Property Maintenance in Pennsylvania (2026)
29 rules on the books across Pennsylvania, 11 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Property Blight
Standards for property appearance including peeling paint, broken windows, junk accumulation, and other conditions the city considers blight.
Pennsylvania: statewide
StatewideHeavy RestrictionsPennsylvania's Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act allows neighbors and nonprofits statewide to…
Read full rule →Allentown
Significant RestrictionsAllentown's Blighted Property Review Committee can declare a dangerous, dilapidated or vacant structure "blighted" and…
Read full rule →Bethlehem
Significant RestrictionsBethlehem's Blighted Property Review Committee can certify a vacant property as blighted under Article 149, triggering…
Read full rule →Erie
Significant RestrictionsErie's Building Code Official or Fire Inspector may declare any building, structure or equipment unsafe under Codified…
Read full rule →Penn Hills
Significant RestrictionsThe Municipality of Penn Hills' Vacant and Abandoned Property Ordinance defines blighted property by hazard, neglect…
Read full rule →Philadelphia
Significant RestrictionsCode officials condemn structures found unsafe, unfit for occupancy, or unlawful, and can block owners from collecting…
Read full rule →Pittsburgh
Significant RestrictionsPittsburgh's Property Maintenance Code lets the Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections condemn, placard, and…
Read full rule →Pottstown
Significant RestrictionsPottstown's five-member Blighted Property Review Committee, created under Chapter 1 Part 9 Article E, can certify any…
Read full rule →Reading
Significant RestrictionsReading's property maintenance code defines blighted property to include public nuisances, two-year tax-delinquent…
Read full rule →Scranton
Significant RestrictionsScranton reviews and certifies blighted properties through its Blighted Property Review Committee, created by City Code…
Read full rule →Upper Darby
Significant RestrictionsUpper Darby's Neighborhood Blight Reclamation and Revitalization Ordinance lets the Township sue owners of seriously…
Read full rule →York County
Significant RestrictionsYork County's Blighted Property Review Committee can certify a vacant, derelict property to the Redevelopment Authority…
Read full rule →Vacant Lot Maintenance
Requirements for maintaining vacant or undeveloped land, including mowing, fencing, and preventing dumping and trespassing.
Erie
Significant RestrictionsOwners of any Erie building vacant for more than 180 days must register it with the Office of Code Enforcement and pay…
Read full rule →Allentown
Some RestrictionsAllentown requires vacant structures, premises and unimproved land to be kept clean, safe, secure and sanitary so they…
Read full rule →Philadelphia
Some RestrictionsOwners of vacant lots in Philadelphia must hire a licensed pest control company for a yearly inspection and rat…
Read full rule →Pittsburgh
Some RestrictionsPittsburgh requires every owner or occupant to keep grass and weeds under six inches on their real estate, including…
Read full rule →Reading
Some RestrictionsReading requires vacant land and structures to be kept clean, safe, secure and sanitary so they don't cause blight: the…
Read full rule →Scranton
Some RestrictionsScranton bars dumping or depositing litter on any open or vacant lot, occupied or not, under City Code § 305-5. Owners…
Read full rule →Upper Darby
Some RestrictionsUpper Darby bans dumping litter on any open or vacant private lot, occupied or not, under Section 358-10 of the…
Read full rule →Snow & Sidewalk Clearing
Your responsibility to clear snow and ice from sidewalks next to your property, including deadlines after a snowfall and penalties for not clearing.
Allentown
Some RestrictionsAllentown property owners must clear snow and ice from the sidewalk within 10 hours after snow, sleet or rain stops…
Read full rule →Bethlehem
Some RestrictionsProperty owners, occupants and controllers along any Bethlehem street or sidewalk must clear snow, ice, mud, sand…
Read full rule →Erie
Some RestrictionsErie property occupants must clear snow, ice or sleet from the sidewalk in front of their premises within three hours…
Read full rule →Penn Hills
Some RestrictionsIn the Municipality of Penn Hills, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, property owners and tenants must clear at least 30…
Read full rule →Philadelphia
Some RestrictionsPhiladelphia property owners, agents and tenants have six hours after snow stops falling to clear a 36-inch path on…
Read full rule →Pittsburgh
Some RestrictionsPittsburgh property owners and tenants must clear snow and ice from sidewalks within 24 hours of a snowfall or freezing…
Read full rule →Pottstown
Some RestrictionsPottstown gives property owners and single-unit tenants 12 hours of daylight after snow stops falling or ice forms to…
Read full rule →Reading
Some RestrictionsReading requires sidewalks cleared of snow and ice within 2 hours downtown or 4 hours citywide after snowfall stops…
Read full rule →Scranton
Some RestrictionsScranton property owners, tenants, occupants and property agents must clear snow and ice from their sidewalk within 24…
Read full rule →Upper Darby
Some RestrictionsUpper Darby property owners, tenants and property managers must clear a path at least 36 inches wide on their sidewalk…
Read full rule →