[Adopted 4-15-2020 by Ord. No. 3070]
No owner of real property located in Upper Darby Township, or
his agent, shall transfer ownership of any real property or change
the use of real property without first undergoing a sewer lateral
inspection by a plumber licensed in the Township, which includes a
camera inspection of the lateral. That inspection shall be provided
to the Upper Darby Department of Licenses and Inspections before a
use and occupancy permit is issued. Upon completion of the sewer lateral
inspection, the Township's representative shall review the results
and note any deficiencies or defects that could permit inflow and
infiltration, or any other prohibited substance, from entering into
the sanitary sewer in violation of the Township's ordinances or the
rules and regulations of any local, state or federal regulatory agency.
Any deficiencies or defects shall be recorded on the designated form,
and a copy of the form shall be provided to the owner of the real
property or his agent. That form and underlying materials shall be
maintained by the Township in accordance with the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know
Law.
The following words and phrases, when used in this article,
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise:
The date on which title and right to possess the property
transfers to the purchaser or, in cases where the property is sold
pursuant to the act of May 16, 1923 (P.L. 207, No. 153), referred
to as the "Municipal Claim and Tax Lien Law," the first day following
the right of redemption period authorized under the Municipal Claim
and Tax Lien Law.
Upper Darby Township.
A violation of an adopted building, housing, property maintenance
or fire code or maintenance, health or safety nuisance ordinance that
makes a building, structure or any part thereof unfit for human habitation
and is discovered during the course of a municipal inspection of a
property and disclosed to the record owner or prospective purchaser
of the property through issuance of a municipal report.
A certificate issued by a municipality as a result of the
municipal inspection of a property incident to the resale of the property
that identifies at least one substantial violation, and the purpose
of the certificate is to authorize the purchaser to access the property
for the purpose of correcting substantial violations pursuant to the
maintenance and repair provisions of this article. No person may occupy
a property during the term of a temporary access certificate, but
the owner shall be permitted to store personalty that is related to
the proposed use or occupancy of the property or is needed to repair
the substantial violations during the time of the temporary access
certificate.
A certificate issued by a municipality as a result of the
municipal inspection of a property incident to the resale of the property
that reveals a violation but no substantial violation, and the purpose
of the certificate is to authorize the purchaser to fully utilize
or reside in the property while correcting violations pursuant to
the maintenance and repair provisions of this article.
A condition which renders a building or structure, or any
part thereof, dangerous or injurious to the health, safety or physical
welfare of an occupant or the occupants of neighboring dwellings.
The condition may include substantial violations of a property that
show evidence of: a significant increase to the hazards of fire or
accident; inadequate sanitary facilities; vermin infestation; or a
condition of disrepair, dilapidation or structural defects such that
the cost of rehabilitation and repair would exceed one-half of the
agreed-upon purchase price of the property.
A certificate issued by a municipality stipulating that the
property meets all ordinances and codes and may be used or occupied
as intended.
A violation of a properly adopted building, housing, property
maintenance or fire code or maintenance, health or safety nuisance
ordinance that does not rise to the level of a substantial violation
and is discovered during the course of a municipal inspection of a
property and disclosed to the record owner or prospective purchaser
of the property through issuance of a municipal report.
The Township representative shall issue a certificate of occupancy
in the following manner:
A.
As soon as practicable if the municipal inspection reveals no violations.
B.
If the municipal inspection reveals at least one violation but no
substantial violations, the municipality shall issue a temporary use
and occupancy certificate.
C.
If the municipal inspection reveals at least one substantial violation,
the municipality shall specifically note those items on the inspection
report and shall issue a temporary access certificate.
D.
Within 12 months of the date of purchase, the purchaser of a property
known to be in violation of a municipal code or ordinance shall, at
his option, either:
(1)
Bring the property into compliance with municipal codes or ordinances;
or
(2)
Demolish the building or structure in accordance with law.
(3)
At the request of the property owner, the Township may negotiate,
at its discretion, longer time periods for maintenance and repair
of the structure under a temporary certificate.
At the expiration of the time period set forth in § 454-17D above or before that time if requested by the property owner, the municipality shall reinspect the property for the purpose of determining compliance with the cited violations. If a temporary access permit has been issued and reinspection indicates that the noted substantial violations have been corrected but other cited violations have not yet been corrected, the municipality shall issue a temporary use and occupancy permit to be valid for the time remaining on the original temporary access permit. If the reinspection indicates that all noted violations have been corrected, the municipality shall issue a use and occupancy certificate for the property.
Failure to comply with the requirements of § 454-15 shall result in:
A.
Revocation of the temporary certificate.
B.
After revocation of the temporary certificate, the Township representative
may impose fines consistent with the failure to obtain a use and occupancy
permit as described in the ordinances of Upper Darby Township and
the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Any ordinances or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions
of this article are hereby repealed to the extent of the inconsistency.
If any provision of this article is declared by a court of competent
jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such determination
shall have no effect on the remaining provisions of this article.
This article shall become effective immediately following its
legal enactment and shall remain in effect hereafter until revised,
amended, or revoked by action of the Upper Darby Township Council.
