Philly L&I: We have ‘over 200 imminently dangerous buildings’

The topic of dangerous buildings in Philadelphia took center stage during City Council Budget hearings on Monday. 

Licenses and Inspections Commissioner Dave Perri said the backlog of troubled buildings has always been a major issue in Philadelphia.

“We currently have a backlog of unsafe buildings of about 4,000 and a little over 200 imminently dangerous buildings.”

Perri said they are constantly going after owners of deteriorating buildings.

“If they do not comply, the building owner has passed on and there’s no one to take responsible care of the building, eventually the building will become part of our imminently dangerous unit and we will have to demolish it.”

Currently, Perri said it takes years to move an unsafe building to demolition, which costs about $15,000. He would rather save buildings than tear them down, but there is no money to address a building before it’s falling down.