Pennsylvania rental housing bills

What it would do: Requires justices of the peace to stay execution of eviction writs during extreme weather (temperatures at or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, winter/hurricane/tropical storm warnings, or excessive heat warnings) for tenants enrolled in specified assistance programs, with execution to resume within five days after conditions cease.

What it would do: Restricts access to eviction case records by placing them under limited access after seven years from filing or fifty days after judgment favoring the occupant, and prohibits dissemination of such information except to specified parties including the tenant, attorneys, and researchers.

What it would do: Grants residents of manufactured home communities the right to purchase the community before sale by requiring owners to notify residents 90 days before sale and allowing resident associations or nonprofits representing 25% of spaces to match competing offers within 120 days. Provides remedies including injunctive relief and civil penalties up to 30% of sale price for noncompliance.

What it would do: Amends the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 to allow eligible tenants who are victims of domestic violence, sexual violence, or stalking to terminate their lease with 120 days' notice and supporting documentation, and prohibits landlords from retaliating against such tenants.

What it would do: Restricts housing providers from considering criminal records of applicants except for drug trafficking convictions under 18 Pa.C.S. § 7508 with prison sentences concluded within seven years, requires individualized assessment, and establishes Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission enforcement with penalties up to $10,000.

What it would do: Requires landlords to provide habitable dwellings and establishes tenant relocation protections when housing is condemned as uninhabitable, including moving costs for temporary displacement and security deposit return plus pro rata rent for permanent displacement exceeding 60 days.

What it would do: Amends the Manufactured Home Community Rights Act to prohibit owners from interfering with resident associations, allow unrestricted group meetings, cap annual rent increases at CPI-U for the Northeast Region (minimum 2%, maximum 4%), allow higher increases only for documented extraordinary operating expenses with resident notice and meeting rights, and extend notice periods for rent increases to 90 days.

What it would do: Increases constable fees and surcharges in Pennsylvania. Raises the restricted account surcharge from $5 to $10 per docket number in criminal cases and per defendant in civil cases, and increases various constable service fees in civil and criminal cases, effective 60 days after enactment.

What it would do: Requires landlords with 15 or more residential units to establish an opt-in rent reporting program allowing tenants to report positive rent payments to consumer reporting agencies, with fees capped at $5 monthly, and mandates written notice of the program in all residential leases.

What it would do: Prohibits landlords from charging tenants ongoing or upfront fees or rent for common household pets, but allows monthly pet deposits up to one percent of monthly rent not exceeding five hundred dollars over the lease term, deposited in escrow for damages.

What it would do: Requires landlords to state in leases whether parking is provided and any associated fees, and prohibits landlords from changing or adding parking fees during a lease term. Allows tenants to sue in lower court for violations, with courts able to order landlords to reimburse parking costs.

What it would do: Establishes a regulatory framework for short-term rentals in Pennsylvania, categorizing them as homestays, vacation rentals, or corporate STR operators, each with different permitting, insurance, and safety requirements, and requires counties to maintain registries and booking services to report rental data for tax administration.

What it would do: Caps residential rental application fees at the lesser of actual background check costs or fifty dollars, limits fees to criminal history and credit checks, and requires landlords to individually assess applicants' criminal histories considering offense nature, time elapsed, and sentence completion rather than blanket exclusions.

What it would do: Adds tenant protections to Pennsylvania's Landlord and Tenant Act, restricting eviction grounds to nonpayment of rent, repeated lease violations within six months, community land use changes, or property termination, and requiring landlords to provide written notice, fee disclosures, and community rules to lessees.

What it would do: Consolidates manufactured home community protections into Title 68, establishing an Office of Manufactured Home Ombudsman and Hearing Board to investigate disputes and enforce tenant rights including eviction protections, fee limitations, and rent increase reviews.

What it would do: Requires the Insurance Department to maintain a public website with flood risk information and property flood hazard area data. Requires landlords to disclose to tenants in writing whether properties have experienced flood damage, their flood hazard area status, flood insurance requirements, and the landlord's flood insurance coverage.

What it would do: Amends the Manufactured Home Community Rights Act to protect resident associations, require 180-day notice before rent increases, cap annual increases at average 60-month CPI-U (minimum 2%, maximum 4%), allow temporary surcharges for capital improvements with resident consent, and extend lessee decision periods to 60 days.

What it would do: Amends Pennsylvania's Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law to define using algorithmic rent-setting software to set residential or commercial rent amounts, lease terms, or occupancy levels as an unfair or deceptive act or practice.

What it would do: Requires dwelling unit owners to equip rental units with compliant smoke alarms within 24 months and address tenant-reported deficiencies within 96 hours. Requires tenants to maintain alarms, test them annually, and not disable them, with violations punishable by fines up to $50.

What it would do: Establishes public housing safety committees to review criminal background checks for housing authority applicants with misdemeanor-level or higher offenses. Requires landlords in Housing Choice Voucher Programs to not be delinquent on property taxes and allows them to request background checks on applicant household members.

What it would do: Prohibits landlords from denying housing based on arrest records, conviction records, or criminal history, except for sex offender registry information with legitimate business reasons. Requires notice to prospective tenants of these protections and prohibits retaliation for asserting these rights.

What it would do: Adds Chapter 91 to Pennsylvania law establishing requirements for short-term rentals of residential property, including rental operator conduct standards, municipal registration compliance, private causes of action for violations, fines up to $500 or $1,000 per day for non-compliance, and court-ordered removal from listing platforms for repeated violations.

What it would do: Limits residential rental property increases to 10 percent or the county's area median income increase, whichever is greater, and caps new tenant increases at 15 percent above prior tenant rent. Establishes a Rent Control Advisory Board to administer and report on these provisions, which expire 15 years after enactment.

What it would do: Restricts access to eviction case information in Pennsylvania courts, making eviction files inaccessible to the public unless the case resulted in a judgment for the plaintiff and is less than seven years old. Prohibits tenant screening services from reporting limited access evictions and creates a private right of action for violations.

What it would do: Requires landlords who have tenants pay utility services directly to the landlord to use a written lease notifying tenants of this requirement and to provide copies of utility bills to tenants within five days of request.