[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township of
Cheltenham 5-20-1980 as Ord. No. 1479.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
The Board of Commissioners finds that in Cheltenham Township many purchasers of properties are not aware of the zoning district classification of their property and the limitations imposed upon the use of their property by Chapter 295, Zoning, as a result of such zoning district classification.
B.
In order to prevent undue hardships and losses imposed
on such purchasers, the Board of Commissioners finds and declares that in
Cheltenham Township all sellers of property shall be required to deliver to
the purchaser not later than at the settlement held for such property, a certificate
showing the zoning district classification for such property and the compliance
or noncompliance with township ordinances of the use to which the property
is being put.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have meaning indicated:
Any agreement or written instrument which provides that title to
any property shall thereafter be transferred from one owner to another owner,
and shall include inter alia written leases which contain options to purchase
the leased property, and leases which provide that the lessees of the property
shall acquire title thereto after the payment of a stipulated number of regular
rent payments or after a stipulated period of time.
Any person, partnership, association, corporation or fiduciary having
legal or equitable title or any interest in any real property. Whenever used
in any clause prescribing or imposing a penalty, the term "owner," as applied
to partnerships and associations, shall mean the partners, or members thereof,
and as applied to corporations, the officers thereof.
All real property situate in Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County,
Pennsylvania.
In Cheltenham Township, it shall be unlawful for any owner to sell his
property, or any interest therein, unless the owner shall first deliver to
the purchaser at or prior to the time for settlement:
A.
A certification of the zoning district classification,
issued by the Township Zoning Officer, indicating the zoning district classification
of the property to be sold.
B.
A certification that the use to which the property is
being put does or does not comply with township ordinances.
Every owner shall insert in every agreement for the sale of property
located in Cheltenham Township a provision setting forth the zoning district
classification of such property and a provision warranting the use to which
the property is being put as being in compliance with township ordinance.
Such agreements may further provide that, in making such statements and providing
such warranties, the owner may rely upon certifications issued by the Township
Zoning Officer.
A.
If any owner fails to include any provisions required
by this chapter in an agreement for the sale of property, then in any action,
at law or in equity, instituted by a purchaser against an owner, it shall
be conclusively presumed that the owner, at the time of the signing of such
agreement, represented and warranted to the purchaser that such property was
being used in compliance with the then existing zoning laws and ordinances.[1]
B.
No deed will be registered by the township unless the
certifications required by this chapter have been issued.
C.
Any owner who shall fail to provide the certifications
required by this chapter and whose use of the property prior to settlement
was in violation of township zoning laws and ordinances shall be guilty of
a summary offense and, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine
of not more than six hundred dollars ($600.) and costs of prosecution, in
addition to such other remedies as may be provided by law or equity.[2]
A.
The application of certification statement and affidavits
shall be on forms provided by the township and shall set forth, inter alia,
the following:
B.
Application for certification statement and affidavits
shall constitute authorization for the township to inspect the premises being
transferred. Such inspection shall not be required, however, and the township
may rely solely upon the representations made in the application for certification
statement and affidavits as the basis for issuance of the certificates.
D.
The township shall issue a certification
statement and affidavits to the application within fifteen (15) days of receipt
of the application therefor.