How Landlords Use Vacancy Exemptions

As the District's real estate market boomed, landlords emptied more than 200 apartment buildings in the past four years and received "vacancy exemptions" from the city.

Vacant buildings are exempt from a law that gives tenants the right to vote on whether to convert apartments into condominiums. The exemption saves owners tens of thousands of dollars in fees normally imposed on developers.

Although the vacancy exception was originally meant only for long-vacant buildings, most landlords used vacancy exceptions to convert buildings to condominiums. Housing advocates say some landlords let buildings fall into disrepair so tenants would leave.

GRAPHIC: The Washington Post - March 9, 2008

This Story The Profit in Decay Article \| Landlords determined to cash in on a lucrative real estate market pushed thousands of tenants out of apartments across the District in recent years and then reaped more than $328 million by converting the buildings into condominiums. Interactive Map How Landlords Use Vacancy Exemptions Transcript: Forced Out Wrong Side of Renewal Special Report: Forced Out		TOOLBOX E-Mail This Save/Share + Digg Facebook Reddit Twitter myspace GRAPHIC: The Washington Post - March 9, 2008 ¬es=As the District's real estate market boomed, landlords emptied more than 200 apartment buildings in the past four years and received 'vacancy exemptions' from the city. Vacant buildings are exempt from a law that gives tenants the right to vote on whether to convert apartments into condominiums. The exemption saves owners tens of thousands of dollars in fees normally imposed on developers." onclick="if ( typeof otto != 'undefined' ) { }" onmouseover="changebg2('delicious')" onmouseout="resetbg2('delicious')" target="new">del.icio.us GRAPHIC: The Washington Post - March 9, 2008 \'),\'newstrust\'+(new Date()).getMilliseconds(),\'dependent=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes,alwaysRaised=yes,status=yes,directories=yes,location=yes,menubar=yes,toolbar=yes,width=430,height=750,modal=no\'));ntw.focus();'" onclick="if ( typeof otto != 'undefined' ) { }" onmouseover="changebg2('newstrust')" onmouseout="resetbg2('newstrust')">NewsTrust Stumble It! COMMENT 0 Comments Your browser's settings may be preventing you from commenting on and viewing comments about this item. See instructions for fixing the problem. Discussion Policy CLOSE Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post. Who's Blogging » Links to this graphic
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