Owning a listed property

What being on the National Register actually means for a homeowner

John HarrisonUpdated October 2026

National Register listing does not restrict what a private owner does with a house using private money. The federal regulation says so directly. What listing changes is narrower: it brings federal projects that touch the property into Section 106 review, it opens eligibility for certain federal and state incentives, and it gives owners a formal right to object before listing happens.

Facts below are as of October 2026. Check whether a specific address is listed with the address lookup tool before relying on any of this.

The rule that matters: 36 CFR 60.2

The National Park Service, which keeps the Register, administers it under 36 CFR Part 60. Section 60.2 describes the Register as a planning tool and states that listing private property does not prohibit, under federal law or regulation, any action the owner may otherwise take with respect to it. The NPS’s own FAQ page puts it more bluntly: listing places no restrictions on what a non-federal owner may do, up to and including destruction, within the framework of local laws or ordinances.

That is the whole federal position on private action. There is no federal design review of your paint colour, windows or additions, no federal maintenance obligation, and no federal approval needed to sell or to demolish. The Register’s own page adds that listed properties are not required to display a plaque and that the National Register never charges owners a fee.

When federal review does apply

Section 60.2(a) spells out the exception. When a federal agency undertakes a project that affects a listed or eligible property, the agency must give the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) a reasonable opportunity to comment under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. After it has done that, the regulation says the agency may adopt whatever course of action it believes appropriate.

The ACHP’s citizen’s guide describes the trigger as federal involvement: an agency carrying out the project, funding it, or approving it through a permit, licence or other approval. If none of those is present, Section 106 does not apply. The guide also states that the review encourages, but does not mandate, preservation, and that it does not mandate approval or denial of projects. For a homeowner, the practical triggers are things like a federal disaster-recovery grant, a federally approved housing rehabilitation programme, or a project that needs a federal permit (the guide gives Army Corps wetland permits as an example). The full process is covered in the Section 106 guide.

One point catches owners out: Section 106 applies to properties that are eligible for the Register, not only listed ones. The ACHP guide says a consensus determination of eligibility is enough to move a review forward. So objecting to a listing (below) does not remove a house from federal project review.

Owner notification and the right to object

Before a property goes to the State Review Board, 36 CFR 60.6 requires the state to notify each owner in writing. The owner list comes from land or tax records pulled within 90 days of the notice, and the notice must arrive at least 30 but not more than 75 days before the board meeting, giving the owner the same window to comment, concur or object.

Objection rules, from 60.6(g):

• An owner who objects sends the State Historic Preservation Officer a notarized statement certifying that they are the sole or partial owner and object to listing.
• For a single property with several owners, or for a historic district, the property is not listed if a majority of private owners object. Each owner has one vote regardless of how many parcels they own or whether their building contributes to the district.
• “Owner” under 60.3(k) means the holder of fee simple title. Leaseholders and easement holders are not counted.
• For nominations with more than 50 owners (typical for districts), the state may use a general notice published in a local newspaper instead of individual letters, per 60.6(d).

If the owner or a majority object before the nomination is sent to Washington, 60.6(n) says the SHPO forwards it to the Keeper of the National Register only for a determination of eligibility, not for listing. The house then sits in the “eligible but not listed” category, which, as noted above, still counts for Section 106.

Benefits listing opens

Section 60.2(b) and (c) list the upside: listed properties become eligible to be considered for federal historic preservation grants-in-aid, and certain federal tax provisions may apply. The NPS “what is the Register” page describes listing as the first step toward eligibility for the NPS-administered rehabilitation tax credits and for grant programmes such as Save America’s Treasures.

Read the fine print on the tax credit before counting on it. The 20% federal rehabilitation credit applies to certified historic structures that are depreciable, meaning used in a business or other income-producing way. The NPS states that owner-occupied residential properties do not qualify, and that the credit cannot be used to rehabilitate a private residence, though if part of a home is used for business, such as a rental apartment or an office, the costs for that portion may qualify. The mechanics are in the federal tax credit guide. A homeowner’s realistic route to a credit is usually a state programme; a number of states run homeowner credits with their own rates and caps, collected in the state historic tax credit table.

Two other owner tools depend on listing. A preservation easement donated on a listed building can support a federal charitable deduction, in exchange for permanent restrictions. And listing is a prerequisite for the federal credit when a house is converted to rental use.

Local ordinances are a different system

The NPS FAQ’s phrase “within the framework of local laws or ordinances” is the important caveat. Many cities and counties run their own landmark or historic district programmes with design review and demolition controls. Those powers come from local law, not from the Register, and a house can be in a local district without being on the Register, or on the Register without any local protection. The ACHP’s applicant guidance notes that state and local reviews do not require federal involvement. How the three designations differ is covered in local landmark vs National Register vs National Historic Landmark.

Before doing work on a listed house, the NPS suggests contacting the SHPO. That is useful advice less because the SHPO can stop you (it generally cannot, absent a federal nexus) than because the SHPO knows which local rules, state incentives and easement holders apply to your address.

Three worked examples from the database

• The William J. Dickey House in Cohoes, New York, is an individually listed 1890 wood-frame house. Its owner may alter it freely under federal law; the City of Cohoes’s own ordinances are the place to check for local review.
• The Winnona Park Historic District in Decatur, Georgia, is a residential district of 1910s–1950s houses. Owners there were counted one vote each when the district was nominated, and a house that does not contribute to the district is still inside the boundary for Section 106 purposes.
• The Shaker Village Historic District boundary increase in Shaker Heights, Ohio, added 2,607 buildings in 2001. A district that size would have been noticed by newspaper publication under 60.6(d) rather than by individual letters.

What to do with this

1. Confirm the status of the address with the address lookup, including whether the house is individually listed or a contributing building in a district.
2. Check separately for local landmark or district designation with the city or county planning office.
3. If any federal money, permit or approval is involved in a project, expect Section 106 review and build time for it.
4. If the house produces income, or part of it does, look at the federal credit; if not, look at state programmes and the easement deduction, and talk to a tax adviser before relying on either.

Left out on purpose

Specific state notification procedures vary and are not described here. Property tax effects are set by state and local assessors, not by the Register, and are not covered. Nothing above is legal or tax advice.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Researched from the sources above and drafted with AI assistance; published under the editor's name, corrections welcome. See the editorial policy.