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Sheriff sales failing to round up promised bonanza of property tax deadbeats
April
13

In 2010, Mayor Nutter said Philadelphia would correct the decades-long problem fueled by thousands of scofflaws by auctioning off 600 delinquent properties a month. The city is far from reaching that goal.

 

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Mapping tax delinquent properties in Philadelphia

This interactive map and searchable database reflects the city's delinquency records as of April 30, 2011. 

 

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How Philadelphia is failing to proceed on taxes owed

Despite an amendment to the state property tax law requiring the city to promptly deal with its enormous pool of tax delinquent properties, a PlanPhilly and Inquirer analysis found that the city had sued fewer than 18 percent of all past due parcel owners in Municipal Court.

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Broken assessment system complicates sales of delinquent property

That means many properties — mostly in low-income neighborhoods — are over-assessed while other property owners pay less than they would under a fair system.

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Many delinquent properties have real market value

Most are worth more on the open market than their owners owe in unpaid tax debt, according to an analysis of the property values of delinquent accounts.

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Special report: How tax delinquent properties thwart development

In well-off communities, they can stand out as blighted and unsafe. In declining neighborhoods, they add fuel to urban abandonment and decay. And in recovering areas, the city’s failure to promptly sell them off acts as a significant drag on redevelopment.

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Flawed delinquency records abound

Case in point: After 13 years of negotiations, Neighborhood Restorations is still trying to rectify an unfair debt problem that was created by poor performance of city agencies.

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Special report: The delinquency crisis

Failure to pay property taxes is epidemic in Philadelphia, costing the city hundreds of millions of dollars. A PlanPhilly and Inquirer analysis of city data shows that nearly 111,000 properties, or about 19 percent of all parcels in Philadelphia, are delinquent. Today we explore the breadth, causes and impacts of the delinquency epidemic. The coverage continues Monday with potential solutions.

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This report is the result of a collaborative effort between the Philadelphia Inquirer and PlanPhilly. The project was made possible by a competitive award funded by the William Penn Foundation and awarded by J-Lab, a division of the School of Communication at American University. All records of tax delinquencies and sheriff sales were obtained from the City of Philadelphia through right to know requests. The aggregate property tax figures cited in this report reflect outstanding debts to the city as of April 30, 2011.

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