A new law signed this month gives Pennsylvania counties a new tool to address blight.

Now, officials can apply a $250 fee to foreclosure sales that must support a demolition and rehabilitation fund used to tackle blighted properties.

“Rundown and abandoned properties are a drain on local property values and erode the tax base,” said prime sponsor Sen. Jim Brewster, D-Monroeville. “This bill will help revitalize neighborhoods while reducing property taxes by shoring up property values.”

The problems are not new; Pennsylvania has had a Statewide Blight Task Force since 2006. The commonwealth has statewide regulations covering building codes — but doesn’t have a uniform property maintenance code. Instead, towns, boroughs and cities decide whether they want to establish a code and what form it will take.

The City of Erie established a blight fee in January, charging owners $300 every six months. Local leaders worry, however, that blight driving down neighboring properties can lead to disinvestment, putting a heavier burden on government funds to clean up dangerous places.

Creating land banks to buy, rehab and resell blighted property has been another way to deal with deteriorating buildings, and the state House has also passed a bill to expand their use, but finding investment to underpin the banks’ work isn’t always forthcoming, nor are buyers.

Brewster’s bill cleared the House 109-93, with all but eight Republicans opposed. Gov. Josh Shapiro signed it July 8.

Carbon County

A major push to combat blight has been ongoing in Carbon County and the region for years.

Carbon officials in March applied to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development for $250,000 to fund the demolition of condemned and abandoned properties.

The county earlier had set up a $15 fee that is charged on deeds recorded, money that can be used by municipalities to help address blighted properties.

That action was taken after municipal representatives approached the county about implementing the fee to help them fight blight.

Among high-profile local blight cases is the property at 204 Center Ave. in Jim Thorpe, which has been an issue since 2013.

The property was brought up by concerned residents speaking at a borough public hearing on block grant money last week.

Another long-running case involved 135-139 N. Third St. in Lehighton. That building, which had become a haven for feral cats, was demolished in the spring.

And in 2023, Nesquehoning leveled a fire-damaged triplex that had been deemed a safety hazard.

— Anthony Hennen contributed to this report.