Across the state, abandoned properties are posing dangers to nearby residents. A state bill that passed both chambers is working to help that.  

Across the Commonwealth, abandoned properties are dangerous for those living nearby. In Philadelphia, many rowhomes are on the verge of collapse. State Representative Jared Solomon of Philadelphia recently sponsored a bill that would help track down owners of abandoned properties. 

Solomon’s bill would require the chief assessor in each county to keep a list of contact information for properties within each county, excluding ones that are owner-occupied. 

One provision in the bill aims to address a serious problem: tracking down individuals tied to limited liability companies, or LLCs. The provision requires a purchasing LLC to provide the phone number and email address of a person with an ownership interest. 

The bill passed the state House of Representatives with a bipartisan, 132 to 71 vote back in June. 

Last month, the bill moved unanimously out of a Senate committee and will now be considered before the full state Senate. 

“This is a really good bill,” said Republican Representative Andrew Kuzma of Allegheny County. He contributed to amending the legislation. 

Pittsburgh-based Executive Director of Bloomfield-Garfield Corp. Richard Swartz said, “The people who don’t want to be found will go to extra lengths to conceal their identity and their whereabouts. They operate in that murky area that is afforded to people who own property.”

In Philadelphia, residents have struggled to get the city’s attention. They are unable to compel city officials to take action when the walls of neighboring rowhomes are threatening to crumble. 

City officials with the Department of Licenses and Inspections stopped using an inventory tool that provided the city with valuable data on abandoned properties that have been deemed “imminently dangerous.”

Despite being classified as “imminently dangerous,” hundreds of Philadelphians are living next door to those properties. 

Solomon’s bill aims to help municipalities track down the property owners responsible for maintaining these dangerous buildings, who have a way of evading abandoned property situations across the Commonwealth.