Pottstown, PA Rental Inspections: Inspection Programs (2026)

Chapter 11, Part 2 of the Borough Code requires every owner of a residential rental property to hold a residential rental license from the Licensing and Inspections Department, renewed every 24 months (originally due September 1, 2015, then by March 15 of each even-numbered year starting 2018, per Section 205). Section 206 layers a mandatory biennial inspection onto that license cycle: beginning July 1, 2015, every licensed rental unit must be inspected, with the Department scheduling inspections at its discretion and, under Section 205, giving the owner at least 10 days' advance notice.

The inspection checks compliance with the International Property Maintenance Code, the Uniform Construction Code, the Fire Prevention Code and the Zoning Ordinance, plus Section 206's own minimum-size standards: each unit needs one habitable room of at least 120 square feet, other habitable spaces (outside kitchens and bathrooms) need at least 70 square feet, bedrooms need 70 square feet plus 50 additional square feet for each extra occupant, and a basement cannot count as habitable space unless it has a code-compliant secondary means of egress. Owners pay an inspection fee and, for follow-up visits, a reinspection fee, both set by Borough Council resolution rather than fixed in the ordinance text.

Licenses cannot be transferred to a new owner if the property changes hands. The Housing Code also carries a separate, older duty in Part 1: owners and rental agents must file an annual tenancy report by January 31 listing every leased unit and tenant, a requirement enforced under Section 103 with fines of $250 to $1,000 per violation.