Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Pennsylvania

back tax's and a landlord/lessor that refuses to handle the back tax's

here is the issue as best i can describe it.i have a landlord that has never paid any tax on the house i have a lease to buy arrangement and reside in.the mortgage company has taken on some of this as an escrow account,but there is still about 3k in local and state tax's out there presently.i have tried repeatedly to get the landlord to pay the back tax's from before i took residency to no prevail.i have been paying my rent directly to the mortgage company along with the escrow for some of the taxs.my lease to own agreement states that the lessor/landlord is responsible for all past tax's before november 2001,and i am responsible for all tax's after that date.to date i have been paying the escrow back tax's that the mortgage company assumed,these funds are going for back issues on her end, not my tax's owed.2 days ago i checked the allegheny county property tax site and found that she has outstanding tax's on this house from 1999-present.The lessor will not pay the back taxs even though it is stipulated in the lease to own agreement.i would like to know what should i do.if i do not the back taxs on this place i will be on the street,as she will not pay them.i would appreciate any comments/links for local free legal service.thanx


Asked on 6/17/04, 7:48 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Charles A. Pascal, Jr. Law Office of Charles A. Pascal, Jr.

Re: back tax's and a landlord/lessor that refuses to handle the back tax's

You don't say what you want to do. Do you want to get out of the contract? Do you want to force the owner to pay the taxes as agreed?

Depending on how the contract is worded, you could accomplish deducting the amount of the back taxes from the sales price, or get a judgment against the owner. (Can it be collected? i.e., does the owner own anything else that can be liened?)

In terms of "free" legal help, you get what you pay for. You should hire an attorney to look at all of the documents involved here and give you appropriate advice.

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Answered on 6/18/04, 7:58 am


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