The City Government in Philadelphia Increases Funding for Building Code Enforcement

This past June, the city government in Philadelphia passed its budget for the upcoming fiscal year which begins on July 1, 2023.

Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Passed

Of particular importance to those individuals who and companies which own investment properties in Philadelphia, the newly passed budget includes an additional $1 million to enable the city of Philadelphia’s Department of Licenses and Inspections (“L&I”) to increase its number of inspectors tasked with governmental enforcement of the zoning and building codes as well as an additional $560,000 to allow the City Law Department to hire an additional 8 new attorneys to assist L&I with such governmental enforcement.

Growth in Zoning and Building Code Enforcement

Since the pandemic, we have witnessed first-hand that L&I has been increasingly levying governmental fines on property owners and tenants who allegedly do not properly maintain their properties. Some of these governmental fines equal $2,000 per day. In fact, in 2020, a real estate firm brought a class action lawsuit against the city government in Philadelphia, claiming that it is issuing excessive governmental fines as a revenue generating vehicle.

Challenging Governmental Fines

From our experience, however, many of these governmental fines may be reduced or avoided altogether when challenged through administrative or judicial proceedings.

If you have received a notice from L&I or other city agencies in Philadelphia threatening the imposition of such governmental fines, please feel free to contact Alan Nochumson at either (215) 600-2851 or alan.nochumson@nochumson.com to discuss how to best approach the situation under the circumstances.