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Philadelphia City Council Moves to Rewrite Rules Governing Taxes on Abandoned Buildings and Vacant Lots Today

Official:Amending Chapter 19-2500 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Real Estate Non-Utilization Tax," by clarifying and amending the tax on abandoned property and vacant lots; and by changing certain tax rates; all under certain terms and conditions.

Sponsor: Councilmember Clarke

Introduced: May 6, 2004

: Committee on Finance

finance property law taxation

No one voted on this bill

This bill was introduced in the 2004–2007 Council term and when that term ran out. The public record shows no committee vote and no floor vote at any stage, so no member of Council ever went on record for or against it.

That is not unusual here. Of the 8,465 bills introduced between 2000 and 2025, 1,624 lapsed without a single recorded vote. Ninety percent of bills that became law carry a roll call. Three percent of lapsed bills do. How this works.

Plain-Language Summary

This bill amends Philadelphia's Real Estate Non-Utilization Tax by clarifying and changing tax rates for abandoned properties and vacant lots.

What This Bill Does

AI-written. Every figure is checked against the bill text.

The tax rate for abandoned property is increased from 5% to 10% of the assessed value of the real estate.
The tax rate for vacant lots is also measured by the assessed value of the real estate, rather than by a fixed rate.
The tax rates are applied to privilege years commencing January 1, 2001, or thereafter, which means the new rates apply to tax years starting from 2001 onwards.
The Board of Revision of Taxes is responsible for determining the assessed value of the real estate for the purpose of calculating the tax.