A Pennsylvania rental application is a document landlords use to assess potential tenants’ reliability and financial capability to pay rent on time. This standard form helps screen for red flags, such as credit history and employment references, allowing smart landlords to minimize risk before drafting a lease agreement.
Laws
- Application Fee – Non-refundable
- Fee Limits – No limits
- Security Deposit – § 511.1(a) – Landlords cannot request more than two months’ rent as a security deposit.
Rental Application Fee
There is no statute regarding fees, including any limits to the fee amount or whether the fee is non-refundable.
Fair Housing Protections
The law prohibits discrimination in housing-related transactions based on the following protected classes: [1]
- Race
- Color
- Sex
- Familial Status – This includes protections for individuals who are pregnant or in the process of securing legal custody of a child under 18.
- National Origin
- Disability (also referred to as “handicap”)
- Religion (religious creed)
- Age
- Ancestry
- Pregnancy
Age
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act filled in a gap left by federal law by defining age as any person forty years or older when it comes to housing discrimination when a landlord refuses to lease a rental property to a tenant based on age.
Ensure you are not viewed as discriminatory when collecting age (birth date) information on your application. Watch your words with prospective tenants and the language in your housing ads.
Reasonable Modifications
In cases of disabled tenants, a landlord may not refuse to permit reasonable modifications to the premises.
The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to threaten, coerce, intimidate, or interfere with anyone exercising a fair housing right or helping others exercise their rights. [2]
Timeframe to File Complaint
Tenants must file their housing discrimination claim within 180 days of the discriminatory act.
Investigation Procedure
After the filing of a tenant complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, the tenant will be assigned a docket number within thirty days of the date of docketing, and the respondent (landlord) must answer the complaint within sixty days of the date of service. [3]
If the complaint has not been resolved within one year, the tenant may commence an action in the Court of Common Pleas or the Commonwealth Court.
Criminal Records
For tenants arrested and convicted of second or third-degree misdemeanors who have completed their punishment and have had no arrests or prosecutions within the last year, state laws allow them to petition the courts for an order of limited access to information.
Security Deposit Limits
A security deposit is not a fee but a security deposit a landlord collects when the parties sign the lease agreement. The security deposit typically covers costs due to damages incurred by the tenant during the rental.
The amount a landlord can charge for a security deposit is regulated by state law and varies depending on the length of the tenancy: [4]
- First Year of Tenancy: During the first year, a landlord can charge a security deposit of up to two months’ rent.
- Second Year of Tenancy: For the second year of tenancy and any subsequent years, the maximum security deposit that can be charged is reduced to one month’s rent.
- Additional Years: After five years of tenancy, landlords cannot increase the security deposit even if the rent increases.
Handling of Security Deposits
Landlords in Pennsylvania must follow specific rules regarding the handling and return of security deposits:
- Separate Account: Security deposits must be kept in a separate, escrow account in a federally or state-regulated banking institution. For deposits exceeding $100, the landlord must place the deposit in an interest-bearing account after the second year of tenancy. [5]
- Interest on Security Deposits: After the second year of tenancy, tenants are entitled to the interest earned on their security deposit, minus a 1% fee that landlords can retain for administrative expenses. [5]
- Return of Security Deposits: Upon termination of the lease and vacancy of the property, the landlord must return the security deposit within 30 days. If deductions are made, the landlord must provide an itemized list of damages and the cost of repairs. [6]
- Itemized Statement: The itemized statement and any remaining balance of the deposit must be delivered or mailed to the tenant’s forwarding address. If the tenant fails to provide a forwarding address, the landlord is not liable for damages resulting from the failure to return the deposit. [6]
Pet Deposit
In Pennsylvania, landlords cannot charge separate pet deposits or fees. The security deposit covers all potential damages, including those from pets, ensuring no extra financial burden on pet owners.
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