Probably Would Have Been Cheaper To Install The Smoke Detectors

On July 3, 2013, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania filed an Opinion in support of a Berks County Court of Common Pleas trial court decision finding a landlord in the City of Reading (the “City”) guilty of a summary offense of violating the Fire Protection Systems Section of the City of Reading’s Property Maintenance Code (the “Code”).  See Com. v. Heckman, No.: 3 C.D. 2013 (Pa. Cmwlth. Ct., Jul. 3, 2013).  In doing so, the Commonwealth Court found that the City could discretionally sidestep its own Board of Appeals violation hearing process and file Code citations directly with a local magisterial district justice.

By way of background, on January 11, 2012, a City Code Inspector responded to a complaint from a tenant who complained that his rental building on Walnut Street in the City was missing smoke detectors and had a malfunctioning hard-wired smoke alarm system in violation of Section 704.5 of the Code.  The City inspected the building and issued a notice