Washingtonville, PA, passed a vacant property registration ordinance

Washingtonville, PA: The Borough passed a vacant property registration ordinance, to reduce community costs from handling blight effects.

 

The ordinance requires annual registration of vacant properties, payment of an annual fee, annual inspections of the full property, and to remain secured and maintained for the duration the property is on the registry.

 

A vacant property includes any property where default of a mortgage occurs, and the mortgagee must register within 10 days of performing an inspection triggered by the default, or any property vacant more than 30 days; properties involved in foreclosure sales and deed transfers are also subject to the vacancy definition and requirements.

 

Registration includes current contact information for the owners, and if the owners do not reside in the property then current contact information for a person responsible that lives within 30 miles of the property must be provided as well.

 

The fee structure is $100 for year 1, $150 for year 2, $200 for year 3, and $250 for year 4 and for each year beyond. Payments must be made directly from the mortgagee or owner, with no third-part payments to be accepted without previous permissions granted by the Municipality.

 

Failure to adhere to the ordinance by any person or corporation can result in a fine of $100 - $1,000 and/or imprisonment for up to 30 days, with each violation constituting a separate offence and each new day of violation constituting a new offense.

 

 

 

Ascent combines focused research and centralized operations oversight to create innovative outsourced solutions for code enforcement violations, vacant property registration ordinances, property preservation, and other vendor management needs from across the United States.