections, trying to determine which if any
> city agency would have jurisdiction in not allowing this
> property to sit in a state of disrepair for much longer.
> I've heard back from Planning and NIS that this is not
> their responsibility, but have not yet heard back from
> Inspections. 
> 
> I was wondering if the collective wisdom of this group
> would be able to suggest an answer to the questions, first,
> which agency is the appropriate one to contact, and second,
> what other courses of action are available. Our previous
> attempts to dialog with the property manager and property
> owner (who lives in Massachusetts) have not yielded any
> results.
> 
> I'm attaching photos of the house in its current
> condition. In case they don't go through, you can view
> them here:
> http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v181/bragin/neighborhood/1700Shawnee1.jpg
> http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v181/bragin/neighborhood/1700Shawnee2.jpg
> 
> Barry Ragin
> 1706 Shawnee St.