Blight fight bill would create statewide database of scofflaw property owners

Absentee and out-of-state property owners who acquire real estate as an investment might have little interest in their tenants or the quality of their homes.

State Rep. Brandon Markosek, D-Monroeville, said such a site can impact an entire neighborhood if it isn’t addressed quickly.

His House Bill 1062, which passed in mid-May by a 125-78 vote, would create a statewide database of scofflaw property owners. The data would be managed by the Pennsylvania Department of Economic Development and available to any community.

Markosek said he hopes the bill will hasten remediation of properties and the database can be used to identify and prevent derelict property owners from continuing the same practice in multiple towns.

“I think it’s great that our legislators are thinking about this,” said An Lewis, executive director for the Tri-Council of Governments and Steel Rivers Council of Governments land banks. “Vacant, blighted and abandoned properties are a big problem.”

One of the biggest issues Lewis encounters is a group she called the “we-buy-any-house folks.”

“You have these corporate buyers who acquire properties for investment purposes only,” she said. “They put tenants in them with safety hazards, they constantly have new code violations, and sometimes those people are really difficult to chase down.”

Lewis said it’s sometimes difficult for local government to keep an eye on blighted properties in post-industrial Western Pennsylvania.

“Code enforcement is an underfunded public service across the board,” she said. “In places where the tax base is limited, we have to pick and choose what services are offered at the municipal level because they can’t always afford them all.”

Michael Nestico, chief administrator for Murrysville, said the bill could become an asset to communities.

“We don’t have blight all over town, but anytime there’s a method for municipalities to either have shared or consolidated sets of data, that can be beneficial. Knowing whether there are problem property owners here or in the surrounding community will certainly be a benefit. It can let you stay ahead of things when you see a troubled property owner purchasing in your community — you can keep a watchful eye to make sure things stay in compliance.”

In Monroeville, community planner Paul Whealdon said he didn’t necessarily see it as an advantage for them.

“We’re lucky because we have the Tri-COG,” Whealdon said. “If we have blighted properties, we turn it over to them. We do talk with other towns as well, so if we see a property owner’s name show up elsewhere, we’ll ask about it.”

Lewis said her concern with the bill is whether smaller towns in particular will be able to contribute to the statewide database Markosek envisions.

“It’s clearly a well-meaning bill, but I worry a little that it isn’t going to provide the financial resources for municipalities who are responsible for code enforcement, in order to do all of this properly,” she said. “If you already have insufficient funding at the local level, do you have anyone who can be responsible for feeding data into that system?”

As written, the bill would provide an unspecified amount of funding to state economic officials, who would in turn be able to provide funding to towns participating in the statewide database.

Many times, when code officers take residents to court, the goal is not necessarily to collect a fee but just to gain code compliance.

“Those fees get waived a lot at the district court level,” Lewis said. “And you get compliance, but you’re not collecting those fees that fund the whole program in the first place. I think the bill’s intention is fantastic, and I think we need to keep trying to build better mousetraps to stave off irresponsible property owners milking as much money as they can from investment properties.”

The bill was referred to the Senate’s Urban Affairs & Housing Committee in late May.