District of Columbia Code
Subchapter II - Registration of Vacant Buildings
§ 42–3131.15. Administrative review and appeal

(a) Within 15 days after the designation of an owner’s building as a vacant building, the determination of delinquency of registration or fee payment, the denial or revocation of registration, or the designation of a vacant building as a blighted vacant building, the owner may petition the Mayor for reconsideration by filing the form prescribed by the Mayor. Within 30 days after receiving the petition, the Mayor shall issue a notice of final determination.
(b) Within 45 days after the date of the notice of final determination under subsection (a) of this section, an owner may file an appeal with the Real Property Tax Appeals Commission for the District of Columbia on the form prescribed by the Mayor; provided, that the notice of final determination under subsection (a) of this section shall be a prerequisite to filing an appeal with the Real Property Tax Appeals Commission for the District of Columbia.
(c) After receiving a notice of appeal from an owner as required under subsection (b) of this section, the Real Property Tax Appeals Commission for the District of Columbia shall provide by mail or electronic mail to the Advisory Neighborhood Commission in which the vacant building is located, at least 15 days before any scheduled hearing on the appeal, the following information related to the building at issue:
(1) The name of the owner of the building, and the building address, to include the square, suffix, and lot numbers;
(2) The determination under review; and
(3) The date, time, and location of the hearing.
(d) The District, through the Office of the Attorney General, may appeal a decision of the Real Property Tax Appeals Commission to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia within 2 months after receipt of the written decision.
(Apr. 14, 1906, 34 Stat. 115, ch. 1626, § 15; as added Apr. 27, 2001, D.C. Law 13-281, § 101, 48 DCR 1888; Apr. 13, 2005, D.C. Law 15-354, § 62, 52 DCR 2638; Aug. 15, 2008, D.C. Law 17-216, § 3(h), 55 DCR 7500; Sept. 24, 2010, D.C. Law 18-223, § 2042(f), 57 DCR 6242; Apr. 8, 2011, D.C. Law 18-363, § 3(f), 58 DCR 963; Apr. 11, 2019, D.C. Law 22-287, § 4(e), 66 DCR 1650; Nov. 13, 2021, D.C. Law 24-45, § 2034, 68 DCR 010163.)
This section is referenced in § 47-813 and § 47-825.01a.
D.C. Law 15-354 substituted “file a request for a hearing with the Office of Administrative Hearings” for “seek administrative review by the Board of Appeals and Review, or any successor board or agency”.
D.C. Law 17-216 rewrote the section which had read as follows: “Within 10 days after a notice of a final determination by the Mayor under § 42-3131.08 or § 42-3131.11, an owner may file a request for a hearing with the Office of Administrative Hearings.”
D.C. Law 18-223 rewrote subsec. (a), which had read as follows: “(a) Within 15 days after the designation of an owner’s building as vacant, the determination of delinquency of registration or fee payment, or the denial or revocation of registration, the owner may petition the Mayor for reconsideration by filing the form prescribed by the Mayor. Within 30 days after receiving the petition, the Mayor shall issue a notice of final determination.”
D.C. Law 18-363, in subsec. (b), substituted “Real Property Tax Appeals Commission for the District of Columbia” for “Board of Real Property Assessments and Appeals”.
Section 7132 of D.C. Law 24-167 amended D.C. Law 22-287 removing the applicability provision impacting this section. Therefore the amendment of this section by section 4(e) of Law 22-287 has been implemented.
Applicability of D.C. Law 22-287: § 8 of D.C. Law 22-287 provided that the change made to this section by § 4(e) of D.C. Law 22-287 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 3(h) of Nuisance Properties Abatement Reform and Real Property Classification Emergency Amendment Act of 2006 (D.C. Act 16-586, December 28, 2006, 54 DCR 353).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 3(h) of Nuisance Properties Abatement Reform and Real Property Classification Emergency Amendment Act of 2007 (D.C. Act 17-173, November 2, 2007, 54 DCR 11204).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 3(h) of Nuisance Properties Abatement Reform and Real Property Classification Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2008 (D.C. Act 17-436, July 16, 2008, 55 DCR 8272).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2(c), of Real Property Tax Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2009 (D.C. Act 18-313, February 22, 2010, 57 DCR 1645).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2042(f) of Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2010 (D.C. Act 18-463, July 2, 2010, 57 DCR 6542).
For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 3(h) of Nuisance Properties Abatement Reform and Real Property Classification Temporary Amendment Act of 2006 (D.C. Law 16-259, March 8, 2007, law notification 54 DCR 3044).
For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 3(h) of Nuisance Properties Abatement Reform and Real Property Classification Temporary Amendment Act of 2007 (D.C. Law 17-102, February 2, 2008, law notification 55 DCR 4254).
For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 2(c) of Real Property Tax Reform Temporary Amendment Act of 2010 (D.C. Law 18-153, May 22, 2010, law notification 57 DCR 5381).