Source: https://ecode360.com/13782358
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 00:37:19+00:00

Document:
§ 8-509.2 Legislative findings and intent.
§ 8-509.4 Buyer notification report required.
§ 8-509.5 Application for buyer notification report; fees; contents; zoning certification.
§ 8-509.6 Insertion of provisions in agreement of sale.
§ 8-509.8 Delivery of buyer notification report; evidence of compliance.
§ 8-509.9 Liability of City.
§ 8-509.10 Filing of appeal.
§ 8-509.99 Penalty; invalidation of sale or exchange.
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Buyer Notification Law."
In accordance with the Act of November 28, 1973, P.L. 348, as amended, 21 P.S. §§ 611 to 615, the Council of the City finds that many owners of properties in the City are using such properties in violation of City codes and are offering such properties for sale without revealing such illegal use or the existence of City codes violations. Many innocent purchasers of such properties are not aware of the illegal use, the existence of, or the nature of violations until they have entered into agreement of sale or have consummated the purchase.
In order to prevent undue hardships and losses imposed on such purchasers by owners who have failed to reveal the illegal use or condition of the property being conveyed, or who have made misrepresentations in that regard, the City Council finds that it is in the best interests of the citizens of Harrisburg to declare that all sellers of condemned property, as defined herein, shall be required to advise the purchaser of the legal use and condition of such property and to deliver to the purchaser, prior to the execution of the agreement of sale for such property, a buyer notification report as set forth in § 8-509.5, obtained from the Codes Administrator or designee.
Any person, partnership, association, corporation, or fiduciary who, for monetary consideration, aids in the sale or exchange of property as defined herein. Whenever used in any clause prescribing or imposing a penalty, the term "agent," as applied to partnerships and associations, shall mean the partners or members thereof and, as applied to corporations, the officers thereof. Liability shall be limited to failure to notify the owner of the obligations imposed by this chapter.
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, but not be limited to, written leases which contain options to purchase the leased property and agreements which provide that the occupant of the property shall acquire title thereto after the payment of a stipulated number of regular payments or after a stipulated period of time.
Those ordinances codified in Title 8, Part 1, of the City of Harrisburg Codified Ordinances relating to property maintenance (Chapter 8-107), building (Chapter 8-101), electrical (Chapter 8-103), plumbing (Chapter 8-105), mechanical (Chapter 8-109), residential for one- and two-family dwellings (Chapter 8-111), fuel gas (Chapter 8-113), existing building (Chapter 8-115), the regulations incorporated into the City's Codified Ordinances by adoption of the Uniform Construction Code (Chapter 8-117), and the fire prevention ordinances (Title 3, Chapters 3-901, 3-903 and 3-905), any amendments thereto made from time to time, and any rules and regulations promulgated thereunder meant for the protection and facilitation of the public health, safety, and general welfare.
An order issued by the Department pursuant to § 8-107.2 of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Harrisburg, indicating that a property is found to be unsafe, unfit for human occupancy or unlawful.
A condemnation order that has been issued in the name of the current owner of the property and has not been rescinded by the Department due to the correction by the owner of the violations noted and has not been overturned by the appropriate administrative appeal body or Court of Common Pleas.
The Department of Building and Housing Development of the City of Harrisburg.
Any jurisdictional area of a zone, as set forth in the Zoning Code.
All monetary obligations recorded or unrecorded due the City as taxes or for services rendered or delivered to the property.
Those ordinances codified in Title 7 of the City of Harrisburg Codified Ordinances relating to community development and property use and meant for the protection and facilitation of the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare.
Prior to entering into an agreement of sale or exchange of any condemned property, as defined herein, or prior to the transfer of such condemned property when no agreement of sale is utilized, the owner shall obtain from the Codes Administrator or designee the buyer notification report set forth in § 8-509.5, unless such condemned property is being sold at a foreclosure sale or pursuant to the Real Estate Tax Act of 1947, P.L. 1368, as amended, or other judicial sale pursuant to federal or state statutes.
Editor's Note: See 72 P.S. § 5860.101 et seq.
Upon application of the owner and the payment to the City of a fee of $125 for properties containing between one and three dwelling units, the Codes Administrator or designee shall then review the pertinent City records and inspect the premises in question; provided, however, that the Codes Administrator or designee shall not conduct an inspection unless requested in writing by the owner at the time of application or unless the Codes Administrator or designee determines that an inspection is necessary. For properties containing more than three dwellings, the fee shall be $125, plus $25 for each dwelling unit exceeding three.
A copy of the floodplain notification in accordance with Chapter 8-307.
The buyer notification report shall be valid for a period not to exceed two years from date of issue or for one transfer of title to the property, whichever occurs first.
Every owner shall insert in every agreement for the sale or transfer of property a provision showing the zoning district classification of such property, stating whether the present use of the property is in compliance with or in violation of the City Zoning Code, and a provision disclosing whether there exists any uncorrected notice of a violation of City codes.
If any owner fails to include any provision required by this chapter in an agreement for the sale or transfer 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 Code, and that there were no uncorrected violations of City codes.
Every agent shall, by written document from the owner, be advised of the obligation to comply with the provisions of this chapter.
Notwithstanding any other law or ordinance, the provisions of this chapter may not be waived or disclaimed by any oral or written agreement executed by any owner or purchaser.
In the City of Harrisburg, no agent or, if none, no owner shall sell any condemned property, as defined herein, or any interest therein, unless the agent or owner first delivers to the purchaser or transferee, prior to the execution of any agreement of sale, or prior to the transfer of title in the event that no agreement of sale is utilized, the buyer notification report described in § 8-509.5B, unless the property transfer is exempt from this requirement pursuant to § 8-509.4. An agent's or owner's failure to deliver said buyer notification report in the appropriate time frame shall be deemed a breach of that agent's or owner's duty of disclosure to the purchaser or transferee and a violation of this chapter.
In the City of Harrisburg, no agent or, if none, no owner shall sell any property that does meet the definition of "condemned property," as defined herein, or any interest therein, unless the agent or owner first delivers to the purchaser or transferee, prior to the execution of any agreement of sale, or prior to the transfer of title in the event that no agreement of sale is utilized, the zoning certification described in § 8-509.5D. An agent's or owner's failure to deliver said zoning certification in the appropriate time frame shall be deemed a breech of that owner's or agent's duty of disclosure to the purchaser or transferee and a violation of this chapter.
The purchaser or transferee shall execute a receipt for the buyer notification report, as furnished by the City, and such receipt shall be delivered by the agent or owner to the Codes Administrator as evidence of compliance with the provisions of this chapter and this chapter only. The buyer notification report described in this chapter in no way implies compliance with any other chapter of these Codified Ordinances.
No agent shall aid any owner in the sale or transfer of any condemned property, as defined herein, unless the agent first complies with the notification requirements of this chapter.
The buyer notification report of the Codes Administrator or designee shall be compiled from the records of the City and from an inspection of the property, if applicable. The issuance of the buyer notification report is not in any way a representation or guarantee that the property is without violations or in compliance with the law. Neither the enactment of this chapter nor the preparation and delivery of any buyer notification report required hereunder shall impose any liability upon the City for any errors or omissions contained in such buyer notification report, nor shall the City bear any liability not otherwise imposed by law.
The Zoning Hearing Board, if the findings set forth in the certificate relate to matters concerning the classification and the use of property under the Zoning Code.
No sale, exchange or transfer of property shall be invalidated solely because of failure of any person to comply with any provisions of this chapter, unless such failure is an act or omission which would be a valid ground for rescission of such sale or exchange in the absence of this chapter.

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