How Pennsylvania landlord-tenant law works
Pennsylvania landlord-tenant law for residential buildings is set mainly by the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951. The Act covers notices to quit, security deposits, recovery of possession and appeals. Court rules for magisterial district judges and local ordinances, especially in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, fill in the rest.
The statute leaves a lot to the lease. It sets no cap on late fees, no notice rule for entering a unit, and no limit on rent increases, so a well-drafted lease does more work in Pennsylvania than in states with long tenant codes.
Pennsylvania landlord-tenant rules at a glance
The table covers the state rules for a market-rate apartment building. Local ordinances, subsidy contracts and your lease can add more.
| Rule | Pennsylvania requirement | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Notice to quit, nonpayment | 10 days | Act of 1951, sec. 501(b) |
| Notice to quit, lease of one year or less or month-to-month | 15 days | Sec. 501(b) |
| Notice to quit, lease over one year | 30 days | Sec. 501(b) |
| Security deposit cap | Two months’ rent in year one; one month from year two | Sec. 511.1 |
| Deposit increase after five years | Not allowed, even if rent rises | Sec. 511.1(d) |
| Interest on deposits | Deposits over $100 held over two years; landlord keeps 1% | Sec. 511.2 |
| Deposit return | 30 days, with a written list of damages | Sec. 512 |
| Late fees | No state cap; set by the lease | No provision in the Act |
| Entry notice | No state rule; set by the lease | No provision in the Act |
| Rent increases | No state limit | No provision in the Act |
How much notice does a landlord have to give in Pennsylvania?
A Pennsylvania landlord must give a written notice to quit before filing for possession, and the length depends on the reason and the lease. For nonpayment of rent, the tenant has 10 days from service to leave. When a lease of one year or less, or one with no fixed term such as month-to-month, is ending, the notice is 15 days. When a lease of more than one year is ending, the notice is 30 days.
Mobile home parks follow longer periods, up to three months, and are outside the scope of this page.
The 1951 Act has no general good-cause requirement, so a month-to-month tenancy can be ended with the 15-day notice. Leases often change the notice terms, and federally subsidized units have their own rules, so read the lease and any program contract before you serve anything.
Security deposit rules in Pennsylvania
In the first year of a lease, a Pennsylvania landlord may collect no more than two months’ rent as a security deposit. From the start of the second year, the limit is one month’s rent, and a landlord holding more must return the excess. Once a tenant has been in possession for five years or more, the deposit cannot go up even when the rent does. A tenant cannot waive these rules.
Deposits over $100 must go into an escrow account once they have been held for two years, and the interest from then on belongs to the tenant, paid each year, less a 1% fee the landlord may keep. Within 30 days after the lease ends or the tenant surrenders the unit, the landlord must send a written list of damages and pay back the rest. Skip the list and you lose the right to keep any of the deposit; fail to pay and you can owe double. The tenant has to give a forwarding address in writing.
Late fees, entry and repairs
The Landlord and Tenant Act says nothing about late fees for apartments, so the amount and any grace period come from the lease. Keep the fee modest and state it plainly, because the judge reads the lease when deciding what rent and charges are owed.
There is also no statewide rule on how much notice you must give before entering a unit. Put an entry clause in every lease, with a notice period and an emergency exception, and follow it. Check your city’s housing code too, since local ordinances can add licensing and inspection duties.
The eviction process in Pennsylvania
An eviction in Pennsylvania is a landlord-tenant complaint for possession filed with the magisterial district judge for the area, or in Philadelphia with the Municipal Court. The case moves in a set order.
- Serve the written notice to quit and let the 10, 15 or 30 days run.
- File the landlord-tenant complaint. Under the 1951 Act, the summons sets a hearing not less than 7 nor more than 10 days out; court rules govern the exact scheduling.
- At the hearing the judge decides possession and any rent owed.
- The tenant can appeal a residential judgment within 10 days.
- After the fifth day following judgment, the landlord can get the writ of possession. It must be served within 48 hours and is carried out on the eleventh day after service.
- In a nonpayment case, the tenant can stop the eviction by paying the back rent and costs before the writ is carried out.
Retaliation and tenant organizations
Section 205 of the 1951 Act bars a landlord from ending or refusing to renew a residential lease because the tenant joined or formed a tenants’ organization. In a building with an active tenants’ association, document the real reason for any non-renewal, such as unpaid rent or a lease violation, before you serve notice.
The Act also lists illegal drug activity on the premises as a ground for removal under section 505-A. Federal fair housing law applies to every building on top of the state Act, so screening and non-renewal decisions should follow written, consistent criteria.
How long does an eviction take in Pennsylvania?
Counting the statute’s own deadlines, an uncontested nonpayment case runs about five weeks or more from the notice to quit to the eviction: 10 days of notice, roughly 7 to 10 days to the hearing, at least 5 days before the writ issues and 11 days after it is served. An appeal, a bankruptcy filing or a crowded docket adds time.
Philadelphia’s Municipal Court sets its own schedule. Its civil division says an eviction under a writ of possession can be completed at least 10 days after the hearing, and under an alias writ at least 21 days after the hearing. The court also encourages landlords to try for a repayment agreement before filing and asks for a rental assistance questionnaire with each new case.
Does Pennsylvania have rent control?
No. Pennsylvania has no statewide rent control law, and the Landlord and Tenant Act puts no limit on how much or how often you raise rent. Changes take effect at the end of a lease term, with whatever notice the lease requires.
That makes Pennsylvania simpler than New York or New Jersey for underwriting. A buyer can model rent growth from the market, not from a cap, and a seller does not have to explain registered rents or rent board orders.
Selling a Pennsylvania building with tenants in place
Existing leases survive the sale. Section 104 of the 1951 Act gives a person who acquires title by purchase the same duties, rights and remedies as the prior landlord, so the buyer steps into every lease on its current terms.
The Act does not spell out how security deposits move to a new owner. Handle it in the agreement of sale: list each tenant’s deposit and accrued interest, credit the total to the buyer at closing or transfer the escrow account, and send each tenant a letter naming the new owner and where the deposit is held.
- Give the buyer a certified rent roll with deposit amounts and lease end dates.
- Disclose any pending landlord-tenant cases and judgments.
- Provide copies of rental licenses and inspection reports where the city requires them.
- Agree in writing who serves any notice to quit that is in progress at closing.
Pennsylvania landlord-tenant law changes in 2024-2026
The most recent change to the 1951 Act is Act 88 of 2024, signed July 17, 2024. It added a definition of tenant, a person who occupies the property of another with the owner’s express or implied consent, under an oral or written lease or by the owner accepting rent, and made clear that the notice-to-quit section and the Act itself do not apply to someone who is not, and never has been, a tenant. That speeds the removal of unauthorized occupants.
One cost change hit sales in Philadelphia: the city’s realty transfer tax rose to 4.578% in total on July 1, 2025. Check local ordinances in your city for newer rules on licensing and screening.
Selling a Pennsylvania apartment building
Skyline buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Pennsylvania, with tenants in place. We buy directly, close on your timeline, and can work inside 1031 deadlines. We take over the leases and deposits at closing, so you don’t have to empty units or settle every dispute first.
For the tax on a sale, see Pennsylvania capital gains tax on real estate, and for the carrying cost a buyer will underwrite, the property tax rate in Pennsylvania.
