Owners are responsible for securing and maintaining their property. Unfortunately not all property owners take the necessary steps to protect and care for their property. The problem gets worse when owners neglect their property, and when people use empty lots to dump their trash. The process for reporting and addressing vacant lots in Philadelphia is outlined below.

Call to report vacant lot

You can report a vacant lot by calling 311 if you're inside the city, or (215) 686-8686 if you're outside the city. When you call provide the operator with your:

• Name.
• Address.
• Phone number.

You will be given a ticket number so that you can track the progress of your report. All information is kept confidential. Missing or incorrect information may delay the cleanup process.

Inspection and notice

After you report a vacant lot, we send an inspector to the property to verify the complaint. The inspector will take photos of the lot that was reported, as well as of any other unkempt or vacant lots on the block. The inspector will decide if the property owner has violated the City code. If the property is in violation, the City will send the property owner a notice of violation, requiring them to clean up their property within the period listed on the warning notice.

Cleanup

After the initial inspection, the inspector will revisit the property to see if the owner has cleaned up the property. If not, the complaint will be forwarded to our cleanup teams. The owner of that property will be billed for all costs associated with the cleanup. If the property owner does not pay the cleanup bill, the City will place a lien against the property.