Jun 24, 2020 2 min read

A local attorney who is also a landlord, his wife and four other landlords are challenging in court the constitutionality of a Canton Township ordinance related to their rental properties.

Charles E. Kurowski and his wife, Sherry; John R. Giecek; Edward Schletsky; and Dennis and Mary Jo Chabassol asked Washington County Court to issue a declaratory judgment in their case against Canton and its building code enforcement officer.

The township enacted the ordinance in March 2019, and it took effect in mid-December.

Its stated aim is to promote public health, safety and welfare of Canton citizens by requiring registration of tenants, management standards and the setting of fees for inspections.

The landlords, however, claim that their state and federal rights are being violated in various ways as the township interferes with their business.

The plaintiffs object to the ordinance requiring new permits each time a vacancy occurs, which they said in a court filing is outside of Pennsylvania’s Landlord-Tenant Act of 1951, and the reporting of names of phone numbers of their renters.

The court document calls the imposition of fees between $30 and $100 for each unit an illegal revenue-raising measure and, if an inspection must take place every time a new tenant moves in, it will create a windfall for the township.

The owners also claim the ordinance does not treat equally those who have owner-occupied dwellings and landlords who live elsewhere.

The landlords are seeking an injunction to keep Canton from enforcing its ordinance as written. No court date appears to have been scheduled.