Pottstown, PA Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Chapter 11, Housing, Part 2, § 206, Biennial Annual Inspection Required, added by Ordinance 2137 on June 8, 2015, requires the Licensing and Inspections Department to inspect every property holding a residential rental license on a recurring, two-year cycle beginning July 1, 2015. The first inspection cycle ran 30 months, from July 2015 through December 2017, with a change in tenancy during that window triggering its own inspection; from January 2018 forward the schedule is a straight biennial cycle. Beyond the inspection schedule, § 206 sets substantive habitability floors an owner must document to obtain or renew the license: each habitable unit needs at least one habitable room of no less than 120 square feet, other habitable spaces (excluding kitchens and bathrooms) must be at least 70 square feet, and a bedroom must be at least 70 square feet plus 50 additional square feet for each occupant beyond the first.

Basement space cannot count as habitable at all unless it meets the Building or Property Maintenance Code's secondary means of egress requirements, which rules out counting a below-grade room with only one exit toward a licensable bedroom. Licenses run for 24 months, are not transferable to a new owner, and failing to comply with a scheduled inspection notice can lead to suspension or revocation of the rental license under this Part.