Overview
City Council passed an amendment to the City Code in March 2023 to add section 90-21 which requires a new Vacant Building Registry (VBR). Now, owners of buildings that have been vacant for over 60 days must submit a VBR application for each such property and pay a fee annually. This requirement goes into effect as of 1/1/2024. Properties that fail to comply are eligible to be cited for a code violation and subject to potential ticketing and fines.
“Snowbird” Exemption
The VBR requirement does not apply to single-family owner-occupied residential dwellings where the owner departs Rochester for the winter months, provided that:
- The property is secured in a manner that does not indicate from the exterior that the property is vacant
- The property does not have outstanding code violations
- The owner will return to Rochester no later than 180 days after departing
- The owner has arranged for property maintenance, including snow removal, grass-cutting, and other landscaping obligations
Vacant Building Registry Fee Schedule
Vacant Building Size/Type
|
Year One
|
Year Two
|
Year Three and Beyond
|
1 - 3 Unit Residential
|
$250
|
$500
|
$1000
|
4 - 6 Unit Residential
|
$500
|
$1000
|
$2000
|
7+ Unit Residential
|
$100
per unit
|
$200
per unit
|
$400
per unit
|
Non-Residential Commercial
Industrial
|
The greater of:
$1,000
$0.05 per sqft
|
The greater of:
$2,000
$0.10 per sqft
|
The greater of:
$4,000
$0.20 per sqft
|
*Any Type
When Submitting an Acceptable Building
Management Plan
|
*$100
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
*In the first year only, the fee may be reduced to $100 with the submission and City approval of an acceptable Vacant Building Management Plan. Any property owner who subsequently fails to comply with their accepted management plan and proposed timeline will be required to retroactively pay the amount that the first year’s fee was reduced as an additional fee when filing the next applicable annual Vacant Building Registry registration.
Vacant Building Management Plan
Required Details
Every VBR must be accompanied by a
vacant building management plan (management plan). The management plan shall
address one or more of the following three management options for the vacant
building property:
- Demolition.
The plan for this option shall include a time schedule indicating when major
phases of the work are to be initiated and completed, including those
activities necessary to protect worker safety, human health and the environment
and to satisfy site restoration and design standards as set forth in the City's
Demolition Regulations in Chapter 47A of the Municipal Code.
- Rehabilitate
and reoccupy. The plan for this option shall include a time schedule of the
major phases of repair, renovation and rehabilitation activities to be
completed no later than the expiration of the registration to which it is
attached.
- Stabilize
and maintain. If the building is to remain vacant indefinitely or for so
long as it will remain vacant prior to the implementation one of the foregoing
demolish or rehabilitate/reoccupy options, the plan should include a list and
time schedule for all measures necessary to maintain and secure the building in
accordance with the owner's duties and standards of safety and sanitation, as
well as a statement of the reasons why the building will be left vacant either
indefinitely or temporarily prior to implementing one of the demolition or
rehabilitate/reoccupy options.
The Management Plan shall be
reviewed by the City, and the registration application to which it is attached
shall not be deemed complete until the management plan is approved. The City shall
notify the owner that the management plan is either accepted or rejected and,
in the case of a rejection, what additions or modifications are necessary to
make the management plan acceptable.
Online Digital VBR Submission
in the Civics Portal
The City launched a new online
property management portal on 8/4/2023. Civics provides a suite of self-service
functions to help property owners and managers better manage their portfolios
and interaction with the City.
The VBR must be completed within the Civics Portal.
For instructions on getting
started with Civics, please:
- Visit the Civics instructions webpage: www.CityofRochester.gov/CivicsPortal/
- Download the full Civics User Guide
IMPORTANT NOTE: Registering as an Individual vs Company in Civics
In almost all circumstances, the City recommends that users create their Civics account as an individual “natural person”, ie “John Smith”, even if they will be conducting business on behalf of an LLC. This will avoid you needing to maintain two or more separate Civics accounts, with separate email addresses.
You are permitted to register a property in Civics via the Building Owner Registry in the role as owner on behalf of any person or company for which you are an authorized agent. This is typically provided through a management agreement, power of attorney, incorporation paperwork, or other similar legal document. Regardless of who is registered in the Building Owner Registry, the property's legal owner (per the deed) retains ultimate legal responsibility for the property and all associated costs. all bills, notices, tickets, fines, and other official communications from the City will continue be addressed to the name of the property owner per the deed on record with the Monroe County Clerk, and mailed to the tax bill mailing address on file with the Bureau of Assessment.
For properties that require a property manager contact to be designated, only a "natural person" may be designated as property manager. A LLC or corporation may not be designated as a property manager.
VBR Application Instructions
- Download the full Civics User Guide and review the instructions and guidance for account setup.
- The City does not recommend creating an account as a company (such as a LLC)
- You may register as a person (yourself) and register for properties on behalf of any owner if you are an authorized agent of that owner. The legal owner of record still retains ultimate responsibility for the property
- Create
a Civics account at https://infor.cityofrochester.gov/
- Sign
in and navigate to the Civics home page
- Click Submit New Application near the top of the page
- Locate
the Property Owners section of applications, and click it to expand it
- Click Vacant Building Registry
- In
the Additional Applicants section, click Invite Applicant to add additional
contacts such as a property manager who will need to view and edit the VBR
record. If they don’t need to view or edit the application you don’t need to add
contacts in this section. A property manager is required to be designated for
any property owned by an LLC or corporate owner, or an owner who resides
outside of Monroe County. The property manager must be a “natural person” and
can’t be a company name.
- Click Add Address
- In
the popup search the property address. If the property has an address range,
search based on the lowest number in the range.
- Once
located, click the address to select it and click Add Address
- Choose
the management plan option. Enter a proposed reoccupation date, and the date
the property originally became vacant.
- Add
rows in the table below with the name and contact information for other contacts
associated with the property. Any property owned by a Limited Liability
Corporation (LLC) must disclose all natural person owners, members,
managers, or other authorized persons of the LLC as part of the BOR. If the
LLC is owned by another LLC, the “natural person” owners, members,
managers, or other authorized persons of the owner LLC must be listed.
Continue this process until all LLCs in the ownership chain have disclosed all
their associated “natural persons.” This is required per City Code section 90-21. Click here to download a fillable PDF template for the LLC disclosure requirement
- Enter
your name to certify the document, and click Save and Continue
- Review
your information for accuracy, and click Submit. You will receive a
confirmation email.
- On
the resulting confirmation page that loads after submission, or from
your confirmation email, click the blue application ID number to return to the
application
- Near
the bottom of the page, click Add to upload your Vacant Building
Management Plan as a PDF or Word file. See above section of this page “Vacant
Building Management Plan Required Details” for what must be included in the
management plan for it to be accepted.
- Upload
a copy of an active property insurance certificate
- Upload
a photo of a government issued photo ID for the person submitting the
application. It does not need to be the owner’s ID. If an authorized agent of
the owner is submitting, it may be their ID.
- Once
these are uploaded and saved, check to see that the Status has changed to
Completeness Check. If so, no further action is required at this time
- You
will receive another confirmation email once your application has been approved,
or if further information is required
- Once
the application is approved, you will need to log into Civics to pay the application
fee. This can be done from the Civics homepage under My Fees
Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQ) and Common Issues
- What information will be posted publicly online?
- Why
is a government issued photo ID required?
- Due
to the ease of access to the online Civics system from anywhere in the world,
the City has an obligation to mitigate the risk of individuals falsely
submitting records for properties they don’t own, or other forms of falsifying
records. The photo ID would only ever be used in cases where there is a dispute
between two Civics accounts to help confirm who is the “true” owner, or in
cases where the City may need to confirm the identity of the account for other
reasons.
- Why
is the LLC ownership disclosure required?
- This
new requirement was added to both the VBR and the Building Owner Registry via a
City Code amendment in March 2023. Please visit www.CityofRochester.gov/BOR for more information. The VBR reference is in City
Code section 90-21.
- Who
can submit the Vacant Building Registry application?
- The
VBR can be submitted by the property owner or an authorized agent of the
property owner, such as a property manager.
- Why
is the City penalizing property owners who are taking positive actions to rehab
vacant buildings?
- Even
well-maintained vacant structures are a detriment to their communities. They
lead to a decrease in surrounding property values, attract crime and public
safety issues, and contribute to fewer housing units being otherwise available
when units are in short supply. The City is taking a more aggressive stance on
vacant buildings due to an uptick in public safety issues and taxpayer funded
costs associated with dealing with them. Investors and property owners are
advised that they should not acquire or hold vacant buildings that they don’t
have the resources or capacity to rehab and reoccupy within 12-24 months. The
first year application fee should only be a nominal $100 for owners who have an
accepted plan to rehab the property.
- I
completed the VBR in Civics but the status doesn’t show as complete. Is this an
error?
- Locate
the BOR record in your “My Records” list within Civics. Double check to make
sure that the status shows as “Complete”. Otherwise check the “Current Step”-
the following may still be required:
- A photo ID upload
- A property manager designation, and the property manager's Civics account may not a company, they must be a person. They must also have an address located within Monroe County.
- Property insurance certificate
- LLC Owner Disclosure
- Building Management Plan (or revisions to the
management plan requested by the City)
- Payment of the application fee