Vacant homes tally declines in Baltimore, but timeline worries lawmakers

BALTIMORE, MD (WBFF) — Baltimore is making progress acquiring the city’s vacant housing, city officials told a council committee Tuesday, but city lawmakers expressed concern about how long it will take for the current strategy to work.

As of April 2026, there are 11,813 vacant properties, down from roughly 16,000 in 2020, according to the Department of Housing and Community Development’s dashboard. The city owns just over 900 of the vacant buildings and is attempting to buy more.

“We have the 15-year strategy, and obviously we want that to be as few years as possible,” Councilman Zac Blanchard, District 11, said. “We should have our foot on the gas and be taking some risk here with something that’s this big of a priority, I think we should err on the side of being aggressive.”

Tim Keane, acting commissioner of the Department of Housing and Community Development, and staff outlined the progress made in Mayor Brandon Scott’s $3 billion plan to eliminate vacant housing, launched in 2023. The plan uses a mix of public and private financing over 15 years to rehabilitate vacant properties or turn them into community green space.

Read the full story on the Baltimore Sun.