Scranton, PA Rental Inspections: Tenant Complaint Process (2026)

City Code § 373-7G preserves the Code Official's authority to conduct inspections beyond the scheduled regular cycle. Subsection G(1) confirms nothing in Chapter 373 limits inspections of any premises under other ordinances or codes; Subsection G(2) confirms the same for a suspected rental property that has not yet obtained a license; and Subsection G(3) specifically preserves authority "to conduct inspections related to a health or safety concern reported at any time in a suspected or actual residential rental property," meaning a tenant or neighbor's complaint about conditions can bring an inspector out regardless of where the unit sits in its three-year cycle.

Where a delay or denial of that inspection is caused solely by the tenant, the landlord is not penalized for it, but that protection does not limit the Code Official's authority to pursue a search warrant under § 373-7I (§ 373-7K). Separately, § 373-10 gives tenants their own enforcement path: "Any tenant or group of tenants may enforce compliance [with] this chapter with respect to any violation affecting their residential rental unit(s) or residential rental property through private cause of action in the Magisterial District Court with competent jurisdiction," meaning a tenant is not limited to waiting on the City and can bring the landlord to court directly over Rental Act violations.

A formal complaint subsection that once sat at § 373-4C was repealed in 2023 in favor of this ad hoc inspection authority and the private right of action.