{"id":11570666,"date":"2025-07-21T18:52:52","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T22:52:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11570666"},"modified":"2025-07-21T19:03:30","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T23:03:30","slug":"baltimore-councilwomans-bill-would-help-city-acquire-more-vacant-properties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/21\/baltimore-councilwomans-bill-would-help-city-acquire-more-vacant-properties\/","title":{"rendered":"Baltimore councilwoman\u2019s bill would help city acquire more vacant properties"},"content":{"rendered":"

Baltimore City Councilwoman Odette Ramos introduced a bill Monday that would make it easier for the city to acquire vacant properties<\/a> that have fallen into financial ruin.<\/p>\n

Bill 25-0080, which Ramos dubbed \u201cIn Rem 2,\u201d would allow the city to foreclose on a vacant property or lot when its unpaid liens are below the property\u2019s value and fall behind by at least six months. In rem is Latin for \u201cagainst the thing,\u201d as opposed to \u201cin personam,\u201d which translates to \u201cagainst the person\u201d in legal proceedings.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on the analysis conducted by my office, we believe with the full complement of the In Rem tools, the City could acquire 65% or more of the privately owned vacant and abandoned properties and lots in our city ensuring they get to the hands of partners who will get the job done,\u201d Ramos said.<\/p>\n

According to Ramos, the city would have to \u201cpay the difference between the appraised value and the liens to the last known owner to avoid a taking and violation of the recent Tyler v. Hennepin decision<\/a>,\u201d a 2023 Supreme Court case that found a Minnesota county had violated the Fifth Amendment\u2019s takings clause by auctioning off the home of a 94-year-old woman who did not pay property taxes for years.<\/p>\n

The move follows Baltimore\u2019s implementation of \u201cIn Rem 1\u201d in 2022, a legal avenue the city has used to foreclose on vacant and abandoned lots when unpaid liens exceed a property\u2019s assessed value, meaning the vacant lot has no value at all. Ramos said an expansion of this strategy \u2014 which has led to 413 vacant property acquisitions since November 2022 \u2014 would speed up the process of acquiring and rehabilitating some of the 12,500-plus properties that are sitting empty and have hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid liens.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one was purchasing these in tax sale, and no one would approach owners to purchase these vacant properties with such high liens,\u201d Ramos said. \u201cThey were stuck as vacant forever \u2026 owned by mostly deceased people, families who have moved away, forfeited LLCs, absent landlords, and the like,\u201d Ramos said.<\/p>\n

Ramos\u2019 effort follows a renewed push by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore to clean up vacant properties in Baltimore. Earlier this month, Moore announced $50 million in grant funds<\/a> through the Baltimore Vacants Reinvestment Initiative, of which $30 million will be spread across 16 community development organizations partnering with the city.<\/p>\n

Co-sponsored by Council President Zeke Cohen and council members John Bullock, Paris Gray, Jermaine Jones and Mark Parker, Ramos\u2019 bill was referred to the Housing & Economic Development Committee after her introduction. The measure will next receive a hearing before this committee, which is chaired by Councilman James Torrence.<\/p>\n

Social Security resolution<\/h4>\n

The council also adopted Jones\u2019 resolution calling on the federal and Maryland state governments to stand against any Social Security cuts<\/a> by President Donald Trump\u2019s administration. Jones said the Baltimore-based Social Security Administration has been \u201cthe best mechanism to help eliminate poverty\u201d among older adults in its 90-year history.<\/p>\n

\u201cSocial Security is needed now more than ever. If you hear about what\u2019s going on in the [Trump] administration, there\u2019s plans to cut Social Security,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI think we\u2019re in a time in our city where people rely on these services more than ever, and I think it\u2019s important for us as a council to send a statement and to urge not only the federal level, but also the state level to take action.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cohen, who has slammed Trump<\/a> as an adversary to working people, thanked Jones for introducing the resolution and called for stronger support of Social Security.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople invest their entire life into a system, it should work for them [until] the end of their life,\u201d Cohen said.<\/p>\n

Have a news tip? Contact Carson Swick at cswick@baltsun.com.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ramos\u2019 effort follows a renewed push by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore to clean up vacant properties in Baltimore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":257,"featured_media":48682,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-07-21T22:52:55Z","apple_news_api_id":"8420d6e2-0db2-46fa-af07-98935dec69bc","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-07-21T23:01:35Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AhCDW4g2yRvqvB5iTXexpvA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"middle","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"subheadline":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[71,83,84,85,93,74],"tags":[26130,24457],"feature":[],"location":[359,223],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[25981],"class_list":["post-11570666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-latest-headlines","category-local-news","category-news","category-politics","category-real-estate","tag-maryland-politics","tag-social","location-baltimore","location-maryland"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"93","primary_tag":0,"print_workflow_body":{"deck_headline":"","print_title":"Baltimore councilwoman\u2019s bill would help city acquire more vacant properties","print_subheadline":"","print_priority":"","print_placement":"cover","print_planned_ready":"","print_pub_date":"1753156800","print_slug":"TBS-L-CITYCOUNCIL-0722","print_budget_line":"","print_excerpt":"Ramos\u2019 effort follows a renewed push by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore to clean up vacant properties in Baltimore.","print_notes":"","photo_limits":"Photo limits are: 1 featured image, 5 featured gallery images, 5 embedded gallery images and 5 in-article embedded images. Articles that exceed these limits will not export. Please adjust images to reflect these limits.","print_featured_gallery_richtext":"","print_inline_galleries_richtext":"","print_inline_images_richtext":"","print_content":"

Baltimore City Councilwoman Odette Ramos introduced a bill Monday that would make it easier for the city to acquire vacant properties<\/a> that have fallen into financial ruin.<\/p>

Bill 25-0080, which Ramos dubbed \u201cIn Rem 2,\u201d would allow the city to foreclose on a vacant property or lot when its unpaid liens are below the property\u2019s value and fall behind by at least six months. In rem is Latin for \u201cagainst the thing,\u201d as opposed to \u201cin personam,\u201d which translates to \u201cagainst the person\u201d in legal proceedings.<\/p>

\u201cBased on the analysis conducted by my office, we believe with the full complement of the In Rem tools, the City could acquire 65% or more of the privately owned vacant and abandoned properties and lots in our city ensuring they get to the hands of partners who will get the job done,\u201d Ramos said.<\/p>

According to Ramos, the city would have to \u201cpay the difference between the appraised value and the liens to the last known owner to avoid a taking and violation of the recent Tyler v. Hennepin decision<\/a>,\u201d a 2023 Supreme Court case that found a Minnesota county had violated the Fifth Amendment\u2019s takings clause by auctioning off the home of a 94-year-old woman who did not pay property taxes for years.<\/p>

The move follows Baltimore\u2019s implementation of \u201cIn Rem 1\u201d in 2022, a legal avenue the city has used to foreclose on vacant and abandoned lots when unpaid liens exceed a property\u2019s assessed value, meaning the vacant lot has no value at all. Ramos said an expansion of this strategy \u2014 which has led to 413 vacant property acquisitions since November 2022 \u2014 would speed up the process of acquiring and rehabilitating some of the 12,500-plus properties that are sitting empty and have hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid liens.<\/p>

\u201cNo one was purchasing these in tax sale, and no one would approach owners to purchase these vacant properties with such high liens,\u201d Ramos said. \u201cThey were stuck as vacant forever \u2026 owned by mostly deceased people, families who have moved away, forfeited LLCs, absent landlords, and the like,\u201d Ramos said.<\/p>

Ramos\u2019 effort follows a renewed push by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore to clean up vacant properties in Baltimore. Earlier this month, Moore announced $50 million in grant funds<\/a> through the Baltimore Vacants Reinvestment Initiative, of which $30 million will be spread across 16 community development organizations partnering with the city.<\/p>

Co-sponsored by Council President Zeke Cohen and council members John Bullock, Paris Gray, Jermaine Jones and Mark Parker, Ramos\u2019 bill was referred to the Housing & Economic Development Committee after her introduction. The measure will next receive a hearing before this committee, which is chaired by Councilman James Torrence.<\/p>

Social Security resolution<\/h4>

The council also adopted Jones\u2019 resolution calling on the federal and Maryland state governments to stand against any Social Security cuts<\/a> by President Donald Trump\u2019s administration. Jones said the Baltimore-based Social Security Administration has been \u201cthe best mechanism to help eliminate poverty\u201d among older adults in its 90-year history.<\/p>

\u201cSocial Security is needed now more than ever. If you hear about what\u2019s going on in the [Trump] administration, there\u2019s plans to cut Social Security,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI think we\u2019re in a time in our city where people rely on these services more than ever, and I think it\u2019s important for us as a council to send a statement and to urge not only the federal level, but also the state level to take action.\u201d<\/p>

Cohen, who has slammed Trump<\/a> as an adversary to working people, thanked Jones for introducing the resolution and called for stronger support of Social Security.<\/p>

\u201cPeople invest their entire life into a system, it should work for them [until] the end of their life,\u201d Cohen said.<\/p>

Have a news tip? Contact Carson Swick at cswick@baltsun.com.<\/em><\/p>"},"print_workflow_exported_ts":"1753139036","print_workflow_exported_username":"Andy Knobel","print_workflow_shapes":"","print_workflow_side":{"print_section":"24225","print_status":"24232","add_export_buttons":"","print_endpoint":"tribune"},"really_short_title":"","short_title":"","syndication_source":"","market_neutral_title":"","social_title":"","dfm_hub_post_id":0,"paywall_level":"premium","featured_media_content":{"content_type":"image","content":{"id":48682,"title":"T3QF4NWZ7BBT7M36Q3PYQ5W7CU","filename":"T3QF4NWZ7BBT7M36Q3PYQ5W7CU.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/migration\/2023\/10\/12\/T3QF4NWZ7BBT7M36Q3PYQ5W7CU.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2023\/10\/12\/how-baltimore-agencies-are-trying-to-use-hiring-ai-to-close-language-gaps-for-people-with-limited-english\/t3qf4nwz7bbt7m36q3pyq5w7cu\/","alt":"Councilwoman Odette Ramos speaks at a City Hall hearing.","author":"154","description":"","caption":"Councilmember Odette Ramos speaks at a hearing on the need for more bilingual Spanish-speakers in city services to respond to emergencies and 911 calls in October 2023. 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