Lower Merion, PA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Under § 92-1 the Board of Commissioners adopted the International Property Maintenance Code 2018, including its boarding-standards appendix, as the Property Maintenance Code of the Township of Lower Merion, and § 92-2 inserts a series of Township-specific amendments into that code. Inserted Section 106.1, Unlawful acts, makes it unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to maintain any property, or to erect, construct, alter, extend, repair, remove, demolish, use, occupy or permit the occupancy of any structure or equipment regulated by the code in violation of its provisions.

When the Code Official finds an apparent or actual violation, inserted Section 106.2 requires a written notice of violation, served by mail, in person, or by posting on the property, describing the unsafe condition and setting time limits for repair. If the notice is not promptly complied with, inserted Section 106.3 lets the Code Official proceed by citation or ask the Township Solicitor to sue in law or equity to restrain the violation, correct unlawful construction, or bar occupancy of a noncompliant structure. Where a structure is vacant, unfit for habitation and not in danger of collapse, inserted Section 108.2 lets the Code Official post a placard of condemnation and order the structure closed and any strewn debris removed, doing the work by public agency or private contract at the owner's expense if the owner fails to act, with the cost becoming a lien on the real estate.

Inserted Section 110.5 goes further: if an owner misses a demolition-order deadline, the Township Solicitor can sue for authority to raze the structure at the owner's expense and record a lien for the Township's costs. Appeals from the Director of Building Regulations go to the Building and Planning Committee within 10 days. Penalties run under inserted Section 106.4: a summary offense punishable by up to $1,000 per violation, with each day a violation continues counted as a separate offense.