1Amending the act of June 24, 1931 (P.L.1206, No.331), entitled 
2"An act concerning townships of the first class; amending, 
3revising, consolidating, and changing the law relating 
4thereto," further providing for powers of the board of
5township commissioners as to building and housing regulations
6and inspectors; and providing for Uniform Construction Code,
7property maintenance code and reserved powers.

8The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
9hereby enacts as follows:

10Section 1. Clauses XIX and XX of section 1502 of the act of
11June 24, 1931 (P.L.1206, No.331), known as The First Class
12Township Code, reenacted and amended May 27, 1949 (P.L.1955,
13No.569) and amended July 31, 1963 (P.L.384, No.204) and July 10,
141975 (P.L.48, No.28), are amended to read:

15Section 1502. The corporate power of a township of the first
16class shall be vested in the board of township commissioners.
17The board shall have power--

18* * *

19XIX. Building and Housing Sanitation Regulations. In
20addition to other remedies provided by law, and in order to

1promote the public health, safety, morals, and the general
2welfare, to enact and enforce suitable ordinances to govern and
3regulate the construction, alteration, repairs, occupation,
4maintenance, sanitation, lighting, ventilation, water supply,
5toilet facilities, drainage, use, and inspection of all
6buildings and housing, or parts of buildings and housing,
7constructed, erected, altered, designed or used, in whole or in
8part, for human habitation or occupancy, and of the sanitation
9and inspection of land appurtenant thereto in accordance with 
10Article XXXI-A. [In case any building, housing or structure is
11constructed, reconstructed, altered, repaired, converted, or
12maintained, or any building, housing or land is used, in
13violation of any ordinance enacted under authority conferred
14hereby, the board of township commissioners, in addition to
15penalties provided by ordinances enacted hereunder, may
16institute appropriate actions or proceedings, at law or in
17equity, to prevent and restrain such unlawful construction,
18reconstruction, alteration, repairs, conversion, maintenance or
19use, and to restrain, correct, or abate such violation and to
20prevent the occupancy of said building, housing or structure.
21The ordinances enacted pursuant to this clause shall not be
22inconsistent with the provisions of any statute governing the
23same matter, but all regulations prescribed by such ordinances,
24which are additional or supplementary to the statute law and not
25inconsistent therewith, or enacted for the purpose of carrying
26into effect the provisions of the statute law, shall be valid
27and binding. Such ordinances may adopt any standard building
28code and any standard housing code, published and printed in
29book form, covering any or all of the above items, without
30incorporating such building code and such housing code in the

1ordinance; or any township may enact such building code and such
2housing code as its ordinance authorized under the provisions of
3this clause. In either event, such building code and such
4housing code shall not be published or advertised in full, as
5provided by this section in the case of the adoption of
6ordinances: Provided, That notice of the adoption of such
7standard building code and such housing code as the building
8ordinance and the housing ordinance of the township, together
9with a brief summary thereof setting forth the principal
10provisions of said ordinance in such reasonable detail as will
11give adequate notice of its contents pursuant to a uniform form
12which shall be prepared or approved by the Department of Labor
13and Industry, and a reference to the place or places, within the
14township, where copies of the building code and the housing code
15adopted are deposited and may be examined, shall be published in
16the manner provided by this section for the publication of
17ordinances. Not less than three such copies shall be made
18available to public inspection and use, during business hours,
19for a period of not less than three months after the adoption of
20such building code and such housing code.

21XX. Building and Housing Inspectors. To provide for the
22inspection of the construction and repair of buildings and
23housing, including the appointment of one or more building
24inspectors and housing inspectors; to prescribe limits wherein
25none but buildings and housing of noncombustible material and
26fireproof roofs shall be erected or substantially reconstructed
27or removed thereinto; to provide penalties for the violation of
28such regulations. Any building and housing erected,
29reconstructed, or removed, contrary to the provisions of any
30ordinance passed for any of the purposes herein specified, is

1declared to be a public nuisance and abatable as such.]

2* * *

3Section 2. The act is amended by adding an article to read:

4ARTICLE XXXI-A

5UNIFORM CONSTRUCTION CODE, PROPERTY MAINTENANCE CODE AND
6RESERVED POWERS

7Section 3101-A. Definitions.

8The following words and phrases when used in this article
9shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
10context clearly indicates otherwise:

11"Pennsylvania Construction Code Act." The act of November
1210, 1999 (P.L.491, No.45), known as the Pennsylvania
13Construction Code Act.

14"Uniform Construction Code." The Uniform Construction Code
15adopted under section 301 of the act of November 10, 1999
16(P.L.491, No.45), known as the Pennsylvania Construction Code
17Act.

18Section 3102-A. Primacy of Uniform Construction Code.

19(a) General rule.--The Pennsylvania Construction Code Act
20and the Uniform Construction Code shall apply to the
21construction, alteration, repair and occupancy of all buildings
22and structures within a township.

23(b) Primacy.--This section and any ordinance, rule or
24regulation adopted pursuant to this section shall not supersede
25or abrogate the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act or the
26Uniform Construction Code and shall be construed and read in
27pari materia with them.

28Section 3103-A. Changes in Uniform Construction Code.

29The township commissioners may propose and enact an ordinance 
30to equal or exceed the minimum requirements of the Uniform
 

1Construction Code in accordance with and subject to the 
2requirements of section 503 of the Pennsylvania Construction 
3Code Act. Any ordinance exceeding the provisions of the Uniform 
4Construction Code shall be required to meet the standards 
5provided in section 503(j)(2) of the Pennsylvania Construction 
6Code Act.

7Section 3104-A. Public nuisance.

8Any building, housing or property, or part of any building,
9housing or property erected, altered, extended, reconstructed,
10removed or maintained, contrary to any of the provisions of any
11ordinance passed for any of the purposes specified in this
12article may be declared, by a court of law, a public nuisance,
13and may be abatable as such. However, a violation of the Uniform
14Construction Code or any ordinance that equals or exceeds the
15Uniform Construction Code shall be subject to the provisions of
16the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act and the regulations
17adopted thereunder by the Department of Labor and Industry
18relating to enforcement for noncompliance.

19Section 3105-A. Property maintenance code.

20(a) Property maintenance code.--Notwithstanding the primacy 
21of the Uniform Construction Code, the township commissioners may 
22enact a property maintenance ordinance, and they may incorporate 
23any standard or nationally recognized property maintenance code, 
24or any variations or changes or parts of the code, published and 
25printed in book form, without incorporating the text of the code 
26in the ordinance, or the commissioners may enact any standard or 
27nationally recognized property maintenance code or any changes 
28or variations or parts, as the ordinance. In either event, the 
29ordinance, or any changes or variations or parts, need not be 
30advertised after passage, but notice of its consideration, in
 

1reasonable detail, shall be published as will give adequate 
2notice of its contents and a reference to the place or places 
3within the township where copies of the proposed property 
4maintenance code may be examined or obtained. The notice 
5required by this subsection shall be published once in one 
6newspaper of general circulation at least one week and not more 
7than three weeks prior to the presentation of the proposed 
8property maintenance code to the commissioners. No fewer than 
9three copies of the ordinance adopted by the commissioners shall 
10be made available for public inspection and use during business 
11hours or be made available to any interested party at the cost 
12of the copies, or may be furnished or lent without charge. A 
13property maintenance code adopted by reference need not be 
14recorded in or attached to the ordinance book, but shall be 
15deemed to have been legally recorded if the ordinance by which 
16the code was adopted by reference shall have been recorded, with 
17an accompanying notation stating where the full text of the code 
18shall have been filed. The ordinance may provide for reasonable 
19property fines and penalties for violations of the ordinance. 
20The procedure under this section relating to the adoption of the 
21ordinance may likewise be utilized in amending, supplementing or 
22repealing any of the provisions of the ordinance.

23(b) Property maintenance inspectors.--The township
24commissioners may appoint property maintenance inspectors who
25shall have the right to enter upon and inspect any premises,
26subject to constitutional standards, at all reasonable hours and
27in a reasonable manner for the administration and enforcement of
28the township's property maintenance code or ordinance
29incorporating a standard or nationally recognized property
30maintenance code. Any fees payable to property maintenance

1inspectors under the ordinance shall be promptly paid by them to
2the township treasurer for the use of the township.

3(c) Legal actions.--In addition to the penalties provided by
4the property maintenance ordinance, the township may institute
5appropriate actions or proceedings at law or in equity to
6prevent or restrain property maintenance violations.

7(d) Construction.--The powers of a township as provided in
8this section shall be in addition to, but not limited to, the
9powers provided in the act of November 26, 2008 (P.L.1672,
10No.135), known as the Abandoned and Blighted Property
11Conservatorship Act, 53 Pa.C.S. Ch. 61 (relating to neighborhood
12blight reclamation and revitalization) and 68 Pa.C.S. Ch. 21
13(relating to land banks).

14Section 3106-A. Reserved powers.

15If, as a result of legislative action or final order of court
16for which the time for appeal has expired and no appeal has been
17taken or from which there is no pending appeal, the Uniform
18Construction Code or any replacement code is no longer
19applicable in townships, the township commissioners may:

20(1) Enact and enforce ordinances to govern and regulate 
21the construction, reconstruction, alteration, extension, 
22repair, conversion, maintenance, occupation, sanitation, 
23ventilation, heating, egress, lighting, electrical wiring, 
24water supply, toilet facilities, drainage, plumbing, fire 
25prevention, fireproofing, including prescribing limitations 
26wherein only buildings of noncombustible material and 
27fireproofed roofs are used in construction, erection or 
28substantial reconstruction, use and inspection of all 
29buildings and housing or parts of buildings and housing and 
30the roofs, walls and foundations of buildings and housing,
 

1and all facilities and services in or about the buildings or 
2housing constructed, erected, altered, designed or used, in 
3whole or in part, for any use or occupancy, and the 
4sanitation and inspection of land appurtenant to the 
5buildings or housing. The codes may be combined or separately 
6enacted or combined with the property maintenance code. The 
7township commissioners may adopt, amend or incorporate by 
8reference any standard or nationally recognized code or any 
9variations or changes or parts of the code as its ordinance 
10in the manner provided in section 3105-A. The ordinance may 
11provide for reasonable fines and penalties for violations of 
12the ordinance.

13(2) Require that before any work of construction,
14reconstruction, alteration, extension, repair or conversion
15of any building has begun, approval of the plans and
16specifications be secured.

17(3) The township commissioners may appoint building
18inspectors, housing inspectors, property maintenance
19inspectors, fire prevention inspectors, electrical inspectors
20and plumbing inspectors, and fix their compensation. The
21inspectors shall have the right to enter upon, subject to
22constitutional standards, and inspect any premises at all
23reasonable hours and in a reasonable manner, for the
24administration and enforcement of the township's adopted
25codes or ordinances incorporating standard or nationally
26recognized codes. Any fees payable to inspectors under the
27ordinances shall be paid by them to the township treasurer
28for the use of the township as promptly as may be.

29(4) In addition to the penalties provided by ordinances, 
30the township may institute appropriate actions or proceedings
 

1at law or in equity to prevent or restrain the unlawful 
2construction, reconstruction, alteration, extension, repair, 
3conversion, maintenance, use or occupation of property 
4located within the township, to restrain, correct or abate 
5the violation and to prevent the use or occupancy of the 
6building, housing or structure.

7Section 3. Nothing in this act shall be construed to repeal
8or modify any township ordinance in effect on the effective date
9of this act or affect any proceeding or enforcement of any
10township ordinance instituted prior to the effective date of
11this act.

12Section 4. This act shall take effect in 60 days.