Rental Property Rules in Pennsylvania (2026)
25 rules on the books across Pennsylvania, 11 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.
Bethlehem
Significant RestrictionsBethlehem requires every owner of a regulated rental unit to obtain an annual License before renting it out, with…
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 →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.
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 →Allentown
Some RestrictionsAllentown's Property Maintenance Code requires every landlord who furnishes heat to keep rental units at least 68°F…
Read full rule →Bethlehem
Some RestrictionsBethlehem enforces habitability through its local amendments to the International Property Maintenance Code. Landlords…
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 →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.