Kennett Square calls itself the mushroom capital of the world and backs it up with a festival, but the real story for sellers is the line on the map: the borough requires a use and occupancy certificate on every change of ownership, while Kennett Township, surrounding it on all sides, requires none for a residential resale. Same name on the envelope, opposite paperwork at the settlement table.
The Kennett Square seller picture
Buyers are drawn by one of the strongest small downtowns in the region, State Street’s restaurant row, the Unionville-Chadds Ford and Kennett school choices, and proximity to the Route 1 corridor employers. Borough sellers hold rowhomes, twins, and Victorians on the grid; township sellers hold newer construction on larger lots. The paperwork difference between those two groups is the whole reason this guide exists.
The borough: U&O on every ownership change
The borough’s codes and zoning department publishes the resale U&O application under an ordinance requiring a certificate for each change of use, occupancy, or ownership. The practical shape:
- The application: the use and occupancy resale form, filed with the code enforcement department, which conducts U&O inspections at changes of ownership and occupancy.
- The fee: calculated from the property’s units and water meters; confirm the current amount at 610-444-6020 when you file.
- The scope: standard life-safety and property maintenance review, with the borough’s in-house inspector handling scheduling.
The township: no resale U&O at all
Kennett Township’s own notice could not be plainer: no use and occupancy certificate is needed for residential resale of homes in the township, unless the property is a rental or will become one. Township U&Os apply to new construction and commercial changes. For a township seller, the municipal to-do list shrinks to the permit history and the standard transaction paperwork, which is worth confirming early because it changes the entire settlement timeline.
The Pennsylvania money
The realty transfer tax runs 2% total in both municipalities, customarily split, so the seller’s half on a $500,000 sale is $5,000. Pennsylvania has no exit withholding, and the federal exclusion covers up to $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 for couples. The home-sale tax guide and the cost-to-sell guide carry the full arithmetic.
Where downsizers here go
Kennett downsizers are spoiled locally: the area’s continuing care campuses are among the region’s best known, and the 55+ communities along the Route 1 corridor keep many moves inside the school district. The wider options run through West Chester and the Chester County downsizing guide, with the sequencing guide answering the timing question.
Getting started
The Kennett order: municipality confirmed from the tax bill on day one, a free valuation that reads the borough-grid and township-lot markets separately, the borough U&O filed at contract if it applies, and the permit history checked either way. The complete downsizing guide picks up after settlement.