Home ownership is a key part of building and maintaining generational wealth, but deed and title discrepancies and lack of resources are affecting many Pittsburgh residents.
Clinic for Legal Equity and Repair (CLEAR), a new program from Catapult Greater Pittsburgh, wants to address wealth disparities in underserved communities by directly helping individuals and families living in their homes without a legal title to the property in their name — often referred to as “tangled title” issues.
How it Works
The term “tangled title” refers to legal real estate ownership problems where the deed of a home is not in the name of the person living in it. This commonly happens when someone lives in the home of a family member who passed away without transferring a title.
The CLEAR program provides free resources to residents of Allegheny County in a tangled title situation. Rectifying the issue can be cost prohibitive, and tangled titles often lead people to lose their homes and create issues like securing home loans in the future. The program will cover the cost of things like legal representation and home repair contractors.
A big portion of our city's blight, vacancy, and abandonment issues can be attributed to tangled title issues, particularly in low-income, Black communities.
Tammy Thompson, Executive Director at Catapult
Eligibility
Aside from being located in Allegheny County, there are no eligibility requirements, but Catapult is prioritizing people who are 62 and older, caregivers of children 18 and younger, and veterans or their widows/widowers. The organization is also focusing on preserving Black homeownership.
