Pennsylvania Surplus Funds Laws
How mortgage foreclosure surplus, tax sale surplus and unclaimed funds work in Pennsylvania.
Mortgage foreclosure surplus
Pa. R. Civ. P. 3136 is the operative sheriff-sale distribution rule in a judicial mortgage foreclosure; the sheriff files a proposed schedule and distributes according to it after the exception period. A general citation to 42 Pa.C.S. § 8101 et seq. is less precise. Written exceptions to the sheriff’s proposed distribution must be filed within 10 days after the schedule is filed (Rule 3136(d)). A claimant seeking a change in payment priority should act within that period; redemption rules concern title, not surplus distribution.
Tax sale surplus
For counties governed by the Real Estate Tax Sale Law, § 205(d)–(f), 72 P.S. § 5860.205, governs distribution of tax-sale proceeds and the owner’s balance; § 612 addresses a judicial sale. Philadelphia and Allegheny County use distinct municipal-claim/tax-lien procedures. Under RETSL § 205(f), a claim for any balance due the former owner must be presented within three years of the sale; otherwise the balance goes to taxing districts.
Unclaimed funds
Pennsylvania Disposition of Abandoned and Unclaimed Property Act, 72 P.S. §§ 1301.1 et seq.; owner claims are handled by the Pennsylvania Treasury. No fixed general initial owner-claim cutoff appears in the Act for property in Treasury custody. The separate three-year RETSL period is a tax-sale surplus rule before distribution to taxing districts.
Statute text
Links to the statutes referenced in our research. These may be third-party copies of older code editions, so check the current official code before relying on them.
