Pennsylvania Lease Agreements for Landlords

Pennsylvania lets you rent a home on an oral or written lease for up to 3 years, but a lease longer than 3 years must be in writing and signed, or it counts only as a lease at will, meaning the promised multi-year term is not binding. State law caps the security deposit at two months' rent in the first year and one month's rent after that. A written lease may shorten or waive the tenant's notice to quit, but it cannot waive the implied warranty of habitability. Residential leases must also be readable under the Plain Language Consumer Contract Act, and Philadelphia adds lead certification and rental license rules.

Does a Pennsylvania lease need to be written and signed?

Under section 201 of the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, a lease of 3 years or less can be oral or written. Section 202 requires a lease longer than 3 years to be in writing and signed by the parties. If it is not, it has only the effect of a lease at will. The exception: if the tenancy continues for more than a year and you and the tenant both treat it as real by charging and paying rent, it becomes a year-to-year tenancy.

A written lease is still the practical choice for any term. The notice-to-quit waiver described below works only "if the lease so provides," and that is hard to prove without a written lease. Our article on whether a verbal rental agreement is legally binding covers oral leases in more detail, and what terms are usually included in a lease lists the basic terms.

What do the plain-language rules require?

The Plain Language Consumer Contract Act covers written residential leases made in the usual course of business for personal or household use. It excludes commercial leases and contracts over $50,000. The lease must be written, organized, and designed to be easy to read. When a court decides whether a lease passes, it considers whether the lease:

• uses short words, sentences, and paragraphs, with active verbs
• avoids technical legal terms other than common ones such as "warranty" and "security interest," and avoids Latin
• refers to the parties as "you," "we," or by name
• avoids sentences with more than one condition, double negatives, and exceptions to exceptions
• has section captions in boldface and type size, spacing, and margins that are easy to read

The act also requires a statement describing any waivers of the tenant's rights in a residential lease.

A landlord who fails the readability test owes the tenant any actual loss, $100 in statutory damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney's fees, and the violation also counts under the state's consumer protection law. The lease stays valid. You are not liable if you made a good-faith and reasonable effort to comply, and you can submit a lease to the Attorney General for preapproval. The tenant cannot waive these rights.

What should the lease say about the security deposit?

Section 511.1 limits the deposit to two months' rent during the first year of the lease and one month's rent during the second and later years or any renewal. If you collected two months up front, return the excess when year two begins. After a tenant has been in possession for five years, a rent increase cannot be used to raise the deposit. A lease clause waiving these limits is void.

In Philadelphia, effective December 2, 2025, if you own, operate, or manage more than two rental units and charge more than one month's rent as a first-year deposit, the tenant may choose installments: one month's rent initially, with the remainder in three equal payments due no more often than monthly, starting the month after the tenancy begins. The deposit total must be the same either way. Count units held through entities under common ownership or control together.

Your lease should state the deposit amount and that the cap drops after year one. Once you have held a deposit over $100 for two years, section 511.2 requires you to keep it in an interest-bearing escrow account at a federally or state-regulated institution, tell the tenant in writing the bank's name and address and the amount held, and pay the tenant the interest each year on the lease anniversary, minus a 1% per year administrative fee. A bond from an authorized bonding company can replace the escrow account.

At move-out, you have 30 days to send a written list of damages and pay the balance. Missing the list costs you the right to keep any of the deposit for damage, and keeping too much costs double the excess. The tenant must give you a forwarding address in writing, so put that duty in the lease. Our Pennsylvania security deposit guide walks through the move-out steps.

Can the lease shorten or waive the notice to quit?

Yes. Section 501 sets these default notice periods before you can file for eviction:

Section 501(e) allows the notice to be "for a lesser time" or "waived by the tenant if the lease so provides." If you use a waiver, give it its own captioned section in plain language, since the readability test applies to it too.

A waiver removes only the notice. You still have to file a complaint, win a hearing, and have a constable or sheriff, not you, carry out the order for possession. See our Pennsylvania eviction process guide for the court process.

What lead paint rules apply to the lease?

For housing built before 1978, federal rules require you to do the following before the tenant signs:

1. Give the EPA pamphlet "Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home."
2. Disclose any lead-based paint or lead hazards you know about, plus any reports you have, including reports on common areas.
3. Include the federal Lead Warning Statement in the lease or an attachment, in the lease's language. Include your statement of known lead paint or hazards (or no knowledge), a list of supplied reports (or a statement that none are available), and the tenant's acknowledgment of receiving the disclosures, reports, and pamphlet. Any participating agent must acknowledge that they informed you of your duties and that they must ensure compliance. You, the tenant, and any participating agent must sign and date certifications that your statements are accurate to the best of your knowledge.
4. Keep a signed copy for three years after the lease begins.

Leases of 100 days or less are exempt only if no renewal or extension can occur. Studios and other zero-bedroom units, and housing for older adults or people with disabilities, are exempt unless a child under 6 lives there or is expected to. Housing certified free of lead-based paint is also exempt.

Philadelphia lead certification

Since April 1, 2022, Philadelphia requires every rental built before March 1978 to be certified lead-safe or lead-free by a certified lead inspector, whether or not children live there. Housing provided by or for a school only for its own students is excluded. Under Code section 6-803, you cannot sign a new lease or a renewal, including an automatic renewal, or get or renew a rental license, unless:

1. You give the tenant a valid lead-safe or lead-free certificate.
2. The tenant signs a copy to acknowledge receiving it.
3. You file a copy with the Department of Public Health.

A lead-safe certificate is valid if the inspection took place no more than 48 months before the rental license is issued, or before the lease is signed if there is no license. A lead-free certificate has no time limit. A renewal does not need a new certificate if the one you gave the tenant is still valid.

Philadelphia rental license and move-in documents

Every Philadelphia lease, including an oral lease, must give written notice that the tenant has 10 days to obtain an independent lead inspection and risk assessment by a certified lead inspector at the tenant's expense. If it finds lead paint or paint hazards in pre-1978 housing, or lead service lines or plumbing components in housing of any age, a new tenant may terminate within two business days after receiving the report and receive a refund of all money paid on account. On renewal, the tenant instead has 10 days to give written notice of termination and must end the lease and move out within 90 days after receiving the report; lease obligations continue until then.

Include the city's exact warning statements from Code section 6-805(2) in large type: the lead-paint warning for pre-1978 housing and the lead-water warning for every residential rental. Before entering any residential lease, disclose any known lead service line and give the tenant the city's current pamphlet on reducing exposure from lead service lines and plumbing components.

Philadelphia requires a rental license, which needs current lead certification, a business license, and paid property taxes. The city also requires you to give each new tenant:

• the lead certification and disclosures
• the Partners for Good Housing brochure
• a copy of the valid rental license and the Certificate of Rental Suitability
• the city's bedbug brochure and a written description of any infestation and treatment in the unit in the past 120 days
• a written smoking policy saying whether smoking is allowed in all, some, or none of the units

Which lease clauses will Pennsylvania courts not enforce?

• Habitability waivers. In Pugh v. Holmes (1979), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that every residential lease includes an implied warranty of habitability. The Superior Court held in Fair v. Negley (1978) that lease language cannot waive it, so an "as is" or "tenant handles all repairs" clause does not remove your duty to keep the home fit to live in. Our Pennsylvania repair obligations guide covers the tenant's remedies.
• Deposit waivers. Any clause waiving the deposit cap or the 30-day return rules is void and unenforceable.
• Plain-language waivers. A tenant cannot give up rights under the Plain Language Consumer Contract Act.

Pennsylvania has no statute setting a notice period for entry, so the lease's entry clause does most of the work. Our Pennsylvania entry rules guide explains what to include and Philadelphia's 24-hour rule.