District of Columbia Code Division VII. Property. § 42-3131. Vacant and blighted vacant building receivership.

(1) The vacant building is a nuisance property as defined in subsection (n) of this section;

(2) A vacant building is designated as blighted vacant and all appeal rights of this designation have been exhausted by the owner;  or

(3) The vacant building is subject to a condemnation order by the Board for the Condemnation of Insanitary Buildings pursuant to § 6-903.

(1) A copy of the registration form or designation form;

(2) Evidence that the owner failed to comply with the vacant building maintenance requirements under § 42-3131.12, if applicable;

(3) A copy of the final order from the Office of Administrative Hearings, if applicable;

(4) A copy of the condemnation order issued by the Board for the Condemnation of Insanitary Buildings, if applicable;  and

(5) A verified pleading that identifies and states the qualifications of the proposed receiver.

(1) The owner or owners of the property including, in the event the record owner is deceased and no personal representative of the deceased owner's estate has been appointed, an heir or legatee whose identity is revealed by a search in accordance with generally accepted standards of probate decisions of the Superior Court;

(2) Any lien holder of record;  and

(3) The plaintiff in a proceeding to foreclose the right of redemption;  provided, that failure to name the plaintiff shall not prevent the action from going forward but shall prevent the receiver's lien for expenses incurred from rehabilitating, demolishing, or selling the building from having priority over the plaintiff's lien interest.

(e)(1) After filing a petition and before a receiver is appointed, the Office of the Attorney General shall give notice of pendency and nature of the proceedings by certified mail to the last known addresses of all judgment creditors and lien holders with a recorded interest in the property.  This notice is not required for respondents named under subsection (d) of this section.

(2) Within 30 days after the date on which the notice was mailed, a judgment creditor or lien holder with a recorded interest in the property may apply to intervene in the proceeding and to be appointed a receiver.  A creditor or lien holder whose interest is not recorded does not have standing to intervene in the proceeding and is not eligible to be appointed a receiver.

(3) Failure to give notice to any judgment creditors or lien holders as required by this subsection shall not prevent the action from going forward but shall prevent the receiver's lien for expenses incurred from rehabilitating, demolishing, or selling the building from having priority over that person's lien interest.

(f)(1) After a hearing, instead of appointing a receiver to rehabilitate, demolish, or sell the building, the Court may permit an owner, mortgagee, or other person with an interest in the property to rehabilitate or demolish it, if the person:

(g)(1) If no qualified person with an ownership interest requests an appointment to rehabilitate or demolish the property, or if an appointee is dismissed, the court shall appoint a receiver of the property for the purposes of rehabilitating and managing the property, demolishing the property, or selling it to a qualified bidder.

(2) On the appointment of a receiver to rehabilitate, demolish, or sell the property, all parties are divested from any authority to act in furtherance of those goals and the receiver shall assume all rights to possess and use the building, fixtures, furnishings, records, and other related property and goods that the owner or property manager would have if the receiver had not been appointed.

(3) A receiver appointed to rehabilitate, demolish, or sell a vacant building has no duty, and is not personally liable for failing, to maintain the property or protect the property from casualty or loss.  The receiver shall be personally liable only for his or her acts of gross negligence or intentional wrongdoing in carrying out the receivership.

(1) Contract for necessary labor and supplies for rehabilitation or demolition.

(2) Borrow money for rehabilitation or demolition from an approved lending institution or through a government agency or program, using the receiver's lien against the property as security;

(3) Receive and accept grants or donations;

(4) Manage the property for a period of up to 2 years and apply the rent received to current operating expenses and to repayment of outstanding rehabilitation expenses;  and

(5) Foreclose on the receiver's lien or accept a deed in lieu of foreclosure.

(i)(1) A receiver may, in addition to all necessary and customary powers, sell the property to the highest bidder at public auction or convey the property to a land bank.

(2) If the receiver intends to sell the property to the high bidder at public auction, the receiver shall post a notice of a public auction 60 days prior to the date on which the auction will be held.  The notice shall contain:

(3) Before any sale, applicants to bid in a public auction shall demonstrate that:

(4) The receiver may charge a reasonable fee to applicants in connection with an application to bid at a public auction or in connection with the solicitation of offers for a private sale.

(5) After deducting the expenses of the sale, the amount of outstanding taxes and other government assessments, and the amount of the receiver's lien, the receiver shall apply the remaining proceeds of the sale, first to the petitioner's costs and expenses, and then to the liens against the property in order of priority.

(j)(1) Any costs or fees incurred by the receiver for purposes of rehabilitating, demolishing, or selling a building pursuant to this subsection shall be a lien against the property.  The receiver's lien shall have priority over all other liens and encumbrances, except taxes or other government assessments.  The receiver shall allow the Office of the Attorney General's costs and expenses, including reasonable attorneys' fees, to be paid to the extent that proceeds of a sale permit.

(2) A receiver may foreclose on the lien by a sale of the building at a public auction.  After deducting the expenses of the sale, the receiver must apply the proceeds of the sale to the liens against the building, in order of priority.  In lieu of foreclosure, and only if the receiver has rehabilitated the building, an owner may pay the receiver's costs, fees, including attorneys' fees, and expenses or may transfer all ownership in the property to either the receiver or an agreed-on third party for an amount agreed to by all parties to the receivership as being the property's fair market value.

(1) File with the court a final accounting;  and

(2) At the same time, file a motion with the court to dismiss the action.

(1) Not be delinquent on any fees, fines, taxes, or financial penalties owed to the District;  and

(2) Have:

(1) The owner has failed to comply with the vacant building maintenance requirements under § 42-3131.12;  or

(2) A violation of the property maintenance code (12G DCMR § 101G et seq.) remains unabated for at least 30 days after the issuance of a final order by the Office of Administrative Hearings.