Lot Links is an innovative program offering vacant or abandoned property to responsible owners of adjacent property. In exchange for agreeing to maintain the property, landowners can expand homes and yards into neighboring lots, create community gardens, or find other potential uses. The City of Dayton provides the acquired properties at a nominal cost.
In order to qualify, a property must be either City-owned or at least two years tax-delinquent and unoccupied. An eligible property may be vacant land or may have a structure on it. To see if a property qualifies as tax delinquent, go to the Montgomery County Treasurer’s website (www.mct
reas.org) and enter the property address or parcel number. If taxes are owed from at least two prior years (for 2011, this means taxes are owed from at least 2009) the property is potentially eligible. (Tax delinquent owners are notified of the delinquency and have the opportunity to bring the property taxes current, potentially making the desired property ineligible for Lot Links.)
If a property is eligible, an application must be submitted with a deposit, and the City of Dayton will begin the process of initiating a tax foreclosure on the property. The process can take up to 18 months, but if the property is City-owned it can take as little as 90 days. If your application is rejected for any reason, your deposit will be returned in full. However the City of Dayton cannot return deposits to applicants who decide to not make the final purchase of the property.
If a lot is City-owned, the cost is $635 and includes the required $500 deposit for a buildable lot. For a non-buildable lot, the total cost is $235 and includes the required deposit. If a property is privately owned, the average sale price is approximately $1500, with a $500 deposit.
Download or print a Lot Links Fact Sheet.
Download or print an 
application to purchase a lot. You may view a list of available City-owned properties here. You may download a list of privately owned tax delinquent properties in Montgomery County here. Please send submitted applications with the appropriate deposit (made payable to the City of Dayton) attached to:
Lots Links
Dayton Community Development Division
101 W. Third St.
Dayton, Ohio 45402
If you have questions, please call (937) 333-3775.