Harrisburg, PA Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)
Key Facts
- Adopted standard
- International Property Maintenance Code, 2018 Edition (§ 8-107.2)
- Rent suspension
- Until certified fit or six months, whichever comes first
- Health Board hearing request
- Within 15 days after service of notice
- Hearing filing fee
- $200, waivable for indigent persons
- Property Maintenance Code fine
- Not less than $50 nor more than $1,000, plus costs
- Jail exposure
- Up to 90 days per separate violation
Summary
In the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, every dwelling must be maintained and operated in compliance with Chapter 8-107, the Property Maintenance Code, plus the applicable parts of the Public Health Code. Owners of buildings with two or more units keep shared areas clean and sanitary, and no one can offer or rent a unit that is not clean and free of discarded materials.
All dwellings shall be maintained and operated in compliance with the provisions of Chapter 8-107, as amended from time to time, and such provisions of this Public Health Code as are applicable thereto. ... A. Every dwelling and every part thereof shall be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition, shall be kept free from any accumulation of rubbish, dirt, garbage, and similar materials and shall be kept free of vector infestation. All yards, courts and land upon which such dwellings are situated shall be similarly kept clean and free from any accumulation of rubbish, dirt, garbage, junk, discarded property, and similar materials. ... C. Every owner of a building containing two or more dwelling units shall maintain in a clean and sanitary condition the shared or public areas of the dwelling and premises thereof. ... No person shall offer to rent or rent any dwelling unit or other building which is not free of discarded materials, waste materials, rubbish, and garbage and in a clean and sanitary condition.
Full Breakdown
Section 6-301.1 ties the Public Health Code to the City's building standards: all dwellings are maintained and operated under Chapter 8-107, the Property Maintenance Code. Section 8-107.2 adopts the International Property Maintenance Code, 2018 Edition, with Appendix A Boarding Standard, and makes it controlling within the City except as Chapter 8-107 amends it. Section 8-107.1(C) defines "owner" to reach any person, agent, operator or entity with legal or equitable interest in, title to, or control of the property, so a managing agent answers for conditions the same as the titleholder.
Section 6-301.2 divides cleanliness duties. Occupants keep clean the part of the property they occupy or exclusively control. Owners of buildings with two or more units keep the shared or public areas clean and sanitary. Extermination falls on the owner whenever infestation is caused by failure to maintain a vectorproof or reasonably insectproof dwelling, exists in two or more units, or exists in the shared or public parts. Section 6-301.11 bars offering or renting a unit that is not free of discarded materials, waste materials, rubbish and garbage.
The strongest tenant remedy is in Chapter 8-507. When the Director of Building and Housing Development, through the Bureau of Codes Enforcement, certifies a dwelling unfit for human habitation, the tenant's duty to pay rent and the landlord's right to collect it are suspended until the dwelling is certified fit or six months pass, whichever comes first (§ 8-507.1). A tenant can ask in writing for an inspection (§ 8-507.3), and at the tenant's election rent payments are directed to a bank or trust company approved by the City to hold in an escrow account (§ 8-507.4).
A person aggrieved by a Health Officer notice can request a Board of Health hearing within 15 days of service, with a $200 filing fee that an indigent person can seek to have waived (§ 6-103.8). Appeals of Property Maintenance Code decisions go to the Building and Housing Code Board of Appeals (§ 8-107.5).
Violations & Fines
A person who directs or knowingly permits a Property Maintenance Code violation and fails to comply with an order from which no appeal was taken faces a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $1,000 plus costs, or up to 90 days in the Dauphin County Prison, for each separate violation, and each day the condition continues is a separate offense (§ 8-107.99). Public Health Code violations route through Chapter 6-103 to the general penalty of up to $1,000 plus costs or 90 days, with a $25 neighborhood mitigation penalty added on conviction.
Frequently Asked Questions
What habitability standard applies to rentals in the City of Harrisburg?
Can a Harrisburg tenant withhold rent for an unfit dwelling?
Who is responsible for extermination in a Harrisburg rental?
How does a Harrisburg landlord appeal a code notice?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Harrisburg
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