How to Become a Landlord in Pennsylvania

Becoming a landlord in Pennsylvania comes down to five steps, roughly in this order:

• Check your local licensing and registration rules first. There is no statewide landlord license, but your city or township may require one.

• Get the property up to code, and pass a rental inspection where your municipality requires one.

• Write a lease that meets Pennsylvania law and includes the required disclosures.

• Collect the security deposit within the state limit: no more than two months’ rent in the first year.

• Follow fair housing and habitability rules from your first listing through move-out.

So, do you need a license to be a landlord in PA? Not from the state. Pennsylvania has no statewide landlord license or certification. Licensing is set city by city, so your municipality’s rules are the real first step.

This guide walks each step in the order a new Pennsylvania landlord actually hits it. If you are earlier in the decision than the paperwork, start with the broader guide to becoming a landlord. To see how Pennsylvania stacks up against stricter states, our roundup of landlord-tenant laws by state is the map.

Do You Need a License to Be a Landlord in Pennsylvania?

Not at the state level. Pennsylvania issues no statewide landlord license, and renting out a home is not a licensed profession here. What can require a license or a permit is your municipality, and those rules vary a lot from one city or township to the next. Your first call is to your local code office, not Harrisburg.

Two of the state’s biggest markets show how different local rules get:

• Philadelphia requires an annual rental license. Every landlord renting a residential unit must hold a current rental license from the Department of Licenses and Inspections before renting, and renew it each year (City of Philadelphia). You also have to be current on city taxes, and homes built before 1978 must be certified lead-free or lead-safe. At lease signing you give each new resident a Certificate of Rental Suitability (issued no more than 60 days earlier) and the city’s Partners in Good Housing handbook (City of Philadelphia). Renting without the license can cost you the right to collect rent or evict.

• Pittsburgh has a rental permit program that is not yet enforced. The city launched its Residential Housing Rental Permit Program in December 2024, but as of mid-2026 participation is voluntary: a court challenge has kept Pittsburgh from enforcing it, and the city has said it will give 30 days’ public notice before mandatory enforcement begins (City of Pittsburgh). Register early or watch for that notice, because once it takes effect a permit is required to collect rent. The Pittsburgh landlord laws guide tracks where this stands.

Outside those two cities, plenty of boroughs and townships run their own rental registration and inspection programs, often with a filing fee and periodic renewals. Some have no oversight at all. Because there is no statewide answer, look up the exact ordinance for the municipality your property sits in before you list. If you are buying in the Pittsburgh area and want the day-to-day handled, here is how property management in Pittsburgh works.

How Much Can You Charge for a Security Deposit in Pennsylvania?

Two months’ rent in the first year. After the first year, you can hold no more than one month’s rent, and once a tenancy passes five years the deposit cannot be raised even when the rent goes up (68 P.S. § 250.511a and § 250.511b, Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951; plain-language summary from Community Legal Services).

You do not have to open a special account on day one. The escrow rule starts later: once a resident has lived in the home more than two years, a deposit over $100 has to sit in an interest-bearing escrow account, and from the third year on you pass the interest to the resident each year, minus a 1 percent fee.

The end of a tenancy is where deposits turn into lawsuits. You have 30 days from move-out to return the deposit with a written, itemized list of any deductions (68 P.S. § 250.512). Miss it, and a resident who gave you a forwarding address in writing can sue for double what you withheld. Deduct for unpaid rent and for damage beyond normal use. Never for ordinary aging of the home. Our PA security deposit return law walkthrough covers the deadlines and disputes in full.

What Does Pennsylvania Law Require in Your Lease?

More than in most states, because Pennsylvania leaves so much to the written lease. Where a statute is silent, your lease is the rulebook a judge will read, so a vague one costs you later. A compliant Pennsylvania lease names every adult resident and the property, states the rent, due date, and any fees, sets the term, and spells out who handles maintenance.

Two areas deserve extra care because the state sets no default:

• Entry notice. Pennsylvania has no statute setting how much notice you owe before entering. The lease controls, and 24 hours’ written notice is the standard most leases use and courts treat as reasonable. Put a number in your lease so it is not left to argument.

• Late fees and other charges. No statute caps late fees, but you can only collect a fee that is written into the lease, and a court can still strike one it finds unreasonable against your actual costs. Fees invented mid-tenancy do not hold up. The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s consumer guide is the plain-language reference for what a lease can and cannot charge.

Pennsylvania also requires disclosures. For any home built before 1978, federal law requires a lead-based paint disclosure before the lease is signed. Your municipality may add its own, as Philadelphia does with the Certificate of Rental Suitability.

Who You Cannot Turn Away: Fair Housing in Pennsylvania

Federal and state law both apply, and Pennsylvania’s list is longer than the federal one. Under the federal Fair Housing Act, you cannot refuse to rent, set different terms, advertise a preference, or steer applicants based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, or disability. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act adds ancestry and age (40 and over), and requires you to grant reasonable accommodations for residents with disabilities.

The change many landlords have not caught up on came in 2023. Since August of that year, Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission regulations define “sex” to include sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (PHRC). LGBTQ+ renters are protected statewide now, including in towns that never passed a local ordinance. The practical safeguard is boring and it works: screen every applicant against the same written criteria, keep your notes, and you are on solid ground if a rejected applicant ever complains.

What Repairs Are You Responsible For?

The serious ones, and you cannot sign that duty away. Every Pennsylvania rental carries an implied warranty of habitability, established by the state Supreme Court in Pugh v. Holmes, 486 Pa. 272 (1979), and no lease clause can waive it. You have to fix defects that make the home unsafe or unlivable: no heat in winter, unsafe wiring, no running or drinkable water, sewage failures, structural problems, and pest infestations (PALawHelp).

Normal aging of the home is routine upkeep on your side of the ledger. A defect that crosses into unsafe or unlivable is the one you have to treat as urgent. If you ignore it after written notice, Pennsylvania gives the resident real remedies, including repairing the problem and deducting the cost, setting rent aside until you fix it, or breaking the lease and moving out. Fast, documented repairs are cheaper than any of those outcomes.

How Do You Legally Evict a Resident in Pennsylvania?

Through court, and only through court. “Self-help” eviction, meaning changing the locks, removing belongings, or shutting off utilities to force someone out, is illegal in Pennsylvania and lets the resident sue you for damages (PALawHelp). However far behind the rent gets, the court process is the only process.

The legal path starts with a written notice to quit, then a filing with the Magisterial District Court if the resident does not comply. The notice period under 68 P.S. § 250.501 is 10 days for nonpayment of rent, 15 days for a lease breach or end of term on a lease of one year or less, and 30 days on a longer lease (Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951). One catch that surprises both sides: most standard Pennsylvania leases waive that notice, and courts enforce the waiver, so read your own lease before you count days. Philadelphia adds a required step, its Eviction Diversion Program, before you can file.

Act 88 of 2024, effective September 15, 2024, confirmed that a squatter who never had permission to be there is not owed a notice to quit. Your actual residents keep every notice right they had before. For the full list of moves that cross the line, see what a landlord cannot do in Pennsylvania.

Should You Manage It Yourself or Hire Help?

You can manage a Pennsylvania rental yourself, and many owners do, especially with a single property nearby. Hiring help earns its keep when the work outgrows your time or your distance from the property: marketing and screening, the unforgiving 30-day deposit clock, code inspections, the maintenance call at 11 p.m., and the eviction process you cannot afford to fumble.

A lot of first-time Pennsylvania landlords never planned on the job. They inherited a house, or moved for work and kept the old one, and are learning the rules on a live property. If you want to weigh the tradeoff, here is how to manage a rental property yourself, and here is what property managers charge in Pennsylvania if you would rather hand off the compliance work.

FAQ

Do you need a license to be a landlord in PA?

Not at the state level. Pennsylvania has no statewide landlord license. Whether you need one depends on your municipality: Philadelphia requires an annual rental license, Pittsburgh has a rental permit program (voluntary for now), and many townships require registration and inspection. Check your city or township code before you list.

What disclosures must a Pennsylvania landlord give a resident?

For any home built before 1978, federal law requires a lead-based paint disclosure before the lease is signed. Philadelphia adds its own: a Certificate of Rental Suitability and the city’s Partners in Good Housing handbook for every new resident. Your municipality may require more, so check the local code.

What insurance does a landlord need in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania does not require landlord insurance by statute, but a landlord (or “dwelling”) policy covering the building, liability, and lost rent is standard, and a mortgage lender will usually require it. A homeowners policy alone does not cover a home you rent out. Ask an agent about the coverage that fits your property.

How much can I charge for a security deposit in Pennsylvania?

Up to two months’ rent in the first year, then no more than one month’s rent after the first year. From the third year of a tenancy, a deposit over $100 has to sit in an interest-bearing escrow account, and you return it within 30 days of move-out with a written itemized list of any deductions.

Can I run a credit and background check on applicants in PA?

Yes. You can screen applicants with credit, background, and income checks as long as you apply the same criteria to everyone and get written consent. Uneven screening is where fair housing complaints start, so hold every applicant to one written standard.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, and every situation is different. For guidance on a specific situation, talk to a Pennsylvania-licensed attorney.