Kennett Township wraps around Kennett Square Borough and holds most of what the world thinks of as Kennett Square: Longwood Gardens, the estate lots, the newer communities off Route 1. Its resale rule could not be more direct, because the township printed it in capital letters: no certificate for a residential resale, unless the house is or will be a rental.
The Kennett Township seller picture
Sellers here own some of southern Chester County’s most valuable housing, from Longwood-adjacent estates to right-sized homes in newer enclaves, and the buyer pool matches: relocating executives, Wilmington commuters, and downsizers who want the address without the acreage. With no municipal step, the entire calendar belongs to preparation, and at these price points buyers inspect like appraisers.
The all-caps answer
The township’s use and occupancy document and its FAQ both say it: no certificate for a residential resale. Certificates attach to new construction and to commercial ownership, tenancy, and use changes. A mile away, Kennett Square Borough inspects every change of ownership, which makes the borough-line question worth answering before anything else.
What still matters
- The sewer account. On public sewer, the title company changes the account and requests the certification for final billing; the township’s FAQ says this usually happens without the seller lifting a finger. Confirm it did.
- Wells and septic. Much of the township runs its own systems, and lender-required evaluations book out during the spring market. Schedule them at listing, not at agreement of sale.
- The permit file. The township enforces the state construction code, updated to the 2021 editions, so additions, pools, and finished spaces need closed permits even though no resale inspector will visit.
The Pennsylvania money
Kennett Township sits at the standard 2% total realty transfer tax, customarily split, so the seller’s half on a $750,000 sale is $7,500. Pennsylvania withholds nothing at settlement, and long tenures on appreciating land make the federal exclusion, $250,000 single, $500,000 married, a genuine planning question, with improvement records raising the basis. The home-sale tax guide and the cost-to-sell guide carry the detail.
Getting started
The Kennett Township order: confirm borough or township on the parcel record, a free valuation priced to the address, the system evaluations scheduled early, and the permit file pulled. The Chester County downsizing guide maps where sellers here land next, and the sequencing guide settles the order of operations.