Reed Smith LLP
Dana Janquitto
October 23, 2014
Property owners, lien-holders and community development organizations in Pennsylvania, take note. Governor Corbett recently signed House Bill No. 1363 amending the act of November 26, 2008 (P.L.1672, No.135), also known as the Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act. Depending on your viewpoint, the amendment gives much needed teeth to a tool for combating blight, or expands the already broad power of neighboring residents and business owners to interfere with a legitimate property owner’s interest. The amendment sailed through the Pennsylvania Legislature without a single “nay”, showing the Commonwealth is unified on the topic of remediating blighted real estate holdings.
The Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act allows the court to appoint a conservator to rehabilitate deteriorating residential, commercial and industrial buildings. The conservator is then responsible for bringing buildings into municipal code compliance when owner fails to do so, and steps into the owner’s shoes for the purposes of filing plans, seeking permits, and submitting applications.