Rental Property Rules in Pennsylvania (2026)
40 rules on the books across Pennsylvania, 20 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Rent Control
Local limits on how much landlords can raise rent each year, including which properties are covered and exemptions for newer buildings.
Just Cause Eviction
Protections requiring landlords to have a valid reason to evict tenants, such as nonpayment of rent, lease violations, or owner move-in.
Pennsylvania: statewide
StatewideSome RestrictionsPennsylvania Landlord-Tenant Act establishes uniform eviction notice and procedure requirements applicable statewide…
Read full rule →Monroe County
Some RestrictionsPennsylvania does not require just cause to end a tenancy. Under the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 a Monroe County…
Read full rule →Rental Registration
Requirements for landlords to register rental properties with the city, including inspection programs, fees, and occupancy standards.
Bensalem
Significant RestrictionsBensalem Township requires every owner who rents out a dwelling or rooming unit to obtain an annual premises license…
Read full rule →Bethlehem
Significant RestrictionsBethlehem requires every owner of a regulated rental unit to obtain an annual License before renting it out, with…
Read full rule →Bristol
Significant RestrictionsEvery landlord in Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania files a report with the Building Code Official listing each dwelling…
Read full rule →Bristol Township
Significant RestrictionsLandlords in Bristol Township, Pennsylvania, report their rentals every year. Section 181-2 requires each lessor to…
Read full rule →Erie
Significant RestrictionsErie landlords must obtain a residential rental registration from the Code Official before letting any unit, and a…
Read full rule →Harrisburg
Significant RestrictionsIn the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, every residential rental unit needs its own annual registration application…
Read full rule →Haverford
Significant RestrictionsIn Haverford Township, no one may lease or rent a dwelling, dwelling unit or rooming unit without first obtaining a…
Read full rule →Lower Merion
Significant RestrictionsEvery residential rental unit in Lower Merion needs its own license before an owner may rent it out, under Section…
Read full rule →Penn Hills
Significant RestrictionsEvery owner or landlord of a residential rental unit in Penn Hills, Allegheny County, must file a certificate of use…
Read full rule →Pittsburgh
Significant RestrictionsPittsburgh landlords must obtain a rental permit from the Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections before…
Read full rule →Upper Darby
Significant RestrictionsEvery single-family, multi-family, or rooming house rental in Upper Darby must carry a valid, non-transferable…
Read full rule →Philadelphia
Some RestrictionsEvery owner of a Philadelphia dwelling unit, rooming house, dormitory, hotel, or one- or two-family rental must hold a…
Read full rule →Pottstown
Some RestrictionsEvery owner of residential rental property in Pottstown must register it with the Department of Licensing and…
Read full rule →Reading
Some RestrictionsReading requires owners of every residential and mixed-use rental parcel to hold a housing registration issued by the…
Read full rule →Scranton
Some RestrictionsScranton requires every landlord to obtain a rental license for each residential rental unit, every calendar year the…
Read full rule →Security Deposit Rules
Caps on how much landlords may collect as security deposits, return deadlines, itemized-deduction requirements, and tenant remedies for wrongfully withheld deposits.
Repairs & Habitability
The implied warranty of habitability, how long a landlord has to fix essential services (heat, water, plumbing, mold), and tenant remedies such as repair-and-deduct, rent withholding, or breaking the lease.
Haverford
Significant RestrictionsIn Haverford Township, Delaware County, no owner may let a dwelling that misses the minimums in § 104-5 of the Housing…
Read full rule →Philadelphia
Significant RestrictionsPhiladelphia Code Section 9-816 gives tenants an enforceable right to safe, sanitary living conditions and makes it…
Read full rule →Pottstown
Significant RestrictionsPottstown requires every licensed residential rental unit to pass a biennial inspection under Chapter 11, § 206, and to…
Read full rule →Abington
Some RestrictionsAbington Township requires landlords to supply heat to rental units from October 15 to May 15 at a minimum 68°F, and to…
Read full rule →Allentown
Some RestrictionsAllentown's Property Maintenance Code requires every landlord who furnishes heat to keep rental units at least 68°F…
Read full rule →Bensalem
Some RestrictionsBensalem Township's Housing Code sets minimum habitability standards for every rental dwelling: a working toilet, bath…
Read full rule →Bethlehem
Some RestrictionsBethlehem enforces habitability through its local amendments to the International Property Maintenance Code. Landlords…
Read full rule →Bristol
Some RestrictionsIn Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania, rental habitability runs through the Property Maintenance Code that Borough Council…
Read full rule →Bristol Township
Some RestrictionsIn Bristol Township, Pennsylvania, no one can occupy a dwelling or let it to another if it fails the minimum…
Read full rule →Erie
Some RestrictionsErie's Rental Housing Ordinance defines 'habitability' and makes it a landlord's legal duty. Article 354 requires…
Read full rule →Harrisburg
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, every dwelling must be maintained and operated in compliance with Chapter…
Read full rule →Lower Merion
Some RestrictionsLower Merion ties every residential rental license to code compliance: Section 75-17 requires that all dwelling units…
Read full rule →Lower Paxton
Some RestrictionsLower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, has no rental-specific habitability chapter. Chapter 148 adopts…
Read full rule →Millcreek
Some RestrictionsMillcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania, adopted the 2015 International Property Maintenance Code with Township…
Read full rule →Penn Hills
Some RestrictionsPenn Hills' locally amended Existing Structures Code sets minimum physical habitability standards for dwellings…
Read full rule →Pittsburgh
Some RestrictionsPittsburgh adopted the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code as its citywide property maintenance law, setting…
Read full rule →Reading
Some RestrictionsReading's Property Maintenance Code requires every landlord to supply heat maintaining at least 68°F in all habitable…
Read full rule →Scranton
Some RestrictionsScranton's Rental Act makes every landlord responsible for keeping rental premises in code compliance, performing…
Read full rule →Upper Darby
Some RestrictionsWhen Upper Darby's Department of Licenses and Inspections or Department of Public Health certifies a rental dwelling…
Read full rule →Eviction Notice & Process
The notice a landlord must give before filing to evict, pay-or-quit and cure-or-quit periods, no-cause termination notice, how long the court eviction process takes in this state, and the tenant's options to respond or cure.
Squatter's Rights & Adverse Possession
When an occupant without a lease gains legal protections, the line between a trespasser and a squatter, how many years of continuous possession adverse possession requires in this state, and how an owner lawfully removes a squatter.