# Find potentially vacant properties Chicago Cityscape integrates various datasets that help members assess the likelihood that a property is vacant. Members may want to know if a property is vacant so they can target it to reduce blight in an area, redevelop it, or point new businesses to its location for potential occupation. ## Vacant property methods 1. Vacant land. The Cook County Assessor has a [property classification](http://chicagocityscape.com/guides/propertyclasses.php) that is assigned to lots that have no structures on them (property class 1-00). 2. Vacant buildings via tax appeals. Property owners can petition the Cook County Assessor to reduce a property's assessed value based on it being partially or fully vacant. 3. Vacant building reports. People can report to 311 buildings in Chicago they believe are vacant and unoccupied and which may need boarding up to secure it from unauthorized use. 4. Vacant Building Registry (VBR). Available in Chicago, owners of vacant buildings must register the buildings every six months while the building remains vacant. 5. Brownfield sites. Available in parts of suburban Cook County. 6. No building on site ## 1. Vacant land Use Property Finder in Property Report and Place Report to filter for properties with the property class "Vacant land (1-00)" by following the instructions in [[Property Finder in a Place Report|another Knowledge Base article]]. <i class="fad fa-lightbulb-on" aria-hidden="true"></i> Tip: You can search for vacant sideyards by filtering for the "Vacant land under common ownership with adjacent residence" (2-41). Note that it may take a couple of property assessment cycles (up to three years) for the information that a lot is newly vacant to make its way to the Cook County Assessor's Office (CCAO) database. ### Vacant land statistics - In Chicago, as of March 17, 2023, there were 31,086 properties in our database marked by the CCA as vacant land, totaling 7.5 square miles. - In Cook County outside Chicago, as of March 17, 2023, there were 28,308 vacant lots, totaling 29.1 square miles ## 2. Vacant buildings via tax appeals The Cook County Assessor's Office (CCAO) has a [public policy](https://www.cookcountyassessor.com/form-document/assessors-vacancy-policy) defining how property owners can request a review of their property after providing evidence that documents the occupancy status of a property and the reason it has partial or full vacancy. If the CCA office agrees with the petition and supporting evidence, then the office will reduce the assessed value of the property. - Residential property appeals for vacancy may only be granted due to a casualty (residential properties are buildings with 1-6 units, or is a condo). - Commercial property appeals for vacancy can be granted because of a casualty or after the owner has made a good faith effort to lease the property but hasn't been successful. Reducing the assessed value of a property can sometimes result in a lower property tax bill, but whether that happens is based on factors outside of the CCAO's control (the total county tax levy in a given year, and how many other properties of a similar type also got reductions in assessed values). ### Assessed value resources - [Learn about how the CCAO values vacant land](https://www.cookcountyassessor.com/demolition-and-unimproved-real-estate-valuation-policy) (unimproved property). - [Learn about how the CCAO values buildings under construction](https://www.cookcountyassessor.com/commercial-properties-under-construction-valuation-policy) ### How to find these properties Chicago Cityscape members can easily find properties that the CCA has granted a reduction in assessed value due to vacancy by using one of Property Finder's special filters. The special filter is only available within Place Report, where members can identify these properties in small or large areas (i.e. ZIP codes, community areas, and Personal Places). 1. Open a Place Report 2. Click on the "Property Finder" button. 3. After the Property Finder filters appear, look for "Special filters" and click on "Vacant buildings". 4. Click "Apply filters". The spreadsheet and map will update after a moment. Each property in the map and spreadsheet now has a blue label with the text "vacancy appeal" followed by a reason code that the CCA assigned that property's appeal. ### Reason codes Chicago Cityscape updated this information in April 2023 with data listing properties that received a reduced assessed value due to a vacancy that was granted for the 2022 property tax year. All 11,139 properties (across Cook County) in the list provided to us by the Cook County Assessor's Office received a reduction in the assessed value due to a partial occupancy (reason code 5). The list we were provided for 2020 has 8,189 properties that received reductions in 2020 in their assessed values due to the following six reasons: - This is the result of the partial occupancy of your property. (reason code 5) - This is the result of the partial occupancy of your property along with an income, market or cost analysis (reason code 6) - This is the result of the total vacancy of your property. (reason code 7) - This is the result of the total vacancy of your property along with an income, market or cost analysis. (reason code 8) - This is the result of the vacancy of your property and the removal of the Incentive due to Continuous Substantial Vacancy. (reason code 72) - This is a result of a One-Year Only reduction due to vacancy; Incentive not applied due to non-compliance of Incentive requirements. (reason code 74) The list for properties that received a reduced assessed value due to a vacancy in 2021 is available upon request. ## 3. Vacant building reports Chicago Cityscape has integrated four types of reports that people submit to the City of Chicago's 311 system: - fly dumping - flooded basements - vacant buildings - potential building violations The 311 dataset that the City of Chicago provides does not get updated to indicate if the report was confirmed by a city worker so all reports shown on Chicago Cityscape are unsubstantiated; additionally, not all incidences or suspected incidences of the four types get reported.  *Screenshot of a map and spreadsheet showing vacant building reports to 311, specifically in the East Garfield Park community area* <i class="fad fa-lightbulb-on" aria-hidden="true"></i> Tip: In 2022, Chicago City Council adopted an ordinance that allows city departments to waive certain debts associated with a vacant or abandoned property if the property is going to be redeveloped and the debt inhibits redevelopment. Read the [press release](https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/doh/provdrs/developers/news/2022/january/new-ordinance-to-waive-city-debt-on-vacant-and-abandoned-propert.html), and [ordinance O2021-5871](https://chicityclerkelms.chicago.gov/Matter/?matterId=F71D6816-E20D-ED11-82E3-001DD80693B4#). ### How to show vacant building reports 1. In Property Report and Place Report, scroll down – or use the table of contents to jump down – to "311 Reports". 2. Click the "Load 311 reports" button. 3. Locate the filter titled "Show a single report type:" and click on the link named "Vacant/abandoned building". The map and spreadsheet will update to show only reports of that type. ## 4. Vacant Building Registry Owners of vacant buildings in Chicago are required to register their building with the Department of Buildings. This can be done online and has to be renewed every six months. During this time, the city suspends water and trash pickup service. ### How to show properties in the VBR 1. Open a Place Report. 2. In Property Finder's filters, locate the filters in the section under the "Vacancy" heading. 3. Select the radio button for "Vacant Building Registry". 4. Select the "Apply filters" button; a moment later the map and data table will show new data. ### Our VBR data integration is still developing The map and data table will refresh to show properties that are either non-residential or are residential properties registered by an REO (i.e. lender) or asset manager. Buildings that have expired are shown for up to three months post-expiration. The rightmost column has a link to the building's entry in the [Vacant Building Registry](https://ipiweb.cityofchicago.org/VBR/), which has additional information for each building. Sometimes there are exterior and interior photos. The information was first integrated into Chicago Cityscape in March 2023, and 1,516 properties appeared in the [citywide Property Finder](http://chicagocityscape.com/place/municipality-il-chicago) at that time. It is updated infrequently; please [provide us feedback](http://chicagocityscape.com/contact.php) about how you use the Vacant Building Registry data. ## 5. Brownfield sites The [Cook County Department of Environment & Sustainability](https://www.cookcountyil.gov/agency/environment-and-sustainability) has highlighted some vacant properties in some of the west and south suburbs of Cook County. At the time of writing (April 3, 2023), there were 170 parcels at 88 sites in Bellwood, Chicago Heights, Ford Heights, Franklin Park, Maywood, Melrose Park, Northlake, Schiller Park, and Sauk Village. ### How to show these brownfield sites 1. Open a Place Report that is not in Chicago. (We recommend opening the Place Report for one of the municipalities listed above.) 2. In Property Finder's filters, locate the filters in the section under the "Vacancy" heading. 3. Select the radio button for "Brownfield". (The button will not appear for Place Reports in Chicago.) 4. Select the "Apply filters" button. The map and data table will refresh to show the Cook County DES's selected brownfield sites, if any of them exist in the Place Report boundary you opened. ### Additional brownfield resources Cook County has a website dedicated to showcasing the development status for the brownfield sites for the West and South suburban groups. Only the undeveloped sites are included in our database. - [West suburban group](https://cookcountyil.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Shortlist/index.html?appid=3bd19318f52a4a4ebd6e30f0084a9144) - [South suburban group](https://cookcountyil.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Shortlist/index.html?appid=a419239041774752ad528364e053cfc8) - UIC report: [Brownfield Redevelopment and Green Economy Expansion](https://uofi.app.box.com/s/49290jvsgofgkyoc12q9p43crj4lqeqz) (fall 2024) ### Associated incentives The [Southland Reactivation Act](https://www.ssmma.org/southland-reactivation-act) can reduce the assessed value of a property that is currently tax exempt (owned by a municipality, the Cook County Land Bank Authority, or the South Suburban Land Bank Development Authority), is zoned commercial or industrial, and is in one of the eligible townships. This incentive was added to [[Incentives Checker]] in March 2023, and will indicate the Southland Reactivation Act as potentially available when looking at a Property Report in one of the eligible townships. #### Eligible townships Links for these six townships go to Place Reports. - [Bloom](http://chicagocityscape.com/place/township-bloom-cook-county) - [Bremen](http://chicagocityscape.com/place/township-bremen-cook-county) - [Calumet](http://chicagocityscape.com/place/township-calumet-cook-county) - [Rich](http://chicagocityscape.com/place/township-rich-cook-county) - [Thornton](http://chicagocityscape.com/place/township-thornton-cook-county) - [Worth](http://chicagocityscape.com/place/township-worth-cook-county) All of the six townships except for Worth double as Class 8 designated areas (see Cook County Assessor Office [rules about the Class 8 incentive program](https://prodassets.cookcountyassessor.com/s3fs-public/form_documents/cls8b.pdf)). ## 6. No building on site Using a map of building footprints we can locate parcels that do not have an overlapping building footprint. We update our building footprints dataset several times a year. One reason to try out this dataset is because it can take a year or two before a property that's been razed recently gets reclassified as vacant (classification code 1-00). ### How to find properties without a building 1. In Property Finder, look for the "Vacant buildings & lots" group of filters. 2. Select the "No building on site" option. 3. Select the "Apply filters" button and wait a moment. 4. The map and data table will refresh to show properties that our dataset believes does not have a building.  *Screenshot showing the vacant building filter options, including "No building on site"* ## Related articles - [[Vacant storefront registry]]