Tenant’s Responsibilities

  • Pay rent when due.
  • Comply with all terms and conditions of the lease and/or the application for a lease.
  • Comply with any rules and regulations included in the lease or a separately signed addendum.
  • Comply with the requirements of Pennsylvania law, local ordinances, and housing codes.
  • Refrain from disturbing the peaceful enjoyment of other tenants and neighbors.
  • Refrain from damaging the premises.
  • Notify the landlord of any serious defects in the premises which may cause the building to deteriorate.
  • Repair any damages resulting from tenant’s actions or negligence (other than normal wear and tear).
  • Keep the premises reasonably clean.
  • Make minor repairs, unless the lease provides otherwise.
  • Allow the landlord or his/her representative or local government inspectors reasonable access for inspection and repairs.

Landlord’s Duties

  • Give tenant possession of the leased premises on the commencement date of the lease.
  • Comply with the terms and conditions of lease.
  • Provide and maintain safe, sanitary, and habitable premises.
  • Refrain from interfering with tenant’s exclusive and peaceful use of the premises.
  • Refrain from any unfair or deceptive act or practice which violates Pennsylvania’s Consumer Protection Law.
  • Refrain from acts of discrimination which violate the federal “Fair Housing Act” or Pennsylvania law. Prohibited discrimination includes discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, handicap, disability, or use of a guide dog due to disability of the user.
  • Comply with the Pennsylvania “Mobile Home Park Rights Act” in situations where the tenant owns a mobile home and leases space from the landlord.
  • Comply with all requirements of the Pennsylvania “Landlord/Tenant Act.”
  • Comply with the Pennsylvania “Utility Service Tenants Rights Act” in situations where utility service is billed to the landlord, rather than the tenant.
  • Comply with the Pennsylvania security deposit law, contained in the “Landlord/Tenant Act.”
  • Comply with the Pennsylvania “Uniform Condominium Act” which contains protection for residential tenants in buildings being converted to condominiums.
  • Comply with any standards set by federal housing regulations, local ordinances and property maintenance codes.
  • Unless validly waived by the lease, provide tenants with proper advance written notice of intent to evict for breach of lease or failure to pay rent.
  • Refrain from lockouts, threats, or self-help eviction.
  • In complexes or houses with three or more separate apartments, allow tenant to have guests for reasonable time; to retain control of certain common areas and facilities; and to use reasonable care in providing for safety in the common areas and facilities.

Tenant’s Remedies

  • Sue for damages resulting from landlord’s failure to give possession of premises on commencement date of lease.
  • Terminate the lease upon a serious breach by landlord.
  • Sue for damages upon landlord’s breach of the lease.
  • Utilize the remedies provided by the implied warranty of habitability and the Pennsylvania “Rent Withholding Act” if landlord fails to provide or maintain livable premises.
  • Defend against improper legal action initiated by landlord, and appeal any court decision, even if lease waives these rights.
  • Sue for injunction to stop self-help eviction or lockout by landlord.
  • File complaints or take appropriate legal action for violation by landlord of any of the following:
    • Pennsylvania “Landlord/Tenant Act”
    • Federal “Fair Housing Act”
    • Pennsylvania “Human Relations Act”
    • Pennsylvania “Consumer Protection Law”
    • Pennsylvania “Mobile Home Park Rights Act”
    • Pennsylvania “Condominium Conversion Act”
    • Pennsylvania “Utility Service Tenant’s Rights Act”
    • Local housing maintenance code

Landlord’s Remedies

  • Take legal action to regain possession of the premises in the event of serious breach by the tenant. This is usually called an “eviction.”
  • Take legal action to recover unpaid rent, as well as any additional fees (such as late fees) required by the lease.
  • Under some leases, upon tenant’s failure to pay the rent, landlord may sue in advance for rent which would normally be paid in monthly installments through the end of the lease.
  • Under some leases which contain a provision making the tenants “jointly and severally” liable for the rent, if any one tenant fails to pay his or her share of the rent, the landlord may take legal action against any or all of the tenants. Through the use of this clause, one roommate is often required to pay another roommate’s share of the rent.
  • Take legal action against parents or other parties who have guaranteed the tenant’s performance under the lease.
  • Retain the tenant security deposit for damages to the premises or unpaid rent.
  • Take legal action to recover any damages or unpaid rent in excess of the security deposit.
  • Request Sheriff’s sale of tenant’s personal property or place a lien on a certain real estate if the judgment is not paid within thirty days.