Over the course of one week, three articles from across the country outlined specific challenges in utilizing tax foreclosures to address blight in their respective communities.

Akron, OH: Five years after Ohio’s first coordinated foreclosure against a tax-delinquent landlord, he “is still buying, selling and renting homes in Akron – and not paying all his property taxes or maintaining units while evicting tenants.” The Akron Beacon Journal discusses the challenges of addressing the various issues that continue to exist, and the need for legislative fixes at the Statehouse.
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Caribou, ME: Councilors unanimously voted to waive foreclosure on 2021 tax liens for 25 properties throughout Caribou, hoping to spur landowners into paying back taxes and cleaning alleged blight. The May, 2023 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Tyler vs. Hennepin County, Minnesota appeared to impact this decision.
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Dayton, OH: For the first time in recent history, the Montgomery County Treasurer’s Office announced churches and other nonprofits now face tax lien sales for delinquent properties. The IRS tax-exempt designation does not make a nonprofit exempt from paying other fees, known as “special assessments” that are related to services they receive in their communities.
“County tax roll records analyzed by the Dayton Daily News show that as of this week, more than 400 tax-exempt properties have some kind of delinquent balance not related to a foreclosure.”
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