A Pennsylvania rental agreement is a legal contract between a landlord overseeing a rental property and a tenant using the property. Pennsylvania landlord-tenant law governs and regulates these agreements.
Pennsylvania Rental Agreement Types
A Pennsylvania roommate agreement is a legal contract between two or more people (“co-tenants”) who share a rental property according to rules they set, including for things like splitting the rent. This agreement binds the co-tenants living together, and doesn’t include the landlord.
Common Residential Rental Agreements in Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS® Residential Lease – This template is intended for use by the Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS®. It is in common use for residential leases throughout Pennsylvania. It is designed for thoroughness, with an extensive list of landlord and tenant responsibilities.
- Landlord Association of Pennsylvania Residential Lease – This template is intended for use by the Landlord Association of Pennsylvania. It provides a short, basic lease agreement with some terms especially convenient to landlords, like an expedited eviction process.
- Madison Title Sample Residential Lease – This template is intended for members of the Madison Title multi-state realty group. It covers a comprehensive list of terms and conditions, while remaining relatively short and readable for tenant convenience.
Pennsylvania Required Residential Lease Disclosures
- Lead-Based Paint Disclosure (required for some leases) – Landlords must provide an EPA-approved disclosure and informational pamphlet to tenants renting any property built before 1978.
To learn more about required disclosures in Pennsylvania, click here.
Pennsylvania Landlord Tenant Laws
- Warranty of Habitability – Pennsylvania landlords can only rent out habitable property. This means providing certain basic health and safety features like heat, plumbing, and electricity. Landlords must repair any issues within a reasonable time after proper notice. Failure to repair lets a tenant sue the landlord, terminate the lease, repair and deduct, or withhold rent into escrow.
- Evictions – Pennsylvania landlords may evict for rent default, lease violations, or illegal acts, among other things. Before filing eviction, landlords must serve tenants with prior notice to pay or quit, depending on the eviction type. This means most evictions in Pennsylvania take over one month.
- Security Deposits – Pennsylvania limits a security deposit to two months’ rent during the first year. When renewing a lease, the landlord cannot collect more than one month’s rent as a deposit. When a lease ends, the landlord must return any unused portion of a tenant’s deposit within 30 days.
- Lease Termination – Pennsylvania lets tenants end a month-to-month lease with 30 days of advance notice (15 days, for tenants on the property less than a year). Terminating a fixed-term lease usually requires active military duty, landlord harassment, uninhabitable property, or domestic abuse.
- Rent Increases and Fees – Pennsylvania state law does not limit the timing or amount of a rent increase, although local jurisdictions can create their own rules on this topic. The state does not cap fees charged by landlords as long as they are “reasonable.” Returned check fees have a $50 limit unless the landlord is directly passing on financial institution charges above that amount.
- Landlord Entry – Pennsylvania landlords may enter rental property for reasonable business purposes, such as maintenance and inspections. Except in emergencies landlord must enter at reasonable times of day using reasonable advance notice (customarily at least 24 hours), unless the lease agrees otherwise. Local jurisdictions in Pennsylvania can make their own policies about landlord entry.
- Settling Legal Disputes – Pennsylvania lets small claims courts hear landlord-tenant disputes, as long as the amount in controversy is under $12,000. Unlike most states, Pennsylvania allows evictions in small claims, although Philadelphia also has its own special eviction courts.
To learn more about landlord tenant laws in Pennsylvania, click here.
Sources
- 1 18 Pa. Stat. § 4105(e)
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Upon conviction under this section the sentence shall include an order for the issuer or passer to reimburse the payee or such other party as the circumstances may indicate for:(1) The face amount of the check.(2) Interest at the legal rate on the face amount of the check from the date of dishonor by the drawee.(3) A service charge if written notice of the service charge was conspicuously displayed on the payee’s premises when the check was issued. The service charge shall not exceed $50 unless the payee is charged fees in excess of $50 by financial institutions as a result of such bad check or similar sight order for the payment of money. If the payee is charged fees in excess of $50, then the service charge shall not exceed the actual amount of the fees.
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