Baltimore City has been warning about this for more than a year. In November 2024, the City Council approved an ordinance creating a special tax rate for properties that carry a Vacant Building Notice (VBN). As of July 1, 2026 — the first day of the new tax year — that penalty is no longer theoretical. It is now live, and it hits hard.

If you own a vacant property in Baltimore City that carries a VBN, your property tax isn’t just going up. It’s tripling. If the notice is still on the property the following year, it quadruples. For landlords, investors, and anyone who recently purchased a rehab property in Baltimore, understanding this law isn’t optional — the financial stakes are too high.

What Is a Vacant Building Notice — and How Do Properties Get One?

A Vacant Building Notice is issued by Baltimore City’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) when a property is determined to be vacant and has produced deterioration, security concerns, or code violations that affect neighboring properties. The designation is meant to pressure owners to either rehabilitate or transfer the property.

What many landlords and buyers don’t realize is how easily a property can carry a VBN — and how long that notice can follow a property without the owner’s knowledge. Rehabs that were completed without pulling complete permits, properties sold without formally clearing their VBN status, and buildings where previous owners let violations accumulate can all carry an active notice that transfers with the deed.

Baltimore City Code §14-8 requires sellers to disclose a current or prior Vacant Building Notice in the contract of sale. That doesn’t mean every seller complies, and it doesn’t mean every buyer thinks to check before closing. If you purchased a Baltimore City property in the last several years and haven’t confirmed its VBN status with DHCD, now is the moment to do that.

What the New Tax Means in Practice: Real Dollar Examples

Baltimore City has approximately 13,000 vacant properties, and officials have estimated roughly 3,600 could qualify for the special tax rate. These properties aren’t all falling-down row houses in distressed neighborhoods — they include rehabs in transition, properties inherited by out-of-state owners, and investment properties that slipped into non-compliance during extended vacancies.

These figures assume the VBN remains on the property through both years. The only way to stop the clock is to clear the notice — and the only way to do that is to obtain a valid Use and Occupancy (U&O) certificate from the city.

The Only Way Out: A Valid Use and Occupancy Certificate

This is the part that catches people off guard. A VBN doesn’t go away because you fix things up. It doesn’t go away because you get a rental license. It doesn’t go away because the property is occupied by tenants who are paying rent. The specific mechanism that removes a Vacant Building Notice from a Baltimore City property is a valid Use and Occupancy certificate issued by DHCD.

Getting a U&O requires passing a city inspection that confirms the property meets Baltimore’s habitability and safety standards. That means all permit work must be properly closed out, no outstanding code violations, and the property must be in a condition the city considers fit for legal occupancy.

If you own a rehab property that isn’t generating income yet, or a property that has been vacant between tenants for longer than expected, the time to initiate this process is now — not after the first inflated tax bill arrives. The city’s inspection schedule and permitting queue means this isn’t a same-week fix.

What Buyers Must Know Before Closing on Baltimore City Property

This law creates significant new due diligence obligations for anyone purchasing investment property in Baltimore City. The seller’s disclosure under §14-8 is legally required but practically inconsistent — some sellers don’t know the VBN status of their own property, and title companies don’t always catch it.

Before closing on any Baltimore City property, buyers should:

• Search the DHCD Vacant Building Notice database directly at Open Baltimore (data.baltimorecity.gov) to confirm status
• Ask the seller for written confirmation of U&O certificate status
• Require your title company to confirm VBN status as a condition of closing
• If a VBN is present, negotiate the purchase price to account for the rehabilitation cost and the accelerated tax burden during the clearance period
• Budget for a minimum of 60–90 days to navigate DHCD inspection and U&O issuance even after rehab is complete

Investors who purchase Baltimore City rehab properties at significant discounts often build their return assumptions around modest property taxes. Under the new law, that assumption is dangerous if a VBN is attached to the deed.

Is There Any Relief Available?

There is one meaningful credit, but it applies narrowly. The Vacant Dwelling Property Tax Credit is available to owner-occupants who rehabilitate a cited vacant property and occupy it as their primary residence. The credit can eliminate the vacancy tax increase entirely in year one and then phase out over five years as the property establishes a normal tax history.

For investors, landlords, and non-owner-occupant buyers, this credit is generally not available. The relief pathway for that population is faster rehabilitation, faster permitting, and faster U&O clearance — which is less a credit and more a race against the calendar.

DHCD does maintain resources for owners who feel genuinely stuck with a vacant property — including options for donating or transferring distressed assets — but for most investment-minded owners, the viable path is rehabilitation, inspection, U&O, and rapid reactivation of the property as an income-generating rental.

What Self-Managing Landlords Should Do Right Now

If you’re managing your own Baltimore City rental properties, here is a practical action list for the next 30 days:

• Check your VBN status today. Search your property address at data.baltimorecity.gov — Vacant Building Notices are publicly listed. Do this for every Baltimore City property you own.
• Confirm your U&O certificate is current. A U&O isn’t always required at every lease change, but if you’ve done permit work recently or purchased a property in the last two years, confirm it’s in place.
• If you have an active VBN, contact DHCD immediately. The sooner you initiate the inspection and clearance process, the sooner the clock stops. Every month of delay is added tax liability.
• Run due diligence on any Baltimore property you’re under contract to purchase. VBN status should be a go/no-go condition before closing, not a surprise after.
• Consult a Baltimore real estate attorney if you believe a recent seller failed to disclose a known VBN. Baltimore City Code §14-8 provides specific seller disclosure obligations and there are remedies for buyers who weren’t properly informed.

The Bottom Line: A Tax That Rewards Action

Baltimore’s new vacant property tax isn’t punitive toward landlords who maintain active, occupied, well-managed properties. If your Baltimore City rental is licensed, occupied, and generating rent, this law has no effect on your tax bill whatsoever.

What it does do is make the cost of inaction dramatically higher. Vacant properties have always cost landlords in lost rent and deferred value. Starting July 1, 2026, they also cost three to four times the normal property tax rate. For a market where Baltimore’s property taxes are already the highest in Maryland at $2.248 per $100 of assessed value, that multiplier has real teeth.

The city’s stated goal is to reduce its 13,000 vacant properties and bring more units back into the housing supply. Whether or not you agree with the policy, the mechanism is clear: rehabilitate your property, get a U&O certificate, and get it occupied. Landlords who do that efficiently won’t feel this law at all.