Why Philadelphia runs on its own track
Everywhere else in Pennsylvania, evictions go to a magisterial district judge. In Philadelphia they go to the Civil Division of Philadelphia Municipal Court, which hears landlord-tenant cases with no cap on the money judgment. New cases are filed at the First Filing Unit, Room 1000 on the 10th floor of 1339 Chestnut Street, and trials are heard on the 6th floor of the same building.
Two procedural differences matter right away. Municipal Court enters a default judgment against a party who is late or doesn’t appear, and continuance requests should be made in writing at least 10 days before trial. Courtroom navigators, a court mediation program and a Lawyer of the Day program for income-eligible tenants are on site on trial days, so come ready to talk terms before the judge calls the case.
The Pennsylvania rules underneath
State law still sets the notice to quit: 10 days for unpaid rent, 15 days for a breach or end of term on a lease of a year or less and 30 days on a longer lease, unless the lease shortens or waives it. Appeals go to the Court of Common Pleas within 10 days, with rent paid into escrow to keep the stay. Our Pennsylvania eviction process guide covers those rules. This page covers what Philadelphia adds on top.
Step one: the Eviction Diversion Program
Under Philadelphia Code 9-811, no landlord has a lawful basis to evict until it has enrolled in the Eviction Diversion Program, given the tenant a Notice of Diversion Rights and participated in reasonable good faith for at least 30 days. The notice goes by hand delivery or by mail with proof of mailing, and it is separate from the notice to quit. The only exception is an eviction needed to stop an imminent threat of harm.
The city’s FAQ says the 30 full days start the day after your application is approved, and a landlord who met the good faith standard gets an Outcome Certificate on day 31. Good faith means providing the current notice, an updated ledger, accurate tenant contact details and proof of an active rental license, answering messages within five days and attending mediation with authority to settle.
Skipping the program is a defense the tenant can raise, the court can dismiss on its own, and it can’t be waived in the lease.
- Targeted Financial Assistance is a one-time city payment toward the tenant’s past-due balance, plus two more months of rent if the tenant will stay at least two months.
- Filing in court disqualifies a pending or future assistance application.
- If you accept assistance, the court says you must wait 90 days after the last covered month before filing.
Using diversion to settle instead of sue
Because you have to spend 30 days in the program anyway, treat it as the place to settle. The court publishes a sample proposed repayment agreement, and a housing counselor reviews your proposal with the tenant and mediator. A written plan with a clear default term, or an agreed move-out date with a payment at key return, often ends the matter before any filing appears on the tenant’s record.
Cash for keys fits the new good cause rules too. A voluntary, signed move-out agreement doesn’t depend on proving a ground, so it can be the cleanest option when you need a unit back for renovation or want to deliver vacant units to a buyer. Keep the offer in writing and the tenant’s choice free, since pressure tied to a complaint can look like retaliation under the expanded rules.
The licenses and certificates the court asks for
Municipal Court lists the documents a landlord needs to sue for rent or possession. Missing one is the most common reason a Philadelphia case goes nowhere, and the city now ties rent collection itself to some of them.
- A current rental license, called a Housing Inspection License, for a multifamily building, plus the commercial activity (business privilege) license.
- A completed Certificate of Rental Suitability given to the tenant at the start of the tenancy, confirming no open code violations.
- A lead-safe certificate.
- The lease and the notice to quit, unless the lease waives notice.
- The Notice of Diversion Rights and your EDP Outcome Certificate.
Good cause, before and after November 1, 2026
Until November 1, Philadelphia Code 9-804 requires good cause to end or decline to renew a lease of less than one year, including month-to-month tenancies. The landlord must give at least 30 days’ written notice stating the reason, by hand delivery or first-class mail with proof of mailing, or the lease renews month to month. Tenants can challenge the notice at the Fair Housing Commission within 15 business days.
Bill No. 250330-AA, part of the Safe Healthy Homes Act signed by Mayor Cherelle Parker, extends good cause to every residential lease, including standard one-year leases, starting November 1, 2026. Nonpayment and qualifying lease violations remain good cause. A sale is not, with one narrow exception: a signed arm’s-length agreement with a buyer who certifies they will live there within 90 days, delivered with at least 60 days’ written notice of nonrenewal.
Two housing providers have challenged the package in federal court. The court declined to block it before the effective date and set a schedule that runs into 2027, so plan on the new rules applying.
Code violations, retaliation and the new rent defenses
The same law makes certain unresolved code problems a direct defense to rent. Once the city has issued a property maintenance or fire code violation, the correction deadline has passed and no appeal is pending, a rebuttable presumption arises that you breached the implied warranty of habitability, and the ordinance provides for rent abatement during the breach.
Retaliation rules also widen. If you serve a termination notice or change lease terms within a year after a tenant complains, a violation is found or a correction is made, you carry the burden of proving the action wasn’t retaliatory. For an owner of a five-plus unit building, clearing open L&I violations before the diversion application is now part of the eviction itself.
Right to Counsel and help in the courtroom
Philadelphia guarantees a free lawyer to low-income tenants in eviction cases in designated ZIP codes, according to the city’s Fair Housing Commission. Beyond those ZIP codes, income-eligible tenants can get same-day help through the court’s Lawyer of the Day program. Assume a lawyer will review your EDP record, license, Certificate of Rental Suitability and notices.
After judgment: writs and the lockout
Municipal Court’s forms let you file a praecipe for a writ of possession at least 10 days after the hearing and a praecipe for an alias writ of possession at least 21 days after the hearing. The writ is served first, and the alias writ is what authorizes the lockout. Lockouts are carried out by the court’s Landlord-Tenant Officer, and Philadelphia Code 9-812 requires any private eviction officer to hold an annual license from L&I, with at least 189 hours of training and $2 million per-incident liability insurance.
Worked example: the waiting Philadelphia builds in
Assume a one-bedroom at $1,450 a month in a 16-unit West Philadelphia building, a tenant who misses rent on day 1 and an owner with a valid license and certificate. A day of rent is about $47.67. You serve the 10-day notice to quit and the Notice of Diversion Rights and apply to the program on day 1. Assume approval on day 3. The 30 full days run through day 33, and the certificate arrives on day 34, when you file.
By filing day, two months are past due, so the claim of $2,900 falls in the $2,000.01 to $10,000 tier and the filing fee is $116.75. After the hearing, the alias writ can’t be requested for another 21 days. Those two required waits alone add up to 54 days, about $2,574 in rent, before counting the time from filing to hearing or from the alias writ to the lockout date.
| Required wait | Days | Rent at $47.67 a day |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 through EDP completion | 33 | $1,573 |
| Hearing to alias writ | 21 | $1,001 |
| Total required waiting | 54 | $2,574 |
Selling a Philadelphia apartment building with tenants in place
Under the new good cause rules, a sale is not a reason to empty a building, so most Philadelphia multifamily buildings will change hands occupied. A buyer steps into the leases and any open case, and will ask for the rental license, each unit’s Certificate of Rental Suitability, open L&I violations, EDP records and tenant estoppels.
Skyline Capital Investments buys Philadelphia apartment buildings with five or more units with tenants in place, including buildings with arrears, code violations or cases in Municipal Court. Send the address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977. We typically respond within 48 hours.
