Philadelphia, PA Public Health Rules: Rodent Control (2026)

1 sets the baseline: all structures must be kept free from insect and rodent infestation, and any structure found infested must be promptly exterminated by an approved process that will not injure human health, with precautions taken afterward to prevent reinfestation. Responsibility then shifts by occupancy type. 2, an owner must handle extermination inside the structure before renting or leasing it out to a new tenant. 3, the occupant of a one-family dwelling, or a single-tenant nonresidential structure, is on the hook for extermination on the premises during their occupancy.

4 covers buildings with two or more dwelling units, multiple occupancies, rooming houses, or nonresidential structures: the owner is responsible for extermination in shared or public areas and the exterior property, but if an individual occupant's own failure caused the infestation in the space that occupant controls, both the occupant and the owner become responsible. 5 makes the occupant responsible for keeping their unit rodent- and pest-free on an ongoing basis, with a carve-out: if the infestation stems from a defect in the structure itself, such as a hole or gap that lets rodents in, the owner bears the responsibility instead.

5. 1: any person who violates a provision of the Building Construction and Occupancy Code, including the Property Maintenance Code, or who fails to comply with an order issued under it, is subject to a $300 fine for each offense. 5 continues that daily accrual once the correction deadline in the initial notice has passed, provided no timely appeal was filed under Section A-801 or A-803. Owners cited under PM-309 can therefore contest the notice through the administrative appeal process before fines start accruing day by day.