2022 District of Columbia Code
Title 6 - Housing and Building Restrictions and Regulations
Chapter 9 - Insanitary Buildings
§ 6–902. Board for the Condemnation of Insanitary Buildings; Condemnation Review Board

(a) The Mayor is directed to appoint or designate a board to consist of not less than 3 members, to perform the duties and functions required by this chapter as follows:

(1) A Board for the Condemnation of Insanitary Buildings to issue appropriate orders of condemnation requiring the correction of such condition or conditions or to require the demolition of any building, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter;

(2) Repealed.

(a-1) The Board shall be comprised of 7 members, as follows:

(1) Two members designated by the Department of Buildings, one of whom shall be the chairperson;

(2) One member designated by the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development;

(3) One member designated by the Department of General Services;

(4) One member designated by the Department of Public Works;

(5) One member designated by the Department of Housing and Community Development; and

(6) One member designated by the Office of Historic Preservation.

(b) A majority of the members of the Board established by subsection (a) of this section shall constitute a quorum, and a majority vote of the members present shall be required in connection with any act of the Board. No person shall act as a member of the Board who has any property interest, direct or indirect, in his own right or through relatives or kin, in the building the sanitary condition of which is under consideration.

(c) Repealed.

(c-1) The chairperson may direct that the Board shall sit in panels of 3 members, in which 3 members constitute a quorum, when there is a declaration by the chairperson that the business of the Board cannot be met by sitting as a full Board. A decision made by a panel established by this subsection shall have the same force and effect as a decision of the full Board. Decisions regarding membership on the panels and designation of panel activities shall be made by the chairperson.

(d) The several provisions of §§ 5-1001, 5-1002, and 5-1003 shall be applicable to and enforceable in any proceeding conducted under the authority of this chapter. Each person acting as a member of the Board required to be established by this section, and each alternate member when acting in the stead of the member for whom he is alternate, is hereby authorized to administer oaths to witnesses summoned in any proceeding conducted by the Board. Any fee which may be paid any witness summoned to appear before the Board shall be assessed as a tax against the property the condition of which is under investigation, such tax to be collected in the manner provided in § 6-907; provided, that whenever any order of condemnation is vacated or set aside, by the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, the witness fee authorized by this subsection to be assessed against the property affected by such order of condemnation shall not be so assessed, but shall be paid by the government of the District of Columbia.

(May 1, 1906, 34 Stat. 157, ch. 2073, § 2; Aug. 28, 1954, 68 Stat. 884, ch. 1032; Nov. 7, 1965, 79 Stat. 1216, Pub. L. 89-326, § 1; Mar. 3, 1979, D.C. Law 2-139, § 3205(qq), 25 DCR 5740; Aug. 7, 1980, D.C. Law 3-81, § 2(gg), 27 DCR 2632; Apr. 27, 2001, D.C. Law 13-281, § 103(b), 48 DCR 1888; Dec. 7, 2004, D.C. Law 15-205, § 2072(a), 51 DCR 8441; Sept. 26, 2012, D.C. Law 19-171, § 42, 59 DCR 6190; May 18, 2016, D.C. Law 21-118, § 4(a), 63 DCR 4645; Apr. 5, 2021, D.C. Law 23-269, § 501(f), 68 DCR 001490.)

1981 Ed., § 5-702.

1973 Ed., § 5-617.

This section is referenced in § 1-636.02.

D.C. Law 13-281, in subsec. (a), in the lead-in text, substituted “a board” for “two separate boards, each”; in par. (1) of subsec. (a), substituted “examine the habitability and sanitary condition of buildings in the District of Columbia” for “examine into the sanitary condition of buildings in the District of Columbia”; repealed par. (2) of subsec. (a) which had read:

“(2) A Condemnation Review Board, no member of which shall act as a member of the Board for the Condemnation of Insanitary Buildings, to review, upon written request, any order of condemnation issued by the Board for the Condemnation of Insanitary Buildings, and to affirm, modify, or vacate such order of condemnation if the Condemnation Review Board shall find that the sanitary condition of the building under examination requires the affirmation, modification, or vacation of such order of condemnation. The Condemnation Review Board shall consist of at least 3 members and an alternate member for each of said members, at least two-thirds of such members and at least two-thirds of such alternate members to be residents of the District of Columbia and to be selected from among the persons designated under subsection (c) of this section, and not more than one-third of such members and one-third of such alternate members may be employed by the government of the District of Columbia.”; in subsec. (b), substituted “the Board” for “each of the boards” and “either of the said Boards”; repealed subsec. (c) which had read: “(c) The Mayor shall designate a number of real property owning residents of the District of Columbia, not employed by the government of the District of Columbia or the government of the United States, each of whom from time to time shall be designated by the Mayor to act as a member or an alternate member of the Condemnation Review Board established under the authority of subsection (a) of this section.”; and, in subsec. (d), substituted “the Board” for “either of the Boards” or “either of the said Boards”. D.C. Law 15-205 added subsecs. (a-1) and (c-1).

The 2012 amendment by D.C. Law 19-171 substituted “Department of General Services” for “Office of Property Management” in (a-1)(3).

Building regulations, authority of Council and Mayor to promulgate and enforce, see §§ 1-303.03 and 1-303.04.

Inspections, Assistant Inspector of Buildings, powers and duties, see § 2-138.

Merit system, effective dates, see § 1-636.02.

Section 7276 of D.C. Law 24-45 repealed the applicability provision of section 601 of D.C. Law 23-269 that impacted this section. Therefore the amendment of this section by Law 23-269 has been implemented.

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2072(a) of Fiscal Year 2005 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15-486, August 2, 2004, 51 DCR 8236).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2072(a) of Fiscal Year 2005 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15-594, October 26, 2004, 51 DCR 11725).

Short title of subtitle F of title II of Law 15-205: Section 2071 of D.C. Law 15-205 provided that subtitle F of title II of the act may be cited as the Board of Condemnation and Insanitary Buildings Amendment Act of 2004.

Order establishing Board for the Condemnation of Insanitary Buildings: See Organization Order No. 102, 54-2034, dated September 27, 1954, as amended March 18, 1958, June 10, 1958, May 26, 1960, July 5, 1960, March 23, 1970, May 25, 1970, July 27, 1971, September 20, 1983, and by Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1975.

Order establishing Condemnation Review Board: See Organization Order No. 103, dated September 27, 1954, as amended April 23, 1957, and July 14, 1960.

This section originated at a time when local government powers were delegated to a Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia (see Acts Relating to the Establishment of the District of Columbia and its Various Forms of Governmental Organization in Volume 1). Section 401 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967 (see Reorganization Plans in Volume 1) transferred all of the functions of the Board of Commissioners under this section to a single Commissioner. The District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, 87 Stat. 818, § 711 ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.11), abolished the District of Columbia Council and the Office of Commissioner of the District of Columbia. These branches of government were replaced by the Council of the District of Columbia and the Office of Mayor of the District of Columbia, respectively. Accordingly, and also pursuant to § 714(a) of such Act ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.14(a)), appropriate changes in terminology were made in this section.