Does Clean and Green Transfer to New Owners in PA?

Yes, Clean and Green does transfer to new owners in PA. Pennsylvania’s Act 319 preferential tax assessment attaches to the land itself, not to the owner, so when enrolled property is sold or otherwise conveyed the lower assessment carries forward automatically at the same rate. The new owner does not reapply. The seller must give the county assessor advance notice of the sale, the buyer should confirm the enrollment transferred cleanly, and the qualifying use has to continue or rollback taxes come due.¹

How the Assessment Stays With the Land

Clean and Green enrollment functions as a covenant on the property. When enrolled land that still meets Act 319’s requirements changes hands, the preferential assessment carries forward at the rate previously established. The county board for assessment appeals amends the original application to reflect the new deed, and the new owner steps into the same enrollment the previous owner held.¹

No rollback taxes are triggered by a straightforward transfer of the entire enrolled parcel, provided the qualifying use continues.² For a buyer that means an immediate lower tax bill, without waiting until the next tax year and without going through the application process. It also means inheriting the obligation to keep the land in its qualifying use.

What the Seller and Buyer Each Need to Do

The seller, as the landowner of record, is required to notify the county assessor at least 30 days before any change in ownership.¹ In practice, that means submitting a notification of conveyance form to the county assessor’s office before closing. Counties use their own versions of the form, but they ask for the same basic information: the enrolled parcel details, the new owner’s name, and a statement about the intended continued use.³

The new owner should contact the county assessment office after closing to confirm the enrollment was amended to reflect the new deed. Recording fees for the deed itself are the landowner’s responsibility, but the assessor cannot charge additional fees for amending the Clean and Green application.¹ Every county handles the paperwork a little differently, so a call to the assessor before closing can clarify which forms the county expects.

Confirm the Land Still Qualifies Before Closing

Before buying enrolled land, verify that it actually meets Clean and Green’s requirements as of the sale date. If the acreage or use has drifted away from what was originally enrolled, the transfer can create problems that follow the buyer. A qualifying parcel must generally be at least 10 acres and used for one of three purposes:

Agricultural use: land actively producing crops, livestock, or other agricultural commodities. Properties under 10 acres can qualify if they generate at least $2,000 in gross annual agricultural income.
Agricultural reserve: land available to the public for outdoor recreation or enjoyment of open space, even if not actively farmed.
Forest reserve: land at least 10 acres in size that is stocked with trees capable of producing timber or other wood products.

Confirm the enrolled acreage, the designated use category, and any prior split-offs with the county assessor before closing.² Ask the seller or the assessment office for a copy of the original Clean and Green application. That document shows exactly what is enrolled and whether any pieces of the parcel have already been separated or split off.

Rollback Taxes: The Real Risk in a Transfer

Rollback taxes are the financial penalty for breaking the Clean and Green covenant. When enrolled land is changed to a non-qualifying use or the owner voluntarily withdraws, the county recalculates taxes for the previous seven years as if the land had never been enrolled. The rollback tax is the difference between what was actually paid under the preferential assessment and what would have been owed at fair market value, plus 6% simple interest per year.²⁴

Interest is simple rather than compound, which matters when running the numbers. On a property where the annual tax difference runs a few thousand dollars, seven years of rollback plus 6% simple interest can still be a substantial bill. The person who triggers the breach is the one liable. If a buyer purchases enrolled land and then converts it to a commercial parking lot, the buyer owes the taxes, not the seller.

Two practical warnings follow from this. First, if the seller already changed part of the land’s use or split off a parcel before the sale, rollback liability may already be accruing. The title search should account for any potential Clean and Green liability. Second, if your plans for the property include building a large commercial facility or subdividing into residential lots, understand that rollback taxes will be the cost of doing so.

When Rollback Taxes Do Not Apply

Several situations are exempt from rollback penalties, and knowing them can prevent unnecessary panic:

Transfer upon death: when enrolled land passes to beneficiaries who qualify as Class A for Pennsylvania inheritance tax purposes, no rollback is owed even if the division results in tracts smaller than 10 acres. A later change in use by one beneficiary does not trigger rollback on the other beneficiaries’ portions.
Condemnation: if the government takes enrolled land through eminent domain, there is no rollback penalty.
Cemetery use: land conveyed to a nonprofit corporation for use as a cemetery avoids rollback, as long as at least 10 enrolled acres remain after the transfer.
Recreational trails: a strip of enrolled land no wider than 20 feet, conveyed to a nonprofit for a nonmotorized public trail, does not trigger rollback, provided at least 10 acres remain enrolled.
Oil and gas exploration: activities related to oil, gas, or coal bed methane extraction conducted by a third party holding rights transferred before the land was enrolled, or before December 26, 2010, do not trigger rollback against the landowner.

The inheritance exemption matters most for families passing farmland to the next generation, because Clean and Green enrollment can survive a generational transfer even when the land is divided among heirs.

Buying Only Part of an Enrolled Parcel

Selling the entire enrolled parcel is straightforward. Selling a piece of it is where transfers get complicated. Act 319 draws a sharp line between two kinds of division, and each carries different tax consequences.

Separations

A separation divides enrolled land into two or more tracts that all continue in a qualifying use. Each resulting tract generally must be at least 10 acres and independently meet Clean and Green requirements. When done correctly, no rollback taxes are due on any of the tracts.² If one of those separated tracts later changes to a non-qualifying use within seven years, the owner of that tract can be liable for rollback taxes calculated on the entire original parcel, not just the separated piece.

Split-Offs

A split-off divides enrolled land for the purpose of building a residence, and the rules are stricter:

No more than two acres can be split off per year, unless the municipality requires a minimum lot size of up to three acres for residential construction.
Cumulative split-offs can never exceed 10 acres or 10% of the total originally enrolled acreage, whichever is less.
The split-off tract must be used for a qualifying purpose or for a residential dwelling occupied by the person receiving the land.

When a split-off meets these conditions, rollback taxes are owed only on the land that was split off, not on the remainder of the enrolled parcel. The remaining land stays enrolled as long as it still meets the 10-acre minimum and qualifying-use requirements.²

Practical Steps Before You Close

A short checklist can prevent expensive surprises when buying enrolled land:

Ask the seller or county assessment office for the original Clean and Green application, which shows the enrolled acreage, use category, and any prior split-offs.
Make sure the seller submits the required notification of conveyance to the county assessor at least 30 days before closing.
Have the title search check for any pending Clean and Green liability tied to recent use changes or split-offs.
Confirm with the county assessor after closing that the application has been amended to your name.
Budget for the modest recording fees that apply when the deed and application are updated.

Clean and Green transfers to the new owner by operation of law, but a buyer who skips these steps can end up holding rollback liability for decisions the previous owner made. A short call to the county assessment office before closing is the cheapest insurance available.

1
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Statutes Title 72 PS Taxation and Fiscal Affairs – 5490.4
2
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Clean and Green
3
Lehigh County. Notification of Conveyance of Property Enrolled in Clean and Green
4
Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. 7 Pa Code 137b.89 – Calculation of Roll-back Taxes