Pennsylvania landlord tenant law: the rules a landlord meets

Pennsylvania security deposit law

Most you can take

2 months’ rent68 P.S. § 250.511a2 months during the first year of the lease; 1 month from the start of the second year.

Back to the tenant within

30 days68 P.S. § 250.512

Rent and late fees

Late fee

No statute caps itNo statute sets this

Pennsylvania rent increase laws and rent control

Notice before a rent increase

No statutory period confirmedCould not be confirmedNo statute sets a notice period for a rent increase; it follows the lease or the notice needed to end the tenancy. No municipality has rent control, though no statute expressly bans it.

Rent control

None in forceCould not be confirmed

Entering the property: notice to the tenant

Notice before you enter

No statute sets thisNo statute sets this

Ending a tenancy and eviction notices

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

15 days68 P.S. § 250.50115 days for a lease of one year or less or of indeterminate term; 30 days for a lease of more than one year.

Unpaid rent

10 days68 P.S. § 250.501(b), (e); 68 P.S. § 250.503(c)“10-day notice to quit”No statutory right to pay and stayThe lease may shorten or waive the notice. Paying within the 10 days is not a statutory cure, but in a case brought only for unpaid rent the tenant can stop the eviction by paying the arrears and costs before the order for possession is carried out.

Another breach of the lease

15 days68 P.S. § 250.501(b), (e)“15-day notice to quit”The statute does not say whether the breach can be fixed15 days for a lease of one year or less or of indeterminate length, 30 days for a lease longer than one year. The lease may shorten or waive the notice, and the statute is silent on a right to cure.

Lockouts and shutoffs

Banned: lockouts and utility shutoffsCould not be confirmed

The Pennsylvania eviction process, step by step

Disclosures a Pennsylvania lease has to carry

• When deposits over $100 are placed in escrow, the landlord must tell the tenant in writing the name and address of the bank and the amount held. (68 P.S. § 250.511b(a))