Common sense, a good lease and the Pennsylvania Landlord-Tenant Law protect your tenant… Common sense, a good lease and the Pennsylvania Landlord-Tenant Law protect your tenant rights. Understanding your legal rights is a critical advantage that can help you to avoid, meet and overcome rental problems.

Common sense is a personal attribute requiring consistent exercise. Obtain a receipt for payments to a landlord or use checks or money orders that can be verified. Read and understand anything you are asked to sign. Get a copy of anything you sign. An application to rent is not a lease and is not binding until confirmed by a lease. If you pay a security deposit with the application, you may lose the deposit if you decide not to rent the apartment after you are approved. Giving notice that you do not wish to rent the apartment before notification of approval should justify return of the deposit unless specifically denied by terms of the application or oral notice. An administrative fee may be charged for a credit check and would be non-refundable.

Each party should read, understand, sign and receive a copy of the lease. The lease is a legal document describing the relationship, and the obligations and prohibitions of the relationship, between the landlord and the tenant. An oral agreement is legal, with restrictions, in Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania Landlord-Tenant Law is unique, but in some ways similar to those of other states. You don’t have to be a lawyer to understand the law, but a lawyer may be helpful in asserting your rights or protecting you from abuse.

Remember that the majority of landlords are decent, hardworking business people who desire a positive relationship with their tenants and a profit from their rentals. A minority of landlords create a problem for some of their tenants. Resolving problems amicably in honest discussion is preferable, but if disagreements are not resolved easily, additional steps and remedies may be necessary. For minor disagreements, the court is a poor solution. If the disagreement and/or the problems are major, the court may be the only solution. Often, nonrenewal of the lease is the easiest ending to a bad relationship.

Quiet Enjoyment

Quiet enjoyment is the right to peaceful possession of the property you leased. The landlord cannot interfere with your possession and use of the property by harassing you in person or by telephone, or by entering, or allowing others to enter, your apartment without reasonable notice and for legitimate purpose such as repairs, emergencies or showing the apartment to prospective tenants. In addition, the landlord cannot withhold utilities or deny access by changing the locks. If the landlord does these things, you should advise him or her of your concerns in writing and in person. If the condition continues, you may seek court action to prohibit the action or to terminate the lease agreement.

Habitability

Habitability means the apartment must meet minimal construction, maintenance and safety standards of the municipality having jurisdiction (usually the City of Pittsburgh, for students). Adequate hot and cold drinking water, sewage and waste disposal, heating, windows, doors, smoke detectors and bathrooms are some of the elements that must be provided in residential rentals. Landlords must repair or replace those elements and others when they are broken. The tenant is responsible for notifying the landlord of problems as they occur, and the landlord is responsible for making repairs within a reasonable time of being notified. A landlord’s failure to make repairs satisfactorily and within a reasonable time are two areas that lead to dispute and could lead to legal action. Notify your landlord of problems in writing and keep a record of your request. Documentation is critical in legal actions.

Notice

The landlord must give you notice if he feels you are violating your lease, if he wants you to move out of the apartment before your lease ends (eviction) or if he plans to take legal action against you for violating the lease. Notice allows you an opportunity to discuss or correct the problem with the landlord, to understand the seriousness of the problem and to prepare for legal action if no amicable agreement is reached. Many leases include a waiver of notice clause in this area by which you agree that the landlord does not have to give you notice in the situations described but may take direct legal action as a first step. This waiver is legal in Pennsylvania if properly given in the lease. The waiver saves the landlord two to three weeks’ time before initiating legal action against tenants who violate the lease terms.

Security Deposit

A security deposit is a sum of money – usually equal to one month’s rent, but not more than two months’ rent – given to the landlord as pre-payment for any apartment damages or unpaid rent or fees that occur during the term of the lease. If there are no charges, the money must be returned to you within 30 days of your moving out. If any money is withheld, the landlord must provide you a written account of what was kept and why. You must give the landlord a forwarding address in writing when you move out to receive your deposit.

Eviction

A landlord may not evict you without a valid reason, such as nonpayment of rent. If you refuse to leave, the landlord must begin legal action, and if the court agrees with the landlord, it will order you to leave. If you still refuse, the police can physically remove you and your belongings. The landlord may not lock you out or turn off water or heat in order to force you to leave.