Article 1　 This self-government ordinance is formulated by Tainan City (hereinafter referred to as “the City”) for the purposes of effectively managing vacant land and vacant buildings, improving environmental sanitation, maintaining the appearance of the city, raising the quality of the living environment, and rationally utilizing land.

Article 2　 The Competent Authority of this self-government ordinance is Tainan City Government (hereinafter referred to as “the Government”). The division of authority and responsibility among relevant agencies of the Government is as follows:

1.    Civil Affairs Bureau: Guiding District Offices in the conduct of matters concerning the management of vacant land and buildings.

2.    Environmental Protection Bureau: Conducting matters concerning the clearing away of waste matter and the removal of abandoned vehicles from vacant land and buildings, and the imposition of penalties in respect thereof.

3.    Public Health Bureau: Conducting matters concerning the prevention of infectious diseases and the imposition of penalties in respect of vacant land and buildings.

4.    Urban Development Bureau: Conducting matters concerning the drawing up of policies for the management of vacant land and buildings, and the carrying out of area announcements.

5.    Local Tax Bureau: Conducting matters concerning tax relief related to vacant land and buildings.

6.    District Offices: Conducting checks of vacant land and buildings, registering and monitoring vacant land and buildings, investigating and reporting violations concerning vacant land and buildings, giving guidance on opening vacant land and buildings for public use, adopting the environmental maintenance and cleanup of vacant land, and administering the adoption of vacant land and buildings.

7.    Household Registration Offices: Providing household registration information.

8.    Land Offices: Providing land registration information.

9.    Police Bureau: Providing vehicle registration information for site-occupying vehicles, helping to remove such vehicles, and joining in the conduct of enforcement.

10.Transportation Bureau: Helping to remove site-occupying vehicles.

Article 3　 Terms used in this self-government ordinance are defined as follows:

1.    Vacant land: Means land that has been left unused or left unattended, and unused land around buildings.

2.    Vacant building: Means a building that has been abandoned, is not used by anyone, or is derelict after partial demolition.

Article 4　 The owners, managers and users of vacant land and buildings shall bear the following obligations:

1.    Must cut grass and weeds that exceed a certain height.

2.    Must clear away soil and dirt waste and other waste matter.

3.    Must not place or store items that are detrimental to public safety or environmental sanitation, or otherwise impair the appearance of the City.

The certain height referred to in the first subparagraph of the preceding paragraph is 100 centimeters. But when the Competent Authority announces otherwise, the height as so announced shall apply.

Article 5　 To maintain public health, the owners, managers and users of  vacant land and buildings in the City shall initiate cleaning and clearing in accordance with notices and public announcements of the Government’s Public Health Bureau.

                  When there is concern about sources of vector breeding or the occurrence of other causes of infectious disease, and the Government’s Public Health Bureau considers that there is need to check vacant land and buildings in the City, then after first notifying the owners, managers or users, officials of the Public Health Bureau, acting jointly with the police authorities or borough chief, shall directly enter the property to conduct investigation or carry out disease prevention work, and the owners, managers or users shall not evade, obstruct or refuse this.

                  When the occurrence of an infectious disease presents an urgent danger to people’s life, body or property, and the Government’s Public Health Bureau considers that there is need to check vacant land and buildings in the City, then officials of the Public Health Bureau, acting jointly with the police authorities or borough chief, may directly enter the property to conduct investigation or carry out disease prevention work, and shall not be subject to the requirement of prior notice as referred to in the preceding paragraph.

                  When a person suffers extraordinary loss to life, body or property caused by such investigation or carrying out of disease prevention work as referred to in the preceding two paragraphs, said person may request compensation for the loss. However, this shall not apply where responsibility for the cause of the loss can be attributed to said person.

Article 6　 Vacant land in the City that is provided for use by a government agency shall for such period of free-of-charge use be exempt from the levy of land tax. 

                  Where a parking tower is provided for public use on a fee-collection basis, the house tax levied on it may be levied at the rate applicable to use for non-residential and non-business purposes.

                  To claim the tax benefit as referred to in the preceding paragraph, a claimant shall according to law apply for and receive approval from the City’s tax collection authority.

Article 7　 District Offices shall encourage and assist the owners, managers or users of vacant land to open it for use as a temporary parking lot, for greening & beautifying, for use as a sports ground, or for other public benefit activities, to be provided for public use.

                  Where a site that has been opened as referred to in the preceding paragraph is illegally occupied by a vehicle, container house, or other object, the District Office shall report this to the relevant authorities and request their assistance to deal with it.

                  Where a vehicle has been left parked for more than seven days on a site opened for use as a temporary parking lot, for greening & beautifying, for use as a sports ground, or for other public benefit activities as referred to in the first paragraph, the police authorities shall provide vehicle registration information, and the District Office shall give written notice to the vehicle owner to remove the vehicle within a specified time limit. Where ownership of the vehicle cannot be clearly ascertained, the notice shall be attached to a conspicuous place on the vehicle and also posted on the public notice board of the local District Office, and if the vehicle is not removed within the time limit, notification may be given to the Environmental Protection Bureau, the Transportation Bureau or the police authorities to help remove the vehicle to another location.

                  The conduct of duties relating to the removal, custody, notification to collect, collection of charges, and auctioning of vehicles referred to in the preceding paragraph, in the case of those left parked on a temporary parking lot as referred to in the preceding paragraph, shall be governed by the Tainan City Self-Government Ordinance for Public Car Park Fee Collection and Management; and in the case of those left parked on a site for greening & beautifying, for use as a sports ground, or for other public benefit activities as referred to in the preceding paragraph, shall be governed, mutatis mutandis, by the Tainan City Self-Government Ordinance for Dealing with Vehicles Obstructing Traffic.

Article 8　 District Offices shall carry out checks of vacant land and buildings and compile a register for putting them under watch. Where there is a violation of the provisions of Article 4 or Article 5 Paragraphs 1 or 2, the District Office shall give notice of a time limit for rectification. Where rectification is not made within the time limit, the District Office shall, after making a record, taking photographs, and saving evidence, submit the case to the responsible authorities to deal with according to law; and when necessary, the Environmental Protection Bureau or District Office, acting jointly with the police authorities and local borough office, may act as agents to clean up, clear away or deal with the violating matter.

                  Compensation may be claimed from the obligor for necessary expenses stemming from the action to clean up, clear away or deal with the violating matter as referred to in the preceding paragraph. But when the Government considers that there is cause for concern about sources of vector breeding or the spread of disease, a claim for compensation need not be made if the obligor’s address for service thereof is unknown or if the obligor is deceased.

Article 9　 For a violation of the provisions of Article 4, where notice has been given to rectify within a time limit and the violation has not been rectified, the Government’s Environmental Protection Bureau shall impose a fine of not less than NT$3,600 and not more than NT$30,000. Subsequent failures to rectify within time limits shall incur a further fine for each successive instance.

Article 10   For a violation of the provisions of Article 5 Paragraph1 or Paragraph 2, where notice has been given to rectify within a time limit and the violation has not been rectified therein, the Government’s Public Health Bureau shall impose a fine of not less than NT$3,600 and not more than NT$30,000. Subsequent failures to rectify within time limits shall incur a further fine for each successive instance.

Article 11   The areas that are subject to the enforcement of this Self-Government Ordinance shall be publicly announced separately by the Competent Authority.

Article 12   This Self-Government Ordinance is effective from the date of promulgation.