Pennsylvania's Landlord and Tenant Act, not a Pittsburgh ordinance, controls no-fault tenancy terminations, requiring written notice tied to lease length and a magisterial district court judgment before any lockout.
Pittsburgh has not adopted a just-cause eviction ordinance, so no-fault terminations follow 68 P.S. Section 250.501. For tenancies under one year, fifteen days' written notice typically applies; for one-year-or-longer leases, thirty days. Some written leases waive notice, an option Pittsburgh has not preempted. Once notice expires, the landlord must file a complaint with the magisterial district court and obtain an order for possession before the constable can execute a lockout. Self-help eviction is unlawful statewide.
Changing locks, removing belongings, or shutting off utilities without a court order, or skipping the statutory notice period, can produce damages liability and constable-misconduct claims under Pennsylvania law.
Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh's 2022 Right-to-Counsel pilot funds free legal representation for low-income tenants facing eviction, deterring landlord harassment, illegal locko...
Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh does not have a just cause eviction ordinance. Pennsylvania landlord-tenant law allows landlords to terminate tenancies for various reasons includ...
See how Pittsburgh's no-fault evictions rules stack up against other locations.
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