Chapter 8. Unsafe Structures.
§ 6–801. Unsafe structure or excavation – public safety.
(a) If any building or part of a building, staging, or other structure, or anything attached to or connected to any building or other structure ("structure") or an excavation is reported to the District government as unsafe, from any cause, the Mayor shall examine the structure or excavation.
(b)(1) If the Mayor determines that the condition of the structure or excavation creates an imminent threat to public safety requiring that emergency measures be undertaken immediately, notice to the owner, agent, or other person having an interest in the structure or excavation ("responsible party") shall not be required.
(2) Where public safety requires immediate emergency action, subject to subsection (c) of this section, the Mayor may enter upon the premises without notice or delay with the necessary number of workmen and assistants to shore-up, take down, or remove, if necessary, or otherwise secure the structure or excavation, including any equipment on the site, and if a necessary safeguard, install a fence or boarding to protect the public.
(c) If the unsafe structure is a historic landmark or is located in a historic district, as defined in § 6-1102(5), the Mayor shall not order or cause the structure, or any portion of the structure, to be taken down or removed unless the Mayor, in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer, as defined in § 6-1102(12), determines that:
(1) There is an extreme and immediate threat to public safety resulting from unsafe structural conditions; and
(2) The unsafe condition cannot be abated by shoring, stabilizing, or securing the structure.
(d)(1) If the Mayor determines the structure or excavation to be unsafe but not an imminent threat to public safety and does not require immediate emergency action, the Mayor shall immediately notify a responsible party and require the responsible party to make the structure or excavation, or both, whichever is applicable, safe by having it shored up, taken down, or removed, if necessary, or otherwise made safe and secure within the time period specified in the notice.
(2) If the responsible party, having been notified, refuses or neglects to comply with the requirements of the notice within the time period specified, subject to subsection (c) of this section, the Mayor may institute any authorized remedy or corrective action, at the owner’s expense, or impose a penalty or initiate a proceeding; provided, that the Mayor shall not have a structure that is a historic landmark or located in a historic district taken down or removed unless the Mayor determines, in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer, that the structure has become an extreme and immediate threat to the public safety as a result of the responsible party’s failure to abate the unsafe structural condition and that the unsafe condition cannot be abated by shoring, stabilizing, or securing the structure.
(3) This subsection shall not apply to a deteriorated structure under subchapter II of Chapter 31C of Title 42.
§ 6–802. Unsafe structure or excavation — Survey of premises. [Repealed]
Repealed.
§ 6–803. Unsafe structure or excavation -- Failure of owner to make safe.
Whenever a responsible party to whom notice has been provided pursuant to § 6-801(d) refuses or neglects to abate the unsafe structure or excavation within the time period specified by the notice, upon expiration of that time period, the Mayor shall proceed to make the structure or excavation safe as authorized by § 6-801(d)(2), and the responsible party shall not enter, or send anyone to enter, the premises to:
(1) Make repairs;
(2) Remove or take down the structure; or
(3) Interfere in any way with the authorized agents of the District taking action to make the structure or excavation safe, including by removing or taking down the structure, without first having obtained the written consent of the Mayor to enter the premises.
§ 6–804. Dangerous nuisances; notice to abate; failure to abate; life-or-health threatening condition on vacant lot.
(a) The existence on any lot or parcel of land, in the District of Columbia, of any uncovered well, cistern, dangerous hole, excavation, any dead, dangerous or diseased tree, or part thereof, or of any abandoned vehicles of any description or parts thereof, miscellaneous materials or debris of any kind, including substances that have accumulated as the result of repairs to yards or any building operations, insofar as they affect the public health, comfort, safety, and welfare is hereby declared a nuisance dangerous to life and limb, and any person, corporation, partnership, syndicate, or company owning a lot or parcel of land in said District on which such a nuisance exists who shall neglect or refuse to abate the same to the satisfaction of the Mayor of the District of Columbia, after 5 days notice from him to do so, shall, on conviction in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia be punished by a fine of not exceeding $50 for each and every day said person, corporation, partnership, or syndicate, fails to comply with such notice. In case the owner of, or agent or other party interested in, any lot or parcel of land in the District of Columbia on which there exists an open well, cistern, dangerous hole, or excavation, or any dead, dangerous, or diseased tree or part thereof, or any abandoned or unused vehicles or parts thereof, or miscellaneous accumulation of material or debris which affects public safety, health, comfort, and welfare, shall fail, after notice aforesaid, to abate said nuisance within 1 week after the expiration of such notice, the said Mayor may cause the lot or parcel of land on which the nuisance exists to be secured by fences or otherwise enclosed, and the removal of any abandoned vehicles, or parts thereof, any miscellaneous accumulation of material or debris or any dead or dangerous tree or part thereof, or the removal or spraying of any diseased tree adversely affecting the public safety, health, comfort, and welfare, and double the cost and expense thereof shall be assessed by said Mayor as a tax against the property on which such nuisance exists, and the tax so assessed shall be collected in the manner provided in § 6-806. Within the meaning of this section, a dead tree shall be any tree with respect to which the Mayor of the District of Columbia or his designated agent have determined that no part thereof is living; a dangerous tree is any tree or part thereof, living or dead, which the said Mayor or his designated agent shall find is in such condition and is so located as to constitute a danger to persons or property on public space in the vicinity of such tree; and a diseased tree shall be any tree on private property in such a condition of infection from a major pathogenic disease as to constitute, in the opinion of the said Mayor or his designated agent, a threat to the health of any other tree.
(b) The authority conferred on the Mayor under subsection (a) of this section with respect to the removal of dangerous and diseased trees constituting a nuisance shall be exercised by the Mayor only after every reasonable effort has been made to abate such nuisance other than by the removal of any such tree, or part thereof.
(c) Where the Mayor determines that there exists a life-or-health threatening condition on a vacant lot, the notice required by this chapter shall be deemed to have been served if the owner or authorized agent is notified by personal service or by registered mail to the last known address and by conspicuous posting on the property. If the owner or owner’s address is unknown, notice shall be provided by conspicuous posting on the property. A life-or-health threatening condition means a condition which imminently endangers the health or safety of persons in the area of the vacant lot.
§ 6–805. Cost of work performed by Mayor assessed against property; violation of §§ 6-801 to 6-803; costs of correcting life-or-health threatening condition.
(a) The Mayor shall determine the cost and expense of any work performed by him under the authority of §§ 6-801 to 6-804, including the cost of making good damage to adjoining premises (except such as may have resulted from carelessness and willful recklessness in the demolition or removal of any structure) less the amount, if any, received from the sale of old material, and shall assess such costs and expense upon the lot or ground whereon such structure, excavation, or nuisance stands, stood, was dug, was located, or existed, and this amount shall be collected in the manner provided in § 6-806. Any person, corporation, partnership, syndicate, or company subject to the provisions of §§ 6-801 to 6-803 who shall neglect or refuse to perform any act required by such sections shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $50 for each and every day said person, corporation, partnership, syndicate, or company fails to perform any act required by such sections. Civil fines, penalties, and fees may be imposed as alternative sanctions for any infraction by any person, corporation, partnership, syndicate, or company subject to the provisions of §§ 6-801 through 6-803 who shall neglect or refuse to perform any act required by these sections, pursuant to Chapter 18 of Title 2. Adjudication of any infraction shall be pursuant to Chapter 18 of Title 2.
(b) The Mayor may assess all reasonable costs, including administrative costs, of correcting a life-or-health threatening condition pursuant to § 6-804(c) and all expenses incident thereto as a tax against the property, may carry this tax on the regular tax rolls, and may collect this tax in the same manner as real estate taxes are collected. Monies in the revolving fund established by § 6-711.01(b)(1) shall be available to cover the costs of correcting life-or-health threatening conditions. If an accounting is made in accordance with, and subject to, § 47-1340(f), any amounts assessed and collected as a tax against real property under this section shall be deposited to the credit of the revolving fund.
§ 6–806. Payment of cost assessed against property; sale of property for nonpayment.
(a) Any tax authorized to be levied and collected under § 6-804, may be paid without interest within 60 days from the date such tax was levied. Interest of 20% per annum shall be charged on all unpaid amounts from the expiration of 60 days from the date such tax was levied. Any such tax may be paid in 3 equal installments with interest thereon. If any such tax or part thereof shall remain unpaid after the expiration of 2 years from the date such tax was levied, the property against which said tax was levied may be sold for such tax or unpaid portion thereof with interest and penalties thereon at the next ensuing annual tax sale conducted pursuant to § 47-1301 in the same manner and under the same conditions as property sold for delinquent general real estate taxes, if said tax with interest and penalties thereon shall not have been paid in full prior to said sale.
(b) For taxes authorized to be levied and collected under this chapter in accordance with §§ 6-801 and 6-803, the provisions of § 47-1205(b) and (c) shall apply.
§ 6–807. Service of notice.
(a) Any notice required by this chapter to be served shall be deemed to have been served when served by any of the following methods: (1) when forwarded to the last known address of the owner as recorded in the real estate assessment records of the District of Columbia, by registered or certified mail, with return receipt, and such receipt shall constitute prima facie evidence of service upon such owner if such receipt is signed either by the owner or by a person of suitable age and discretion located at such address; provided, that valid service upon the owner shall be deemed effected if such notice shall be refused by the owner and not delivered for that reason; (2) when delivered to the person to be notified; (3) when left at the usual residence or place of business of the person to be notified with a person of suitable age and discretion then resident or employed therein; (4) if no such residence or place of business can be found in the District of Columbia by reasonable search, then if left with any person of suitable age and discretion employed at the office of any agent of the person to be notified, which agent has any authority or duty with reference to the land or tenement to which said notice relates; (5) if any such notice forwarded by registered or certified mail be returned for reasons other than refusal, or if personal service of any such notice, as hereinbefore provided, cannot be effected, or if no address is known or can be ascertained by reasonable diligence, by publishing the notice on 3 consecutive days in a daily newspaper published in the District of Columbia or by posting a copy of the notice in a conspicuous place in or about the structure affected by such notice; or (6) if by reason of an outstanding unrecorded transfer of title the name of the owner in fact cannot be ascertained beyond a reasonable doubt, then if served on the owner of record in a manner hereinbefore provided. Any notice to a corporation shall, for the purposes of this chapter, be deemed to have been served on such corporation if served on the president, secretary, treasurer, general manager, or any principal officer of such corporation in the manner hereinbefore provided for the service of notices on natural persons holding property in their own right, and notices to a foreign corporation shall, for the purposes of this chapter, be deemed to have been served if served personally on any agent of such corporation, or if left with any person of suitable age and discretion residing at the usual residence or employed at the usual place of business of such agent in the District of Columbia.
(b) In case such notice is served by any method other than personal service, a copy of such notice shall also be sent to the owner by ordinary mail.
§ 6–808. Occupation of unsafe structure.
Whenever the Mayor finds that any building or part of a building, staging, or other structure, or anything attached to or connected with any building or other structure or excavation shall cause a building to be unsafe for human occupancy, he shall give notice of such fact to the owner or other person having an interest in such building, and to the occupant or occupants thereof. If, within the period of time specified in the notice, the building or part thereof has not been made safe for human occupancy, the Mayor may order the use of such building or part thereof discontinued until it has been made safe; provided, that if in the opinion of the Mayor the unsafe condition of the building or part thereof is such as to be imminently dangerous to the life or limb of any occupant, the Mayor may order the immediate discontinuance of the use of such building or part thereof. Any person occupying, or permitting the occupancy of, such building or part thereof in violation of such order of the Mayor shall be fined not more than $300 or imprisoned for not more than 30 days. Civil fines, penalties, and fees may be imposed as alternative sanctions for any infraction by any person occupying, or permitting the occupancy of, a building or part thereof in violation of the order of the Mayor, pursuant to Chapter 18 of Title 2. Adjudication of any infraction shall be pursuant to Chapter 18 of Title 2.
