Statutes

• Fair Housing Act. 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.
• Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951. 68 P.S. § 250.101, et seq.
• Manufactured Home Communities Rights Act, 68 P.S. § 398.1, et seq.
• Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, 43 Pa.C.S.A. §951 et seq.
• Pennsylvania Rent Withholding Act, 35 P.S. §1700-1, et seq.
• Plain Language Consumer Contract Act, 73 P.S. § 2201, et seq.
• Expedited Eviction of Drug Traffickers Act, 35 P.S. § 780-152
• Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act. 42 USC § 4851 et seq.
• Utility Service Tenants Rights Act, 66 Pa. C.S.A. § 1521, et seq.; 68 P.S. § 399.1, et seq.
• Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), 29 U.S.C. § 701 et seq. (Section related to nondiscrimination on the basis of disability in federally-funded housing is 29 U.S.C. § 794)
• Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, 73 P.S. § 201 -1-201-9.

Cases

• Pugh v. Holmes, 405 A.2d 897 (Pa. 1979) (established an implied warranty of habitability into residential leases).
• Fair v. Negley, 390 A.2d 240 (Pa. Super. 1978) (noted that the warranty of habitability cannot be waived by a lease provision or by tenant agreement).
• Pagano v. Redevelopment Authority, 376 A.2d 999, 1004 (Pa. Super. 1971) (noting that a lease can be written or oral, express or implied).
• Wallace v. Pastore, 742 A.2d 1090 (Pa. Super. 1999) (noting that a landlord can be liable under UTPCPL for triple damages and attorney fees for failure to return a security deposit).
• Stonehedge Square Limited Partnership v. Movie Merchants, Inc., 715 A.2d 1082 (Pa. 1998) (holding that a non-breaching landlord has no duty to mitigate by seeking a replacement tenant).
• Beasley v. Freedman, 289 A.2d 1087 (Pa. Super. 1978) (noted that a breach of the implied warranty of habitability may be a basis for a tort claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress).
• Allegheny Clarklift v. Woodline, 514 A.2d 606 (Pa. Super. 1986) (holding that the distraint permitted under 68 P.S. § 250.302 is unconstitutional because it violates due process).
• Wofford v. Vavreck, 22 D&C 3d 444 (C.P. Crawford 1981) (holding that the self-help doctrine was a court-made procedure that is no longer applicable and the Landlord Tenant Act of 1951 provided the exclusive process for a recovery of possession of the premises for rental arrears).
​• Lebanon County Housing Authority v. Landeck, 967 A.2d 1009 (Pa. Super 2009) (listing elements of tenant’s reasonable accommodation request and holding tenant can request a reasonable accommodation during an appeal to the Court of Common Pleas).

Date _____________________________

Landlord’s Name ___________________
Address __________________________ __________________________________

Dear _____________________________ :

I/we, ____________________________________________________ am/are your tenant at ____________________________________. Our lease started on____________________. We have asked for repairs that are important for our health and safety. The repairs that are most urgent and need to be fixed right away are: ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________. We request that you fix the problem as soon as possible; not later than ______________. 

Sincerely, 

(Signature) ________________________
Date _____________________________ 

Name ____________________________ 
Address __________________________ __________________________________ 
Telephone_________________________

​

Date _____________________________

Landlord’s Name ___________________
Address __________________________ __________________________________

Dear _____________________________ :

I am your tenant at _______________________________. I qualify as a disabled person according to the Fair Housing Act and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.

I am requesting a reasonable accommodation in order to have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy my apartment. I believe the reasonable accommodation will __________________________. Housing providers are required to make “reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services, when such accommodations may be necessary to afford [a disabled] person equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.” The Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §3604 and/or the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, 43 P.S. §955(h)(3.2).

I am requesting the following accommodation: ___________________________________.
I need this accommodation because:___________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________.

Please respond to my request in writing within ten (10) days. You may not inquire as to the nature or severity of my disability.

Sincerely, 

(Signature) ________________________
Date _____________________________

Name ____________________________
Address __________________________ __________________________________
​Telephone_________________________

April 23, 2019 

[Mr. or Ms. and your landlord’s name and address] 
Ms. Julie Johnson 
Pleasant View Apartments 
555 Roosevelt Street 
Anytown, PA 19999 

Dear Ms. Johnson: 

[Say who you are] We are your tenants at the Pleasant View Apartments at 555 Roosevelt Street, Apt. 22, under a lease agreement dated April 1, 2019.

[Tell what your problem is] This letter is to follow up on our April 16, 2019 letter to you asking for your immediate attention to the lack of hot water in our apartment. Since April 13, 2019 we have been unable to use the apartment because the broken hot water heater did not allow us to use the bath or wash our dishes, cooking utensils and clothing.

[Say that the problem has not been fixed and the apartment is uninhabitable] You have an obligation as the landlord to provide us an apartment with hot water. By not repairing the defective hot water heater you have broken the lease.

[Tell what you are going to do] Therefore, we are not going to pay the rent for the month of May, 2019 because of your failure to repair the hot water heater. We have the money for rent and request that you meet us at (name of bank) on (insert date) to sign the paperwork necessary to set up an escrow account as recommended by our lawyer.

Sincerely, 

[Your (tenant’s) name and address] 
Tammy and Joe Thompson 
555 Roosevelt Street, Apt 22 
​Anytown, PA 19999

April 1, 2019 

[Mr. or Ms. and your landlord’s name and address] 
Mr. John Smith 
Sunnydale Apartments 
250 Main Street 
Anytown, PA 19999 

Dear Mr. Smith: 

[Say who you are] We are tenants at Sunnydale Apartments on Maple Street, under a lease agreement dated February 1, 2019.

[Say that the he has not fixed the problem] On March 20 and 22, 2019 we told you in writing that there was a very serious cockroach problem in our apartment, which makes the place unsanitary and disgusting. You even saw how bad the situation is and yet you did nothing, nor did you contact us, which is a breach of the lease

[Tell what you have done and how much it will cost] On March 31, 2019, we called three local exterminators and asked for estimates of the cost to exterminate our apartment. We have enclosed copies of these estimates. On April 1, 2019 we hired RoachBusters, the lowest priced company, to come to our apartment and exterminate. The cost of this service was $50. A copy of the paid receipt is enclosed.

[Say that you are subtracting this cost form the rent] This letter is notice to you that we have paid the costs of the extermination, and we are subtracting that amount from the April rent. Therefore, we are paying you $400 for this month, which equals the difference between our monthly rent and the cost of extermination.

Sincerely, 

[Your (tenant’s) name and address] 
Christine and Tom Miller 
250 Main Street, Apt 25 
Anytown, PA 19999

March 27, 2019 

[Mr. or Ms. and your landlord’s name and address]
Mr. John Smith 
Sunnydale Apartments 
250 Main Street 
Anytown, PA 19999 

Dear Mr. Smith: 

[Say who you are] We are tenants at Sunnydale Apartments on Maple Street, under a lease agreement dated February 1, 2019.

[Describe your problem] Since March 18, 2019 our apartment has had a very serious cockroach problem. The problem is so bad that we can’t keep much food in the apartment. Roaches even get into the refrigerator. The cockroaches are everywhere, including our beds. As a result, the apartment is disgusting to live in or sleep in. 

[Say that the he has not fixed the problem] We wrote to you about this problem on March 20 and asked you to take care of this problem by March 27, while we were on vacation. Despite this, you have not taken care of the problem.

[Tell what you plan to do] This letter is notice to you that we plan to correct this roach problem ourselves. If you do not correct this problem by March 31, 2019, we are going to hire an exterminator to get rid of the roaches, and we will deduct the costs from our next rent payment.

Thank you for your cooperation. 

Sincerely, 

[Your (tenant’s) name and address] 
Christine and Tom Miller 
250 Main Street, Apt 25 
Anytown, PA 19999

​

March 21, 2019

[Mr. or Ms. and your landlord’s name and address]
Mr. John Smith 
250 Main Street 
Anytown, PA 19999 

Dear Mr. Smith:

[Say who you are] We are your tenants at the Low Rise Apartments on Broad Street, under a lease agreement dated November 20, 2014

[Tell again what your problem is] On March 11, 2019, we wrote to you to tell you that our toilet and sewer system wasn’t working right, and asked you to fix it by March 20, 2019. We told you that waste was backing up into the sinks and the bathtub of our apartment, which made the apartment very unhealthy and unsanitary.

[Say that he has not fixed the problem and say what you plan to do] Despite our letter requesting you fix this problem, you have not repaired this problem. By not fixing it, you have broken the lease. We cannot continue to live in this apartment with this terrible situation, and are therefore ending our lease agreement, and leaving the apartment as of today, March 21, 2019.

Last, we request return of our security deposit of $550 which we gave you at the beginning of the lease. We are also asking for the interest which has accrued from the security deposit. The total refund due to us is $550 plus the amount of interest earned from the security deposit. Our forwarding address is: Susan and Fred Jones, 500 Pleasant Blvd. Niceplace, PA 29999

Thank you for your attention and response to this request.

Sincerely,

[Your (tenant’s) name and address]
Susan and Fred Jones
150 Broad Street, Apt 15 
​Anytown, PA 19999

First request for repairs to landlord

March 11, 2019

[Mr. or Ms. and your landlord’s name and address]
Mr. John Smith
250 Main Street
Anytown, PA 19999 

Dear Mr. Smith:

[Say who you are] We are your tenants at the Low Rise Apartments on Broad Street, under a lease agreement dated November 20, 2014

[Tell what your problem is] We are having a problem with our toilet and sewer system. Every time we flush the toilet, raw sewage backs up into our sinks and the bathtub. It’s really unhealthy and unsanitary, especially since we have an 8-month-old infant. We request that you fix the problem by March 20, 2019.

Sincerely,

[Your (tenant’s) name and address]
Susan and Fred Jones
150 Broad Street, Apt 15
Anytown, PA 19999
​555-555-5555

NOTE: Make a list of all items that need to be fixed and request landlord to repair them before signing the lease and moving in. Check to make sure all items work properly, such as sinks, toilets, outlets, lights, appliances, locks, furnace and air conditioner. This will help to prevent problems with the landlord.

What if my landlord sells the building where I live?
When the owner sells the building, the new owner takes the property subject to the existing lease. The new owner must get the information about the tenants from the prior owners, including their rental payment history, security deposits and copies of lease agreements. You can make the new owner follow the lease, just as you must continue to abide by the lease.

What if I find out that the landlord is in foreclosure?
You may find out that your landlord is in foreclosure or behind on taxes, by seeing a notice posted by the sheriff or delivered to the tenants. Pennsylvania law requires a bank foreclosing on a property to send certain notices to the property owner and then to file a mortgage foreclosure action in the Court of Common Pleas.

That process can take many months or sometimes years. The owner will not lose the property until there has been a sheriff sale or tax sale. You will still owe rent while the property is in foreclosure, but make sure the owner is still taking responsibility for the property, making repairs and paying utilities.

If the property sells at the sheriff sale, the purchaser at sheriff sale may demand that you vacate the residence. There was a law called “Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (PTFA)” that required the new owner to honor a tenant’s lease, but that law expired in 2015. In some cases, properties with HUD-owned mortgages may offer a tenant the opportunity to apply to rent the property at fair market value.

​The new owner must file a legal action to take over the property. Sometimes, they will offer a small amount of money for moving costs if you move immediately. Because they are not your landlord, they cannot file a complaint at the MDJ. They must file in the county Court of Common Pleas an action in Ejectment. This process can take several months and you may be able to negotiate with the new owner for an agreeable move out date.