Land Bank looks to take abandoned homes after three years of delinquent tax payments.

After informally working together to try to move tax-delinquent properties back onto the tax rolls, the city has put together an agreement with the land bank, the county and school district.

Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak said the agreement will secure the full participation of the school district and county in clearing old tax liens on properties owned by, or intended for, the Pittsburgh Land Bank.

The agreement allows the land bank to acquire property through sheriff’s sales, which it can trigger after private property is tax delinquent for just three years. These sales are specific to the land bank—other entities cannot bid at them.

Typically, tax-delinquent private properties in Pittsburgh linger until someone requests a treasurer’s sale. The cumbersome, years-long process has led to thousands of abandoned, blighted properties across the city.

Land Bank Director Sally Stadelman said the expedited process will allow the land bank to “relieve the residents that live around that property, and we can ensure that it will take less funding to either make it an affordable home or to sell it to a new owner.”

State law allows land banks to essentially erase liens, making it easier to sell otherwise undesirable properties. They are also able to more quickly clear titles. Stadelman said they’ve been able to clear 90 properties through the existing relationship with the taxing bodies.

Council Member Deb Gross of Highland Park said she was worried about the trust the city was placing in the land bank to not remove tax-delinquent residents from their homes. “Our eyes are going to be on you,” she said. “This is your responsibility that we’re giving you.”

Stadelman said the land bank would confirm that properties had also been abandoned during the tax-delinquent years ahead of requesting a property be auctioned at sheriff’s sale.

Under the new agreement, the land bank will also receive 50% of taxes generated on properties it sells for five years. After five years, 100% of taxes will go to the taxing bodies.

Stadelman said that the taxes would not be enough to sustain the cost of the land bank. It will reach a funding shortfall in 2026.

Council Member Bobby Wilson of Spring Hill, who chairs the land bank board, said, “This really helps give us clear eyes as to what’s needed to fund the land bank.”