Pennsylvania Landlord-Tenant Laws

Verified July 8, 2026

Pennsylvania Security deposits

Pennsylvania caps security deposits at two months' rent in the first year of a lease and one month's rent from the second year on, and after five years of tenancy the deposit can't be raised at all — with a 30-day deadline after lease end or surrender to deliver an itemized damage list and refund the balance.

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Pennsylvania Rent increase notice

Pennsylvania has no statute requiring any specific notice before a rent increase; the practical floor for a month-to-month tenancy is the notice-to-quit rule — 15 days for tenancies of one year or less or of indeterminate duration, 30 days for tenancies over one year (68 P.S. 250.501(b)) — because a tenant who declines the new rent is on notice the tenancy can end on that same timeline.

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Pennsylvania Late fees

Pennsylvania sets no statutory cap on residential late fees and mandates no grace period — the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 simply doesn't address them — so a late fee must be written into the lease to be collectable and is enforced, if challenged, under general contract-law limits on penalty clauses.

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Pennsylvania Entry notice

Pennsylvania is one of the minority of states with no statute requiring advance notice before a landlord enters an occupied rental unit — the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 is silent on entry, so the lease governs, backstopped by the tenant's right to quiet enjoyment.

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How this record was verified: Direct read of the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 (P.L. 69, No. 20) text on the official PA General Assembly site (legis.state.pa.us HTM full text and section 512 page): Sections 511.1 (68 P.S. 250.511a), 511.2 (250.511b), 511.3 (250.511c), 512 (250.512), 501 (250.501). Absence of rent-increase, late-fee, and entry statutes verified against the full Act text and multiple concurring secondary sources.