Act 135 Petition Resolved for Philadelphia Property Owners

Nochumson P.C. represented property owners in defending an Act 135 conservatorship petition concerning a property located in the Powelton Village part of Philadelphia.

The petition against our clients was filed by a local nonprofit organization seeking appointment as conservator under Pennsylvania's Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act (Act 135), alleging that the property was vacant, unsafe, and had become a blighting influence on the surrounding neighborhood. The petition alleged numerous code violations, claimed the property had been abandoned for years, and sought judicial appointment to take possession of and rehabilitate the property.

Although the petitioner alleged that the property met the statutory criteria for conservatorship, Act 135 also provides property owners with an opportunity to demonstrate both the willingness and ability to remediate conditions that gave rise to the petition. Our defense therefore focused on preserving our clients' ownership interests through a credible remediation plan rather than engaging in protracted and costly litigation.

As part of that strategy, we worked closely with our clients to establish a realistic path toward correcting the alleged blighting conditions. Our clients demonstrated their commitment to rehabilitation by developing a plan to remediate the unsafe conditions identified by the City.

Rather than allowing the litigation to proceed toward a contested conservatorship hearing, we engaged in extensive negotiations with counsel for the petitioner to reach a resolution that protected our clients' ownership rights while ensuring that the property would be rehabilitated. These negotiations addressed remediation timelines, permit compliance and proof-of-completion requirements. By demonstrating our clients' willingness and ability to perform the required work, we were able to shift the matter from an adversarial proceeding toward a cooperative framework focused on neighborhood improvement.

The negotiations ultimately resulted in a comprehensive settlement. Under the agreement, our clients retained control of the property and agreed to complete specified remediation work, maintain the property free from debris, comply with all permitting requirements, and secure closure of the outstanding unsafe violations. In exchange, the petitioner agreed to discontinue the Act 135 action upon satisfaction of the settlement terms rather than pursuing appointment of a conservator.

This matter demonstrates the importance of strategic advocacy in Act 135 proceedings. Through careful legal analysis, proactive remediation efforts, and effective negotiation, we successfully protected our clients from the immediate risk of losing control of their property to a court-appointed conservator. The resolution preserved our clients' ownership interests while creating a structured plan to eliminate the alleged blight, satisfy municipal concerns, and return the property to productive use.

This article was prepared by a licensed Pennsylvania attorney at Nochumson P.C., a Philadelphia-based law firm with extensive experience in all thing's real estate, litigation, land use and zoning, and business counseling.

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