Section 519.1. Request for Determination of Abandoned Manufactured Home

A. A plaintiff may request a determination that a manufactured home is abandoned by filing the request on a form prescribed by the State Court Administrator with the magisterial district court in the magisterial district where the manufactured home is located.

B. If the determination is not or cannot be made during a hearing for recovery of possession pursuant to this chapter, the magisterial district court shall set a hearing date which shall be not less than seven (7) or more than fifteen (15) days from the date the request is filed.

C. The magisterial district court shall serve a copy of the request and the hearing notice on the defendant in the manner set forth in Rule 506.

D. The magisterial district judge shall promptly give or mail written notice of the determination to the parties in interest. Notice of the determination shall contain advice as to the right of the parties to file a Statement of Objection, the time within which the statement must be filed, and that the statement is to be filed with the court of common pleas.

E. Any party aggrieved by a determination made by a magisterial district judge under this rule may obtain a reconsideration thereof in the court of common pleas by filing a statement of objection to the determination pursuant to Rule 1016 with the prothonotary and with the magisterial district judge in whose office the determination was made.

Official Note

This rule was adopted in 2013 to accommodate the provisions of section 10.1 of the Act of November 24, 1976, P. L. 1176, No. 261, added by section 2 of the Act of October 24, 2012, P. L. 156, § 2, 68 P. S. § 398.10.1, which provides for a magisterial district judge to hold a hearing and make a determination that a manufactured home is abandoned.

The plaintiff must pay any fees or costs at the time of filing the request.

Rules 1016—1020, providing for the filing and consideration of a statement of objection to an order or determination made by a magisterial district judge under Rule 420, also apply to determinations made under this rule. A party seeking reconsideration of a determination of abandonment made concurrent with a judgment for possession must file the statement of objection in addition to the notice of appeal. Rule 1016B requires that the statement of objection must be filed with the prothonotary and the magisterial district judge within ten (10) days after the date of the determination to which objection is made. Both appeals from judgments for possession under residential leases and statements of objections to determinations of abandonment must be made within ten (10) days after the date of entry.

The provisions of this Rule 519.1 adopted December 20, 2013, effective February 20, 2014, 44 Pa.B. 14.