Property Owners May Soon Pay Blight Fines
Industry Update
November 27, 2023
Source: thedailyreview.com
Owners of vacant and blighted properties in Pennsylvania may soon have to pay annual fees that get more expensive with each passing year.
Where those fines will get levied, though, would depend on what local governments decide to do.
House Bill 775, sponsored by Rep. Tim Twardzik, R-Frackville, would let municipalities pass ordinances to register vacant and blighted properties, building a registry to track blight.
Owners would then pay registration fees a year after the property gets listed, starting at $500 and climbing to $5,000 for year nine and beyond. Fees would be waived if owners bring the property into compliance, and exemptions are made for owners in the process of repairing the property, seeking “in good faith” to sell it, or due to economic hardship.
Localities with existing registry programs would be grandfathered in.
For full report, please click the source link above.