[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Lansdowne 2-15-2006 by Ord. No. 1211. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Building construction — See Ch. 146.
Property maintenance code — See Ch. 255.
Zoning — See Ch. 330.
The purpose of this chapter and the policy of the Borough of Lansdowne shall be to protect and promote the public health, safety and welfare of its citizens and to establish rights and obligations of owners of real property with respect to the transfer of said property.
The following words and phrases, as used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, unless the context indicates a different meaning. Where terms are not defined in this section, such terms shall be ordinarily accepted meanings as interpreted by the Code Enforcement Officer by use of definitions provided in the codes and standards as contained in the Code of the Borough of Lansdowne.
AGENT
A person who shall have charge, care or control of any structure as owner, or agent of the owner, or as executor, execute, executrix, administrator, trustee or guardian of the estate of the owner. Any such person representing the actual owner shall be bound to comply with the provisions of this chapter to the same extent as if that person was the owner.
APPLICANT
The owner, buyer or agent with authority and responsibility for the transfer of real property.
PROPERTY TRANSFER
A sale, foreclosure, sheriff's sales, tax sale or other legal action resulting in the transfer of ownership of real property.
REAL PROPERTY
Any structure, building or vacant land being privately or publicly owned.
A. 
No owner or agent shall transfer ownership of any real property without first applying for and undergoing obtaining a property transfer inspection and obtaining a property transfer permit or provisional property transfer permit. The owner or agent shall complete the required application forms for this purpose which shall be available in the Code Department office and pay the required fees. Information required to be submitted shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(1) 
The names, addresses and phone numbers of all owners of the premises;
(2) 
Forwarding addresses of all owners of the premises;
(3) 
The name, local address and telephone number or cell phone number of the realtor or agent representing the owner;
(4) 
The address of the real property;
(5) 
A description of the real property;
(6) 
The proposed use of the real property following transfer; and
(7) 
Authorization for the Borough to perform the required inspection.
B. 
The application forms must be submitted to the Code Enforcement Department 30 days prior to the date scheduled for settlement. Following receipt by the Code Department of the completed application form and required fees, the owner or agent shall schedule the property transfer inspection with the Code Department. Inspections shall be scheduled no earlier than 48 hours from the time the request for an inspection was made.
[Amended 7-17-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-04]
The Code Officer shall not enter on or upon any real property for the purpose of conducting a property transfer inspection unless accompanied by the applicant. All interior and exterior areas of the real property shall be inspected for conformance with the 2005 Borough of Lansdowne Property Maintenance Code, as amended from time to time, and the Lansdowne Borough Zoning Ordinance of 2008,[1] as amended from time to time, and any other relevant ordinances of the Borough of Lansdowne.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 255, Property Maintenance, and Ch. 330, Zoning, respectively.
Upon completion of the property transfer inspection, the Code Enforcement Officer shall record the identified code violations on a form for this purpose and provide a copy of the form to the agent. Code violations shall be corrected within the time frame set by the Code Enforcement Officer.
A. 
No property regulated by this chapter shall proceed to settlement unless a final or provisional property transfer permit has been issued to the owner by the Code Department.
B. 
A final property transfer permit shall be issued, provided the following conditions have been met:
(1) 
The property must be free and clear of any code violations noted on the inspection form by the Code Enforcement Officer.
C. 
A provisional property transfer permit may be issued in circumstances in which correcting the violations cannot be accomplished prior to settlement. The provisional property transfer permit shall indicate the party (buyer or seller) who shall take responsibility for correcting the violations and provide for a time frame for corrections not to exceed 180 days. The owner or agent shall schedule a follow-up property inspection with the Code Department no later than 15 days following the one-hundred-eighty-day-period for correcting violations.
D. 
In no circumstances shall a provisional property transfer certificate be issued if any of the code violations render the property unfit for habitation.
Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to waive any other remedy available to the Borough at law or in equity relating to code violations, all of which remedies are hereby expressly reserved.
Violations of failure to comply with the provisions of this chapter shall result in fines of not less one $1,000 and not more than $10,000. Each day that a violation hereunder continues shall constitute a separate offense.