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An ordinance of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amending and supplementing the Allegheny County Code of Ordinances through the creation of a new Article XIII, entitled “Tax Exemptions for Longtime Owner-Occupants of Residential Properties.”
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Whereas, Act 53 of 2024 became law on July 11, 2024, with an effective date of September 9, 2024; and
Whereas, Act 53 amended the Commonwealth’s Longtime Owner-Occupant Tax Relief Act (LOTRA) and extended its provisions to Counties of the Second Class; and
Whereas, as noted in Act 53’s declaration of policy and intent (codified at 72 P.S. §4749.2): “[i]n recognition of the severe economic circumstances of certain longtime owner-occupants of residences who are faced with rising living costs and constantly increasing tax burdens in areas where real property values have risen markedly as a consequence of the renovation of other deteriorating residences or the construction of new residences, the General Assembly, pursuant to section 2(b)(v) of Article VIII of the Constitution of Pennsylvania, considers it to be a matter of sound public policy for counties of the first and second class to adopt uniform special real property tax relief provisions in order to allow longtime owner-occupants of residences to remain in peaceful possession of their homes.”; and
Whereas, to meet this goal, LOTRA grants municipalities (now including Counties of the Second Class) “…the power to provide, by ordinance or resolution, for uniform special real property tax provisions granting longtime owner-occupants a deferral or exemption or combination thereof, in the payment of that portion of an increase of real property taxes on a principal residence which is due to an increase in the market value of the principal residence as a consequence of the refurbishing or renovating of other real property or the construction of new real property in long-established areas or areas of deteriorated, vacant or abandoned homes and...
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