Pennsylvania State Senator Wayne Fontana has re-introduced a bill to ban private transfer fee covenants in Pennsylvania, as the number of states with active legislation to ban the fees continues to swell.

The bill, SB 353, has been referred to the Urban Affairs and Housing Committee.  The bill prohibits new private transfer fee obligations and puts in place a disclosure requirement on private transfer fee covenants already in place.  No date for a hearing or other action on the bill is currently posted on the committee web page.

An identical bill, also introduced by Fontana, was considered in the Pennsylvania Senate last year and passed the Senate by a unanimous 49-0 vote.  But the Pennsylvania House did not take up the bill before the 2010 session ended, requiring a fresh start this year.

"Senate Bill 353 would impose a ban on all new private transfer fees after the effective date of the legislation,"  Senator Fontana wrote in a February  1st newsletter.  "Any person who records or enters into a private transfer fee agreement in their favor after the effective date would be liable for any damages resulting from that obligation including transfer fees, attorney’s fees and other costs to quiet title. The bill would also require the full disclosure of existing private transfer fees to buyers. Failure to do so would result in the agreement being unenforceable. The bill also sets up a process to free the property of that obligation. Finally, the bill requires that a person entitled to the private transfer fee must register (with the County Recorder of Deeds) their contact information and respond to inquiries promptly; failure to do so could result in an action to quiet title."