Can a Pennsylvania neighbor ask a court to put a conservator in charge of an abandoned building?
Yes, if that neighbor lives or runs a business within 2,000 feet of it. Under the Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act, such a neighbor is a party in interest, and any party in interest can petition the county court to appoint a conservator to take possession of the building and rehabilitate it.
The municipality or school district where the building sits, and a land bank, also count as parties in interest.
The court can appoint a conservator only if all of the law's conditions apply as of the date the petition is filed. One condition: nobody has legally occupied the building for at least the previous 12 months. Another: the owner can't show compelling evidence of actively marketing the property for sale during the previous 60 days. The building also can't be in the middle of a foreclosure brought by a private lender or other nongovernmental party.
The court must also find at least three problems from a list in the law, such as the building being a public nuisance, needing major rehab with none done in a year, or being unfit to live in.
Whoever files must notify the owner, the local governments and the lienholders by registered or certified mail and post a copy of the notice on the building. The court must hold a hearing within 60 days of getting the petition and decide within 30 days after the hearing ends.
When choosing a conservator, the court looks first to the most senior private lienholder on the property. If the owner says the problems will be fixed in a reasonable time, the court can let the owner do the work instead. An owner who keeps the building that way must post a bond equal to the repair costs estimated in the petition.
Once appointed, the conservator must maintain, safeguard and insure the building. The court can order the property sold once the conservator has controlled it for more than three months and the owner hasn't successfully asked to end the conservatorship. The owner stays responsible for taxes, municipal liens, mortgages and other debts on the property, even with a conservator in place.
How can a Pennsylvania borough or city force action on a dangerous or blighted house?
A borough can require the owner to remove a nuisance or dangerous structure, or remove it itself and collect the cost plus a 10% penalty. A municipality can sue the owner personally when a serious code violation goes on and the owner takes no substantial step to fix it within six months of an order.
In that one lawsuit, the municipality can recover the penalties and what it lawfully spent fixing the violation. After a court judgment against the owner, a lien can be placed on the owner's other assets, not just the run-down property.
A municipality can refuse permits to someone who owns property anywhere in Pennsylvania with a final, unappealable tax, water, sewer or trash bill delinquency.
A second conviction for the same serious code violation at the same property can be a second-degree misdemeanor. An out-of-state owner charged over cited code violations, after proper notice, can be extradited to Pennsylvania to face prosecution.
What happens to a Pennsylvania house when the property taxes go unpaid?
Once a tax claim becomes absolute on the January 1 after the owner's notice, the county Tax Claim Bureau can sell the house, scheduling that sale between the second Monday of September and October 1. There is no redemption after the actual sale.
The Real Estate Tax Sale Law sets up a Tax Claim Bureau in each county except first- and second-class counties. A county can choose to give taxpayers up to 12 more months to pay off a tax claim.
If no one bids the upset price, the bureau can ask the county court for a judicial sale, and must do so when a taxing district directs it in writing. At certain tax sales, a municipality can ask the county court to stop the deed from going to a buyer who is proven to meet criteria laid out in the municipality's petition.
When a tax-delinquent house goes unsold at the upset sale, the delinquent owner keeps legal title until the bureau deeds it to a buyer. That owner is still on the hook for maintenance and nuisance cleanup that a law or ordinance requires. The bureau may spend what it judges reasonably necessary on repairs and upkeep to address safety issues, and recover that cost from a later sale.
Sitting on an empty Pennsylvania house and falling behind on the mortgage too? This rundown of how Pennsylvania foreclosures move lays out the steps.
How do you report a vacant building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania?
Report it through the city's online 311 form or by calling 311; from outside Philadelphia, call (215) 686-8686. Philadelphia takes reports of buildings in poor condition and vacant buildings where people are trespassing.
For an emergency, call 911.
You can also tell me where it is. I'll find out who owns it and reach out about buying it and fixing it up.