Vacant Structure Licensing

Purpose:


In the fall of 2014, the City of Hagerstown Mayor and Council amended the City Vacant Structure ordinances. The changes impact both residential and non-residential properties that have been vacant for a defined length of time. The amendments have been made as part of the City’s ongoing commitment to promote and assure public safety, health and welfare, to prevent deterioration of vacant structures, to ensure the safety of first responders and emergency personnel, to support property values, and to encourage responsible management and use of vacant structures.  

Effective Date:

  

This program was approved by Mayor and Council on October 31, 2014 and revised on October 25, 2016.
 

Exemptions to Registration:


 
  • ACTIVE WORK – Regularly ongoing modifications to bring a structure up to code and which involve two or more systems, including but not limited to constructing, enlarging, altering, moving, demolishing, erecting, installing, removing, converting or replacing any electrical, plumbing, or mechanical system.  Active Work also includes modifications to the structure itself.
  • LISTED FOR SALE - the first year of vacancy of a non-blighted structure while being marketed via a currently licensed real estate agent through Maryland’s Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation.
Non-Residential

Vacant Non-Residential Structure

  1. Two hundred dollars ($250.00) at initial application
  2. Five hundred dollars ($500.00) at first annual application renewal
  3. One thousand dollars ($1,000.00) at second and each subsequent annual application renewal

Vacant Blighted Non-Residential Structure

  1. Five hundred dollars ($500.00) at initial application
  2. One thousand dollars ($1,000.00) at first annual application renewal and each subsequent annual application renewal
(a "blighted" non-residential structure is a vacant structure that has a pending action to foreclose a mortgage or deed of trust, exhibits objectively determinable signs of deterioration sufficient to constitute a threat to human beings, safety, and public welfare, or has been placarded by the City as uninhabitable)
FAQ

Residential

Vacant Residential Structure


One hundred dollars ($100.00) at initial application and each subsequent application renewal

Vacant Blighted Residential Structure


Five hundred dollars ($500.00) at initial application and each subsequent application renewal

(a "blighted" residential structure, single or multi-unit, is a vacant structure that has a pending action to foreclose a mortgage or deed of trust, exhibits objectively determinable signs of deterioration sufficient to constitute a threat to human beings, safety, and public welfare, or has been placarded by the City as uninhabitable)

FAQ


Required Inspections

The exterior will be inspected annually. The interior of a vacant structure will be inspected in accordance with the following schedule:
  • Vacant Residential and Non-Residential Structures - At first renewal and annually thereafter
  • Vacant Blighted Residential and Blighted Non-Residential Structures - At initial application and on an annual basis thereafter


Sample of Vacant Exterior Checklist

Sample of Vacant Interior Checklist