Regular Session 2015-2016 House Bill 0773 P.N. 0913

PRINTER'S NO. 913

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No.

773

Session of

2015

INTRODUCED BY MASSER, COHEN, HELM, KORTZ, JAMES, MILLARD,

GODSHALL, HEFFLEY, SCHLOSSBERG, LAWRENCE, FLYNN, BROWNLEE,

HARHAI, GOODMAN, ROSS, STAATS, DEASY AND MURT, MARCH 10, 2015

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON URBAN AFFAIRS, MARCH 10, 2015

AN ACT

Amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the

Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in limitation of time,

providing for ten-year limitation and for mesne profits and

further providing for twenty-one year limitation.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Title 42 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated

Statutes is amended by adding sections to read:

§ 5527.1. Ten-year limitation.

(a) Adverse possession.--Title to real property may be

acquired after no less than 10 years of actual, continuous,

exclusive, visible, notorious, distinct and hostile possession

of the real property.

(b) Contiguous lots.--

(1) Where an additional lot abuts and is contiguous to

real property and has been regularly used as part of and

incident to the real property, a possessor who seeks to

acquire title to real property under this section may also

include the contiguous lot in the action to quiet title under

subsection (c).

(2) In order to acquire title to the contiguous lot, the

possessor must show that:

(i) The area of the contiguous lot as described by

the metes and bounds does not exceed a total area of

one-half acre when combined with the real property.

(ii) The possessor has made actual, continuous,

exclusive, visible, notorious, distinct and hostile

possession of the contiguous lot for a period of not less

than 10 years.

(1) A possessor who seeks to acquire title to real

property under this section must, after meeting the

requirements of subsections (a) and (b), commence a quiet

title action and provide notice as required in this section.

(2) Notice of the action shall include information

relating to the respondent's opportunity to cure as specified

in subsection (d) and shall be provided to the record owners,

their heirs, successors and assigns .

(3) Notice shall be provided in a form approved by rule

of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which form shall include

the metes and bounds description, deed reference, street

address, postal zip code, uniform parcel identifier or tax

parcel number and the notices of the one-year period to cure

as stated in subsection (d).

(d) One-year notice.--

(1) The record owners or their heirs, successors and

assigns shall have one year in which to respond by commencing

an action in ejectment against the possessor, which action

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disputes the claim of adverse possession.

(2) (i) If an action in ejectment is so filed and

served in accordance with the requirements of this

section and the verdict and judgment in the ejectment

action are rendered in favor of the record owners, or

their heirs, successors and assigns, then both the 10-

year statute of limitations set forth in this section and

the 21-year statute of limitations set forth in section

5530 (relating to twenty-one year limitation) are tolled,

and the court shall render a judgment in favor of the

record owners, or their heirs, successors and assigns,

disposing of the quiet title action.

(ii) The period for running the statute of

limitations for any subsequent claim seeking title by

adverse possession under this section or section 5530

shall commence at a date not earlier than the date of the

judgment granting the relief requested in the ejectment

action.

(3) If no action in ejectment is so filed and served

within the one-year period, then judgment may be entered by

the court granting title to the real property by adverse

possession pursuant to this section and the Pennsylvania

Rules of Civil Procedure.

(4) A judgment granting title by adverse possession

pursuant to this section shall not, in and of itself:

(i) discharge, terminate or give rise to a

presumption of satisfaction or release of any interest in

the property that runs with title to the property,

including, but not limited to, easements, profits,

covenants, mortgages, liens, judgments and leases; or

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(ii) otherwise extend or limit the period of time in

which claims relating to the property may be asserted

against a possessor granted title by a judgment of

adverse possession.

(e) Limitations.--

(1) This section shall not apply to real property that

is part of a common interest ownership community established

under 68 Pa.C.S. Pt. II Subpts. B (relating to condominiums),

C (relating to cooperatives) and D (relating to planned

communities).

(2) Relief may be granted under this section only if the

relief is consistent with the existing zoning plan and with

any duly adopted land use ordinance or other provision.

(f) Definition.--As used in this section, "real property"

means real estate not exceeding one-half acre in area that is:

(1) Improved by a single-family dwelling that is and has

been occupied by a possessor seeking title under this section

for the full 10 years.

(2) Identified as a separate lot in a recorded

conveyance, recorded subdivision plan or recorded official

map or plan of a municipality.

§ 5527.2 . Mesne profits.

(a) General rule.--Record owners, their heirs, successors

and assigns shall have the right to seek any mesne profits in an

action in ejectment filed in response to the notice served under

section 5527.1 (relating to ten-year limitation) or waive the

right to such recovery.

(b) Limitation on recovery.--Recovery shall be limited to

the mesne profits applicable to the six-year period ending with

the commencement of the action in ejectment under section

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5527(b) (relating to six year limitation).

§ 5527.3 . Reimbursement.

The defendant in the ejectment action under section 5527.1

(relating to ten-year limitation) shall have the right to

recover such costs for maintenance, improvements, repairs,

renovations, taxes or other such expenses to benefit the real

property as the defendant can prove by a preponderance of the

evidence that were or should have been the responsibility of the

record owners, their heirs, successors and assigns.

Section 2. Section 5530(a)(1) of Title 42 is amended to

read:

§ 5530. Twenty-one year limitation.

(a) General rule.--The following actions and proceedings

must be commenced within 21 years:

(1) [An] Except as provided in section 5527.1 (relating

to ten-year limitation), an action for the possession of real

property.

* * *

Section 3. This act shall take effect in one year.

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