Erie, PA Code Violation Reporting: How to Report (2026)
Key Facts
- City duty
- Publish Article 354 with grievance instructions
- Contacts required
- Magisterial District Judges + Code Enforcement Office
- Update duty
- Regularly reflect law changes
- Governing ordinance
- Ord. No. 66-2023, passed 10-18-2023
- Landlord penalty for underlying violations
- $100-$1,000 per offense
Summary
Erie's Rental Housing Ordinance doesn't just create tenant rights, it requires the City itself to explain how to enforce them. Section 354.05(b)(2)A obligates the City to publish Article 354 online with clear instructions on where tenants file grievances, including contacts for Magisterial District Judges and the Code Enforcement Office.
City of Erie obligations. A. The City of Erie shall publish Article 354 of the Codified Ordinance of the City of Erie on the City of Erie's official website, accompanied by clear instructions on how and where tenants may file grievances, including a list of Magisterial District Judges and their contact information; and the City of Erie's Code Enforcement Office and their contact information. B. The City of Erie shall regularly update the Article 354 of the Codified Ordinance of the City of Erie to reflect changes in state, federal, and local legislation and shall provide guidance to landlords and tenants regarding compliance requirements.
Full Breakdown
When Erie City Council adopted the Rental Housing Ordinance (Ord. No. 66-2023, October 18, 2023), it paired every tenant right in § 354.05(a) with a City-side transparency duty in § 354.05(b)(2). That subsection requires the City of Erie to publish the full text of Article 354 on the City's official website, and to accompany it with clear instructions on how and where tenants may file grievances, explicitly naming two channels: a list of Magisterial District Judges and their contact information, and the City of Erie's Code Enforcement Office and its contact information.
The same subsection requires the City to keep that published guidance current, regularly updating Article 354 to reflect changes in state, federal and local law and to give landlords and tenants ongoing compliance guidance, so the posted instructions cannot go stale after the next amendment. Erie has already amended Article 354 several times since adoption, including Ordinance No. 40-2025 on June 4, 2025, which is why the ordinance builds in a duty to keep the public-facing instructions synced with the current text.
Once a tenant does report a problem, § 354.04 defines the Notice of Violation that follows: a written notice from the Code Official informing the landlord of a Code violation and ordering its correction, and § 354.12 protects a tenant from lease termination or a rent-recovering lease amendment once that notice has issued. Article 354's general penalty, § 354.99, fines a landlord $100 to $1,000 per offense for violating any provision the grievance process is meant to enforce.
Violations & Fines
Article 354 penalizes landlords, not the City, for noncompliance: § 354.99 fines a landlord not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 for each violation of any Article 354 provision a tenant grievance uncovers. There is no separate fine written into § 354.05(b)(2) for the City's own publication duty; it operates as a standing administrative requirement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does Erie tell tenants how to file a rental complaint?
Does Erie update its tenant complaint instructions over time?
Who investigates a rental complaint once I report it?
Can my landlord evict me for filing a code complaint?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Erie
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