Act 93 of 2013 was signed into law and became effective January 26, 2014. Act 93 of 2013 allows for a taxing authority to reduce a delinquent tax claim to judgment and then file the claim for unpaid property taxes in the judgment index with any court of common pleas. Thus, the taxing authority can enforce a delinquent property tax claim against an actual person, not just filed as a lien against a property. This is a more powerful tool for a taxing authority because many property owners are content to have a lien placed against their home; however, having an actual judgment against their name which is then tied to any property they own under their name has additional ramifications.
Act 93 will likely have an impact upon the manner in which title companies operate. If a delinquent tax claim is reduced to judgment against a person, that judgment now attaches to all property owned by that person. Thus, when doing title searches, the title companies should perform a judgment search against all parties to the transaction. If there is a judgment for taxes on property owned by the involved party, even if that property is not part of the transaction, that judgment must still be satisfied in order to issue clear title. Research shows that certain title companies are already issuing advisories to insure that those procedures are followed in order to issue clear title. Act 93 of 2013 does not appear to give any additional authority to a municipality with respect to liens filed due to delinquent accounts for municipal services. Act 93 focuses on property taxes and does not provide for a similar mechanism for municipal services liens.
