Every year, Richmond’s Property Maintenance Division puts out a list of vacant buildings in the city based on information collected by inspectors during their rounds. 

To be classified as vacant, a building has to be “completely unoccupied,” according to the city. And while that isn’t illegal, the city can slap owners who let their buildings fall into disrepair with code violations. 

This April’s list includes 539 properties. That’s down from the 674 in October 2023 mapped by South Richmond News and significantly lower than the roughly 1,600 Church Hill People’s News recorded in 2015. 

Of those properties, most list owners from Richmond or its surrounding areas, although many developers’ practice of setting up local LLCs to hold property can make it difficult to trace ownership. City records show that 40 properties are owned by out-of-state people or entities, with the largest chunk — 20 properties — held by Washington, D.C. owners. 

If you know of a vacant property that isn’t listed, you can either submit an RVA311 ticket or call the Department of Planning and Development Review at 804-646-6398.

Contact Reporter Sarah Vogelsong at svogelsong@richmonder.org