New tool for tackling blighted homes across Allegheny County
When a property falls into disrepair — whether through abandonment, a neglectful landlord, or the owner can't keep up — neighbors start to worry about the impact on their community.
Allegheny County has mostly relied on violation notices and liens to pressure property owners to take care of issues. However, an update to the county's housing standards means the county can hire someone to solve the problem and stick the owner with the bill.
The Allegheny County Health Department says it's mostly focused on property issues that create risky conditions for a community. That includes abandoned pools becoming mosquito breeding grounds or knee-high grass and weeds becoming a playground for rodents.
With this update, once a property owner has ignored multiple violation notices, the county will hire a contractor to solve the problem.
"That fine does not help that neighbor or that tenant," said Tim Murphy with the Allegheny County Health Department. "That fine is not getting the mice out of the kitchen. It's not turning the water back on. They want the problem solved."
"We can do civil penalty enforcement," he added. "We find that most of the time, that does do the trick. But having this process laid out for this additional nuisance abatement, we think that's going to be very helpful."
Ultimately, he says the county doesn't expect they'll have to use the nuisance abatement procedures too often because right now, before they've really started using the process, very few property owners don't solve the problem with some pressure.
Ultimately, the goal isn't fining owners. It's about removing a public health hazard. Previously, KDKA has reported on cases in Allegheny County where landlords don't address issues despite racking up tens of thousands of dollars in fines.
If you live in Allegheny County and there's a property with public health hazards in your neighborhood, the health department wants to hear from you. The number to report a violation is 412-350-4046, and there is an online complaint form.