Reading, PA Property Maintenance: Property Blight (2026)

Reading's blight authority traces to the Pennsylvania Urban Redevelopment Law, 35 P.S. §1701 et seq., and is implemented locally through Chapter 23, Part 9 of the Codified Ordinances. The Community Development Department screens properties against the criteria at §23-903A, which include: (1) a vacant or unimproved lot or parcel in a predominantly developed neighborhood that has become a place for the accumulation of trash and debris or a haven for rodents and other vermin by reason of neglect or lack of maintenance; (2) a property that is vacant and has not been rehabilitated within one year from receipt of notice for corrective action; (3) a structure that because of physical condition is a public nuisance; (4) a structure that is unfit for human habitation due to lack of maintenance, vandalism, or fire damage; and additional criteria for tax-delinquent and condemned properties. At least 30 days before the scheduled hearing the Department mails written notice to the owner of record at the deed address (and posts the property), and the Blighted Property Review Committee - a five-member committee appointed by City Council - holds a public determination hearing at City Hall. The hearing record consists of the inspector's investigation report, photographs, code-violation history, and any owner testimony or rehabilitation plan offered. If the BPRC certifies the property as blighted, it issues a written Order under §23-904 typically allowing approximately 60 days to correct or remove the cause of blight; failure to comply within the cure window authorizes the Reading Redevelopment Authority to acquire the property by eminent domain under the Urban Redevelopment Law and refers the matter to Solicitor for further enforcement, including municipal-claim filing, demolition (with lien-back of cost), and conservatorship petition under the Pennsylvania Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act, 68 P.S. §1101 et seq.