(a) The Mayor shall take such action as he in his discretion considers necessary or desirable to secure the payment to the District of rents due and payable on vaults; interest on late rental payments; the cost of any advertising required by this part; the cost to the District of sealing off, removing in whole or in part, filling, reconstructing, repairing, or closing a vault or vault opening, or performing any other service in connection therewith; and interest at the rate of 1 per centum per month or part thereof in every case in which payment to the District for the cost of performing work authorized by this part is not made within 30 days after a bill for such cost shall have been rendered.

(b) Charges authorized to be made by this part and not paid within 90 days after the close of the fiscal year in which such charges accrue shall be levied by the Mayor as a tax against the property abutting the public space in which a vault is located, such tax to be collected as provided in this section. Such tax shall include, without limitation, rents due and payable on vaults, interest on late rental payments, costs for sealing off, removing in whole or in part, filling, repairing, reconstructing, or closing a vault or vault opening, interest on late payments of such costs, and any advertising required by this part. The tax authorized to be levied and collected under this section may be paid without interest within 60 days from the date such tax was levied. Interest of one-half of 1 per centum for each month or part thereof shall be charged on all unpaid amounts from the expiration of 60 days from the date such tax was levied. Any such tax may be paid in 3 equal installments with interest thereon. If any such tax or part thereof shall remain unpaid after the expiration of 2 years from the date such tax was levied, the property against which said tax was levied may be sold for such tax or unpaid portion thereof with interest and penalties thereon at the next ensuing annual tax sale in the same manner and under the same conditions as property sold for delinquent general real estate taxes, if said tax with interest and penalties thereon shall not have been paid in full prior to said sale.

(c)(1) For vault years beginning after June 30, 2015, the Mayor, in the Mayor’s discretion, may seal off, remove in whole or in part, fill, reconstruct, repair, or close a vault or vault opening, or perform any other service in connection with a vault or vault opening that the Mayor considers necessary or appropriate; provided, that should the subject vault contain utility infrastructure, the Mayor shall confer with the affected utility before any modification to the vault about whether the planned activity would compromise the operations of the utility infrastructure system.

(2) The Chief Financial Officer shall levy a charge against the abutting property for the reasonable cost of action by the Mayor.

(d)(1) Beginning September 15, 2015, interest on any unpaid vault rent for any vault year and the charges authorized under subsection (a) of this section shall accrue at the rate set forth in § 47-811(c) per month or part thereof after the due date prescribed in § 10-1103.04.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (f) of this section, the abutting property for any vault located in the public space shall be sold by the Chief Financial Officer at a tax sale held under Chapter 13A of Title 47 [§ 47-1330 et seq.] for vault rent, charges, and interest that are delinquent as of the October 1st before the tax sale.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, delinquent vault rent, charges, and interest shall not be required to be certified for purposes of the tax sale and the lien priority of vault rents, charges, and interest shall be immediately junior to real property taxes.

(e) Payments shall be applied to the oldest vault year owed, and within such year first to interest, then to charges, and then to rent.

(f)(1) When a responsible condominium unit owners’ association is billed for vault rent, charges, and interest and the rent, charges, and interest are not timely paid, the rent, charges, and interest shall constitute a delinquent tax to be collected against the responsible condominium unit owners’ association in accordance with Chapter 44 of Title 47 [§ 47-4401 et seq.], notwithstanding § 42-1901.04 or any other provision to the contrary. Liability shall follow to any subsequent or successor responsible condominium unit owners’ association or the resulting owners of any termination of the condominium, as the case may be, notwithstanding any other law to the contrary.

(Oct. 17, 1968, 82 Stat. 1160, Pub. L. 90-596, title III, § 308; Feb. 26, 2015, D.C. Law 20-155, § 6002(f), 61 DCR 9990; Oct. 8, 2016, D.C. Law 21-160, § 7024, 63 DCR 10775.)

1981 Ed., § 7-1013.

1973 Ed., § 7-914.

This section is referenced in § 10-1103.06 and § 10-1103.08.

The 2015 amendment by D.C. Law 20-155, effective Feb. 26, 2015, and applicable July 1, 2015, added (c), (d), (e), and (f).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see §§ 6002(f) and 6003(b) of the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-377, July 14, 2014, 61 DCR 7598, 20 STAT 3696).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see §§ 6002(f) and 6003 of the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-449, October 10, 2014, 61 DCR 10915, 20 STAT 4188).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see §§ 6002(f) and 6003 of the Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Support Second Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2014 (D.C. Act 20-566, January 9, 2015, 62 DCR 884, 21 STAT 541).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of section, see § 11 of the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Support Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2015 (D.C. Act 21-164, Oct. 16, 2015, 62 DCR 13734).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 5 of the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Support Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2016 (D.C. Act 21-292, Jan. 27, 2016, 63 DCR 1211).

For temporary (225 days) amendment of this section, see § 7 of the Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Support Clarification Temporary Amendment Act of 2015 (D.C. Law 21-76, Feb. 27, 2016, 63 DCR 264).

Section 6003 of D.C. Law 20-155 provided that §§ 6002(a), (c), (d), (e), and (f) of the act shall apply as of July 1, 2015.

This section originated at a time when local government powers were delegated to the District of Columbia Council and to a Commissioner of the District of Columbia. 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.