Philadelphia, PA Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)

Chapter 10-500, "Property – Damaging, Defacing and Interfering With," sets the citywide rule against unauthorized outdoor camping at § 10-501(3): no person may camp on private property without the written permission of the owner or manager. The Code's definition of "camp" is deliberately wide. It covers sleeping or preparing to sleep; laying down or using a tent, tarpaulin, lean-to, sleeping bag, bedroll, mattress, blankets, or any cover or protection from the elements other than clothing; storing personal belongings on the property; or making any fire.

Because the standard is written permission of the owner or manager, verbal consent or an owner's silence does not satisfy the exemption, and enforcement can reach informal encampments on vacant private lots as well as more visible tent setups. Section 10-501(4) extends liability beyond the camper: a parent, legal guardian, or other legally responsible adult of a child under eighteen who violates subsection (1) or (2) of this same chapter is separately in violation, showing the Code's general approach of holding responsible adults accountable for conduct on the property they oversee.

The penalty scheme in § 10-502 grades fines by subsection: violations of (1) or (4), covering property destruction, damage, or defacement, carry a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $300, rising to a flat $300 for graffiti; violations of (2), covering interference with street lights, sewers, or utility access, carry a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $300; but the camping violation under (3) is set apart with its own, lower fine of exactly $20, added by Bill No.

180523, approved June 28, 2018. The Court retains discretion under § 10-502(1) to suspend fines for other subsections if the offender performs community service or restitution, though that suspension language is tied to the property-damage penalty rather than the camping fine specifically. Separately, Chapter 10-2700, "City Reports on Impermissible Camping," added by Bill No. 240017 (approved April 23, 2024), requires the Office of the Managing Director to file bi-monthly written reports to the Chief Clerk of Council during a two-year reporting term running from May 1, 2024 through June 31, 2026.

Those reports must count individuals with whom City employees initiated a camping-related interaction, track repeat contacts, identify locations where impermissible camping has recurred, and describe the services offered and reasons individuals gave for declining them, all while keeping the underlying data anonymized.