Municipal Code and Ordinance Compliance Act (MCOCA)

MCOCA is a state law governing how municipalities and local authorities issue use and occupancy certificates after conducting point of sale inspections.

Overview:

The Municipal Code and Ordinance Compliance Act (MCOCA) is a Pennsylvania law originally passed in 2000. It was significantly amended in 2016 (Act 133) and 2024 (Act 93). Click here to read the actual legislation.

MCOCA states that a municipality may not withhold a use and occupancy certificate based on code violations found in a point of sale inspection.

Why is Act 133 important for Realtors®?

About half of the townships and boroughs in the Philadelphia suburbs require a municipal code inspection before a home can be sold.

Before MCOCA was updated by Act 133 in 2016, municipal inspectors often refused to issue use and occupancy permits because of issues cited during point of sale inspections. This often led to settlements being delayed or canceled because sellers were unable to afford the repairs or complete them by the settlement date.

Now municipalities must give the homeowner 12 months to resolve any violations found during the inspection, which allows the buyer and seller to negotiate who will perform and pay for the work.

Best practices for Realtors®

Determine whether the municipality requires a use and occupancy inspection. This information can be found quickly in our municipal database. About half of the municipalities in the Philadelphia suburbs require these inspections.
If an inspection is required by the municipality, schedule it at least 30 days before the closing. This gives the inspector ample time to visit the property, and if violations are found, it gives buyers and sellers time to negotiate over the repairs.
Be aware that municipal authorities can have their own U&O requirements, most commonly for sewer lateral inspections. They'll be noted in the Municipal Database.

In 2016, Act 133 strengthened MCOCA.

Act 133 amended MCOCA to require the following:

Once a municipality has conducted a resale code inspection, it must issue a resale certificate (U&O) to allow real estate settlements to move forward. (One exception: if the property has outstanding code citations from prior to the U&O inspection.) There are three types of resale certificates:

a clear U&O permit, which is issued if no code violations are found.
a temporary U&O permit, which is issued if minor code violations are found. A temporary U&O allows new owners to move in immediately and make minor code repairs within 12 months.
a temporary access permit, which is issued if substantial code violations are found that make the property “unfit for habitation.” A temporary access permit allows new owners to access the building to correct the substantial code violations, but does not allow anyone to reside in the property. Once the substantial violations have been corrected within 12 months, the property can be inhabited.

Municipalities can no longer demand escrow money as a condition of issuing use and occupancy permits.
The term “unfit for habitation” is more clearly defined to describe homes that are “dangerous or injurious to the health, safety or physical welfare of an occupant or the occupants of neighboring dwelling.” As a result, code inspectors can no longer deny a U&O permit due to minor issues such as missing house numbers.

In 2024, Act 93 clarified and expanded MCOCA’s reach.

Act 93 amended MCOCA to require the following:

Both municipalities and municipal authorities must abide by MCOCA when implementing use and occupancy permit and inspections programs.
Municipalities have the power to issue a temporary use certificate even for multi-family properties where tenants are currently in place. Some municipalities had previously interpreted MCOCA to only allow municipalities to issue temporary access certificates in some cases of rental property transfers. Act 93 clarified that temporary use certificates may be issued, so long as there aren’t major health and safety violations.

Act 133 information on other websites:

PA Realtors®: MCOCA Legal Resource Library (includes Frequently Asked Questions)