Berwick Area Landlord Ass'n v. Borough of Berwick

48 A.3d 524, 2012 WL 2403473, 2012 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 187
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJune 27, 2012
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 48 A.3d 524 (Berwick Area Landlord Ass'n v. Borough of Berwick) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Berwick Area Landlord Ass'n v. Borough of Berwick, 48 A.3d 524, 2012 WL 2403473, 2012 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 187 (Pa. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION BY Senior Judge COLINS.

This case involves a challenge to the legality of the Landlord Registration Ordinance, No.2007-01 (Ordinance), of the Borough of Berwick, Columbia County (Borough). The Berwick Area Landlord Association and the Pennsylvania Residential Owners Association (collectively, Appellants) filed a declaratory judgment action in the Court of Common Pleas of the 26th Judicial District, Columbia County branch (trial court), seeking to have the entire Ordinance declared invalid. Appellants claimed that (i) the Ordinance is preempted by Pennsylvania statutes, (ii) the Ordinance is ultra vires because the Borough Code does not authorize it, and (iii) the Ordinance violates substantive due process rights under Article I, Section 1, of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

The trial court dismissed several counts upon the Borough’s preliminary objections, and, on March 80, 2011, issued a decision and order granting in part and denying in part Appellants’ motion for summary judgment, thereby resolving the remaining counts. The trial court ruled that (i) the Ordinance is not preempted, (ii) it is authorized by the Borough Code, and (iii) it did not violate substantive due process. The trial court also struck two provisions of the Ordinance that it considered to be ambiguous and to impose obligations on landlords that are inconsistent with existing Pennsylvania law.

On appeal to this Court, Appellants claim that the trial court committed legal error and that the Ordinance must be stricken in its entirety, raising similar arguments made before the trial court. The Borough does not appeal the trial court’s decision to strike two provisions of the Ordinance and, as such, our review of the Ordinance is without the stricken provisions. We have jurisdiction under Rules of Appellate Procedure 341(b)(1) and (b)(2).1

I. Background

The Ordinance regulates residential rental units. It was enacted in April 2007 and became effective on April 21, 2008. In summary, it provides that rental units must be licensed, maintained, and regis[528]*528tered, and are subject to inspection by the Borough. The Ordinance provides specific “Owner’s Duties” and “Occupant Duties,” as discussed below.2 The Ordinance creates enforcement and due process mechanisms for violations of the Ordinance. The Ordinance provides for fines that may be levied against landlords or tenants for violations of specific provisions. And the Ordinance provides for “disciplinary action” against landlords in the form of warnings, non-renewal, suspension, or revocation of the rental license.3

A. General Provisions of the Ordinance

The Ordinance states its purpose as follows:

It is the purpose of this Ordinance and the policy of the Council of the Borough of Berwick, in order to protect and promote the public health, safety and welfare of its citizens, to establish rights and obligations of owners and occupants relating to the rental of certain residential rental units in the Borough of Ber-wick and to encourage owners and occupants to maintain and improve the quality of rental housing within the community. It is also the policy of the Borough that owners, managers and occupants share responsibilities to obey the various codes adopted to protect and promote public health, safety and welfare. As a means to those ends, this Ordinance provides for a system of inspections, issuance and renewal of occupancy licenses and sets penalties for violations. This Ordinance shall be liberally construed and applied to promote its purposes and policies ....

Ordinance § 141.2 (emphasis added). The Borough’s findings to support the Ordinance are:

In recent years, many formerly private homes have been turned into residential rental units. Those rental units have oftentimes been rented to individuals who, because they have no ownership interest in the property, have allowed the properties to deteriorate. In many cases, the owners of the properties live long distances from the Borough of Ber-wick. As a result, property maintenance of many rental units in the Borough of Berwick has been somewhat lax. In addition, problems have occurred because many tenants, because they have no ownership interest in the real estate, have not been concerned about following Codes of the Borough of Berwick, including Codes which govern maintenance and safety of the property. This, in turn, has caused problems for other home owners near the rental units. In addition, there is a greater incidence of violation of various Codes of the Borough of Berwick in residential rental properties where owners rent properties to tenants. Estimates are that over 75% of all code violations in the Borough of Berwick occur in tenant occupied structures.

Ordinance § 141.2.

The Borough’s commentary to this section provides:

Regulating the conduct and activities of tenants within the unit. Simply put, if [529]*529you are made aware that your tenants and their guests have conducted themselves inappropriately, you are expected to correct this. We understand that you are not a babysitter and can’t control their every move, however, if you are formally informed by our Codes Department that your tenants have violated this Ordinance or another Ordinance of the Borough of Berwick, you are expected to take corrective action. Remember, this is your property and you are the one ultimately represented. Later in the review, we will discuss how this process will work.

Review of Ordinance No.2007-01, April 15, 2007 (hereinafter the “Review”), at 1, R.R. at 60a (emphasis added).

B. Owner’s Duties

“Owner’s Duties” are to “keep and maintain all rental units in compliance with all applicable State laws and regulations and local ordinances.” In addition:

As provided for in this Ordinance, every owner shall also be responsible for regulating the conduct and activities of the occupants of every rental unit which he, she or it owns in the Borough of Ber-wick, which conduct or activity takes place at such rental unit or its premises. In order to achieve those ends, every owner of a rental unit shall regulate the conduct and activity of the occupants thereof, both contractually and through enforcement, as more fully set forth below.

Ordinance § 141.4.1.

This section also limits and explains an Owner’s duties under the Ordinance as follows:

This Section shall not be construed as diminishing or relieving, in any way, the responsibility of occupants or their guests for their conduct or activity, nor shall it be construed as an assignment, transfer or projection over or onto any owner of any responsibility or liability which occupants or their guest may have as a result of their conduct or activity under any private cause of action, civil or criminal enforcement proceeding, or criminal law; nor shall this Section be construed so as to require an owner to indemnify or defend occupants or their guests when any such action or proceeding is brought against the occupant based upon the occupant’s conduct or activity. Nothing herein is intended to impose any additional civil/criminal liability upon owners other than that which is imposed by existing law.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
48 A.3d 524, 2012 WL 2403473, 2012 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 187, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/berwick-area-landlord-assn-v-borough-of-berwick-pacommwct-2012.