House passes Rabb, Bonner bill protecting vulnerable homeowners

Legislation preventing forced sale of inherited property heads to Senate

Rep. Christopher M. Rabb June 23, 2025 | 4:53 PM

HARRISBURG, June 23 – State Rep. Chris Rabb announced today his bipartisan legislation with Rep. Tim Bonner, R-Mercer/Butler, protecting property heirs from forced sale of inherited property passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives by a vote of 181-22.

“This legislation confronts a failure in our legal system to safeguard what is often a family’s most valuable asset—their home,” said Rabb, D-Phila. “Basic protections from forced partition sales are crucial to preventing the loss of generational wealth for heirs and families across Pennsylvania. I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for supporting this bill and hope we see it on the governor’s desk soon.”

Rabb said that under current state law, Pennsylvanians who die without a will have their assets divided by a judge, and H.B. 1498, also known as the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (UPHPA), is designed to address that.

Since 2011, 23 states and Washington D.C. have passed the UPHPA—an estimated two-thirds of the nation’s population live in a state that has adopted the UPHPA. The New Jersey Legislature recently passed this same legislation unanimously. A version of the UPHPA bill passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2024 but was not taken up by the Senate.

House Bill 1498 now heads to the state Senate for consideration.

State Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Washington/Greene/Beaver, has proposed a companion bill in the Senate.

An informational video featuring Rabb and Bartolotta may be viewed here.