Atlanta City Council passes blighted properties tax targeting vacant buildings

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – On Monday, the Atlanta City Council approved a tax increase for property owners of neglected or blighted buildings.

“It’s very important. It gives us a tool we can actually use to get rid of some of these properties that have been sitting in our communities for decades,” said Byron Amos, the Atlanta City councilman who sponsored the bill.

Amos said the initiative targets uninhabited properties within Atlanta neighborhoods.

“We’re not targeting the grandmother or the person that’s fallen on hard times. The property must be uninhabited,” said Amos.

Amos said those on the blighted property list could see their property tax rate increase by 25 times at the discretion of a Fulton County judge.

He said those tax increases would go into effect the following calendar year, starting in January 2025.

“If you get into this situation, and you actually bring it back to the tax row, you can apply for a lower tax for a certain number of years. So you’re actually saving money in the long run because you’re bringing property back up to code,” said Amos.

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