Lower Merion, PA Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)

Section 75-17A(5) of the Lower Merion Township Code requires the Director to inspect any premises for which a residential rental license is requested. The licensee or applicant must give each tenant reasonable notice of the inspection date and time, no less than 48 hours and no more than 30 days beforehand, and the tenant's consent to inspection, written into every rental agreement as a condition of licensure under Section 75-17A(4), is enough to let the Director enter. The owner or an authorized representative must be present at the inspection unless both the owner and the Director waive that requirement, and refusing to permit entry is itself grounds for denying, suspending, or revoking the license under Section 75-17A(5).

If the Director's inspection turns up a residential rental unit or premises that is not in compliance with applicable codes, Section 75-17A(7) gives the applicant a correction period, its length set by the Director, to fix the defects identified in the notice of noncompliance; the tenant may keep occupying the unit during that period only if the defects do not create an imminent hazard, and the Director may extend the period further in his or her discretion. Section 75-19A(1) folds the same inspection duty into every license renewal, requiring the Director to inspect the unit again before a regular license can be renewed, with the licensee responsible for notifying residents of that renewal inspection as well.

Section 75-17C separately preserves the Director's authority to inspect any property in the Township at any time on a complaint, a notice, or a reasonable suspicion of noncompliance, and to require a property to be vacated immediately if a hazardous condition threatens imminent injury, regardless of where a unit stands in the licensing cycle.