About the Tax Bill
Why Has My Property Tax Gone up So Much?
Almost certainly a reclassification. Occupied residential property is Class 1A at $0.85 per $100 of assessed value. Vacant property is Class 3 at $5.00, and blighted property is Class 4 at $10.00. A fire that empties a building routinely triggers the change.
Who Do I Argue With About It?
The Department of Buildings, on (202) 671-3500. Classification is their responsibility, not the tax office's. The Office of Tax and Revenue simply bills whichever class the property carries.
Is There Any Way out of It?
Yes, through statutory exemptions rather than argument. Property under active repair or rehabilitation, property actively listed for sale, and property subject to probate or title litigation are all among the recognised grounds, alongside provisions addressing fire damage. They are applied for and time-limited.
How Much Is This Actually Costing Me?
On a $500,000 assessment, roughly $4,250 a year at the residential rate against roughly $25,000 at the vacant rate. Applying for an exemption early is usually worth more than negotiating hard on price.
Do I Have to Register the Building as Vacant?
Yes, and failing to do so carries civil and criminal exposure rather than a late fee. Registration and exemption are separate processes; doing one does not accomplish the other.
About the Tenant
Do I Have to Offer the Property to My Tenant First?
It depends on the building. Single-family accommodations were exempted in 2018, including a single-family dwelling with an accessory dwelling unit and a single rental unit in a condo, co-op or HOA. Most two-to-four unit properties not owned by corporations were exempted at the end of 2025. Larger buildings remain covered.
My Property Is Exempt. So Nothing Applies?
No, and this is the most common error. Written notice is still owed to the tenant within three calendar days of receiving or soliciting an offer to purchase, even where no offer of sale is required.
Does the Notice Apply If I Turn the Offer Down?
The obligation is triggered by receiving or soliciting the offer, not by accepting it. Take advice rather than relying on a buyer's view, including ours.
My Tenant Moved out After the Fire.
Do not assume that ended the position. Establish it properly before soliciting offers, because a buyer will price the uncertainty if you cannot answer it.
There Is an Elderly Tenant Who Has Been There for Years.
That may matter. The 2018 exemption carved out tenants who are elderly or have a disability and who signed a lease by 31 March 2018 and took occupancy by 15 April 2018. This is a lawyer's question.
About the Building
The Brick Is Standing but the Inside Is Gone.
Usually the best outcome available in this city. A sound masonry shell removes the structural rebuild and avoids a party wall demolition that may not be practical at all. Get an engineer to confirm the walls and facade before accepting a teardown price.
Can I Demolish an Attached House?
Yes, but it is a specialist job. The exposed party walls carry your neighbours' floors and roofs, so they must be protected and sometimes underpinned, and adjacent owners have to be involved. It is expensive, slow, and in a historic district it may not be approved at all.
My Neighbour's House Was Damaged Too.
Party wall damage generates claims in both directions and affects what either owner can do. Establish the position early, because a buyer will find it.
Am I in a Historic District?
Large parts of the District are. The historic preservation office holds the boundaries and they are public. Check before commissioning a demolition estimate, because it changes both the cost and whether the work would be approved.
Do I Have to Board It Up?
Securing a building slows deterioration and helps on the blighted classification question, so it usually pays for itself while you decide. Clearing it does not, because that is a cost a buyer prices at wholesale and you would fund at retail.
About the Sale
What Does It Cost Me?
Nothing to us. No fee for the figure, no commission, no repair spend and no obligation if you decline.
What Taxes Are There on the Sale Itself?
The District levies both a recordation tax and a transfer tax on the same conveyance, which is unusual. Customarily the buyer bears the first and the seller the second, though the contract allocates them. Both are tiered by price and your settlement attorney should quote the exact figures.
Can I Sell With an Open Insurance Claim?
Yes. Who keeps the proceeds is a negotiated term rather than a legal barrier. Tell any buyer at the outset; one who suggests concealing it from your carrier is telling you something useful.
Should I Take the Highest Number?
Only once it survives the two questions about the tax class and the tenant notice. In the District the gap between a firm offer and a soft one is unusually wide, because there are two large local costs an outside buyer can miss.
About the Paperwork
The Owner on the Deed Has Died.
The estate has to be able to convey. It is the most common cause of delay here, and probate is separately among the exemption grounds for the vacant classification, so opening it serves two purposes.
Where Do Deeds Record?
With the DC Recorder of Deeds. There are no counties in the District, so there is one office rather than several.
There Are Open Building Violations.
They have to be resolved or accounted for at settlement, and they also feed into whether a property is classed blighted rather than merely vacant. Raise them early.
I Live out of State.
Common on inherited property. Remote settlement is routine.
If your question is specific to your property — and the good ones usually are — send the address. The answer often turns on the unit count and the tax class, and our service area index sets out what changes between neighbourhoods.