a telephone number at the utility company where you may call for an explanation of your rights. If you live in a low income household, there may be special arrangements to help you See, Electric, gas and some water companies have, Utility companies must allow you to pay your bills on a, The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has many resources to help keep individuals and families warm during Pennsylvania winters. While there arent any restrictions on charging the tenant with late fees, most landlords do charge late fees, which should be reasonable under the circumstances. Under Pennsylvania law and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), people with disabilities may bring their service animals to all public accommodations, such as government buildings, hotels, restaurants, stadiums, and stores. If your landlord is responsible for paying for utility service and fails to pay the utility bill or if the landlord instructs the utility company to shut off your service, the Utility Services Tenants Right Act requires that you be notified by the utility company at least 30 days in advance. Tenants are protected through the Public Utility Code for the resale, but other protections may be under the landlord/tenant law. 2. For details, see Pennsylvania Termination for Nonpayment of Rent, and Other Rent Rules. 250.101 - 250.510-B . Pennsylvania Accepting Applications for Homeowner Assistance Fund, Custody Proceedings - Representing Yourself, Divorce Proceedings - Representing Yourself, Get the latest news items of interest to the legal aid community and it's clients on PALegalAid.Net. Robert Ballenger, J.D., MSW, codirector of Community Legal Services of Philadelphias energy unit. He grew up in Delaware County's Morton borough and has a degree in journalism from Temple University. Regarding a year-to-year or definite lease term, at least 30 days notice is required if the landlord wants to make any changes to the lease or terminate the tenancy. It does not store any personal data. Create an account to make a lease agreement for your rental and collect rental fees from tenants. Additionally, the lead paint and disclosure certification law requires landlords to ensure that any property where children 6 years and younger reside is free of lead. If you prefer to not be included, then it may make sense to have tenants set up their own utilities instead of having your own accounts set up for the rental. It is more difficult to get service turned back on after shut off. If you market your rental property as utilities included, its important to explicitly state which utilities the tenants are responsible for paying in the rental listing and lease agreement. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. %PDF-1.4 Invoice your tenants for the utility bill each month so it perfectly matches how much they use. To do so, they must first terminate the tenancy by giving proper notice to move out. }!2FUG&}|~u:BQJyJ? uT$vO;M7am)}Ny^3Srru8e?[Be@MSV t hJbmd 182qUkMwQu33hGeu Ol F[iDtcL OG>n_on1;B]6z;P:^Sb1 s nvl>|jWnBEE{dc4`az0 [qFk/0-bcjr5h`9\au&:PN uSrGt%.~u{}Q+=]m[3>hU)mpJJnt47ur{z[V@n$`Cz*T P:an $]EP~00j>a8n^1s %.e. comply with all obligations imposed upon tenants by applicable law. If the tenant does not contact the landlord within ten days, the landlord may dispose of the items and absolves him or herself of all future responsibility. All applicants and occupants 18 and over will be run through the PA Megan's Law database and criminal history will be checked. You can search the table of contents for the landlord-tenant statutes. For details, see Pennsylvania Required Landlord Disclosures. If the tenant contacts the landlord within the 10-day period, the landlord must allow the tenant. That can cause issues for some tenants especially if you are low-income. If you dispute your bill or disagree with the meter readings, you must notify the utility company and tell them that you dispute the bill. wa\`*t -+^9L^/w nXEI3un c-sw-b\D7NWt+o/Xc=gv 9 Sii!f2M~^jeH Making tenants responsible for the utilities can ease some responsibility for the landlord. Generally, issues impacting utilities are categorized as a maintenance issue that the landlord will need to help with resolving. Tenant Laws: Utilities Utilities are basic necessary services provided to residential properties by public companies. Your rights as a tenant: Check out our tenants' rights guide. Are interest payments required on deposits? You also may be able to have the utility service transferred to your name. Tenant'sExemption;Appraisement. Click here for a standard sublease template in Pennsylvania. Both landlords and tenants should be able to deal with many legal questions and problems without a lawyer, once they understand the basics of state law. Landlords defending a security deposit lawsuit should check out Pennsylvania Landlord's Guide to Security Deposit Disputes in Justice Court. Find Burnham Pennsylvania Landlord & Tenant attorneys near you. This can be done by including three clauses: In this clause, you can list which utilities are the tenants responsibility, state that these utilities should be in the tenants names, or state that these utilities need to be active for the duration of the lease. State and Local Government on the Net and Municode are good sources for finding local governments online. If the tenant wins, the tenant is legally entitled to stay on the premises. Also, your local public library or office of the city attorney, mayor, or city or county manager can provide information on local ordinances that affect landlords and tenants in Pennsylvania. Got a question? The notice should have a bill for the previous 30 days of service attached. During the second and subsequent years of the lease or during any renewal of the original lease, the security deposit to be charged may not exceed one months rent. 5764 Route 145 , Laurys Station, PA 18059 is a single-family home listed for rent at /mo. If you do not believe a utility is providing a payment term you can report them to the Public Utility Commission (PUC) at, Show that you paid your bill or show that there is a disagreement (dispute) about your bill. Tenant Rights: Security Deposits, Lease Terminations, and More. If the lease is one year or more, the landlord must provide 90 days notice. Landlord Tenant Rights If payment has been accepted for rent (and/or a written or oral lease exists), a renter has inherent rights under landlord tenant law. 68 P.S. Contact the utility company and demand that the service be restored immediately. In Philadelphia, the Utility Service Tenants Rights Act applies to the water bill from the Philadelphia Water Department, while the Discontinuance of Service to Leased Premises Act applies to bills from Peco and Philadelphia Gas Works. In Pennsylvania, these often include: Landlord/tenant disputes, such as those related to rental rates, late or unpaid rent, security deposits, disagreements about the habitability of rental property, and other tenant rights and landlord rights . You may be required to provide a copy of the PFA to the utility company. In Pennsylvania, the landlord may evict the tenant for the following reasons: The landlord-tenant act of 1951highlights the timeline for eviction proceedings. If you pay this amount directly to the utility company, they cannot stop service to your home. After the first ten days, the landlord may move the items to another location and charge the tenant for storage. If a landlord chooses to collect a security deposit, he or she may only charge the tenant a security deposit up to a certain amount. Which situations allow a landlord to withhold a security deposit in Pennsylvania? The utility company is only required to provide you with one payment agreement for the same debt. If you and your utility company cannot agree, call the Public Utility Commission (PUC) at. It consists of 50 separate numbered titles, each covering a specific subject matter. For example, if your normal rent is $300 per month, you can countersue the landlord for $600. His work has also appeared inPhiladelphia magazine andTechnical.lyPhilly. Pennsylvania state law limits how much a landlord can charge for a security deposit (two months' rent for the first year of renting and one month's rent during subsequent years), when it must be returned (within 30 days after a tenant moves), and sets other restrictions on deposits. State law regulates several rent-related issues, including how much time (10 days in Pennsylvania) a tenant has to pay overdue rent or move before a landlord can file for eviction. Landlord has certain duties to the tenant throughout the lease term while tenant is occupying the premises. (the first ten plus twenty more) to get the items. What are the rules and regulations pertaining to receipt of rent payments in Pennsylvania? Please browse PhillyTenant.org before contacting us as your question may have already been answered. Typical duties of the landlord. Get next-day payments with Fastpay Save money and time with an Avail lawyer-approved lease agreement, free for landlords. This responsibility of the landlord extends not only to the individual tenant, but also to his family, servants and employees, business visitors, and social guests. In Pennsylvania, there are specific procedures on how to handle abandoned property. They are also liable if the utility company has given written notice to the tenant that such utility service is about to be cut off because of the landlords nonpayment of the utility bill. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. If you find that other landlords are not, then including them for your rental may help your rental listing stand out in a competitive market. In Pennsylvania, a landlord can evict a tenant without a lease or with a lease that has ended (known as a "holdover tenant" or "tenant at will"). Outlining who is responsible for which utility in your lease agreement can ensure all parties are informed on the expectations. Please see below for more on retaliation. Code, Public Utilities 7-303 See Filing a Security Deposit Lawsuit in Pennsylvania Justice Court for advice for tenants filing suit. The utility company has to notify you of the proposed termination within seven (7) days of the termination notice to the landlord. Most notably, the code requires landlords to provide tenants with a copy of the, City of Philadelphia Partners for Good Housing. Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in Pennsylvania? These often include: Landlord/tenant disputes, such as those related to rental rates, late or unpaid rent, security deposits, disagreements about the habitability of rental property, and other tenant rights and landlord rights issues. Landlords are required to distribute Truth in Renting to . Legal issues related to real estate and the landlord/tenant relationship come in a variety of forms. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. In Pennsylvania, the landlord may impose certain penalties if the tenant violates the terms of the rental agreement by subleasing the premises. Copyright 2023 MH Sub I, LLC dba Nolo Self-help services may not be permitted in all states. The Landlord/Tenant Act requires your landlord to give you a written eviction notice. The tenant may be responsible for electric and gas while the landlord is responsible for water and sewer. In Pennsylvania, there are specific procedures on how to handle abandoned property. During the third or subsequent year of a lease, or during any renewal after the expiration of two years of tenancy, if the landlord requires a security deposit in the amount of one months rent amount, upon termination of the lease, or on surrender and acceptance of the leasehold premises, the deposit, with interest, shall be returned to the tenant. Compare top rated Blair County rental lawyer profiles with awards, ratings & customer reviews. Call your utility company to inform them of your PFA so these special procedures and protections can put in place for you. The U.S. Code is the starting place for most federal statutory research. The tenant may stop the eviction proceedings by paying rent or proving that he or she was not in breach of the lease. You'll also find a wealth of information in the Landlords and Renters' Rights sections of the Nolo website and Nolo books, such as Every Landlord's Legal Guide and Every Tenant's Legal Guide. The utility company must give your landlord at least 37 days notice that it will be turning off service. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. `nv?&H2 1{{OK&G{+yr/ K`MUX7.w%7u,nRmTp9.AKHG9dLE In the state of Pennsylvania, a rental agreement is valid wherever a tenant agrees to exchange rent for occupying a property. after the tenant has vacated the premises. You will still be obligated to pay all utility bills that you do not dispute, including any bills you are receiving while the complaint is ongoing. After a landlord receives a tenants security deposit and places it into an account, the landlord must notify the tenant in writing with the name and address of the bank and amount of security deposited. x\Ks# W0n8|#SJ-8T%[lrMu5^ $A [_>B+W]>mOO0:c.M]WO]Uk:}>> kLB>^! If you are a victim of domestic violence and have a valid Protection from Abuse Order (PFA), there are special procedures and protections for handling your utility service. Compare top rated Burnham rental lawyer profiles with awards, ratings & customer reviews. Specifically, state law fails to explicitly mention a landlords duties and tenants rights pertaining to circumstances where the tenant has been a victim of a sexual crime or domestic violence. Under Pennsylvania law, landlords must disclose specific information to tenants (usually in the lease or rental agreement), such as the name and address of the banking institution where the security deposit is kept. The District Justice will decide whether or not the landlord is entitled to a judgment for possession of the property. Learn how to set a late fee. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. This guide will cover Pennsylvania, as well as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia landlord-tenant law. After you contact the utility, your service should be restored, and you should be sent the 30-day notice. In Philadelphia, the landlord-tenant law is governed by the Philadelphia Property Maintenance Code (Section PM-102.6.4). If tenants are looking for rentals that include utilities in the rent price, most apartment hunting websites allow tenants to filter listings by that criteria. Additionally, landlords must give an EPA-approved information pamphlet. Its also potentially risky to not have water flowing through your pipes, especially in the winter, so ensure everything works. Pennsylvania tenants are legally entitled to a rental that meets basic structural, health, and safety standards. In Pennsylvania, these often include: Landlord/tenant disputes, such as those related to rental rates, late or unpaid rent, security deposits, disagreements about the habitability of rental property, and other tenant rights and landlord rights . Are tenants allowed to withhold rent under the laws of Pennsylvania? We recommend having a signed rental agreement, no matter how long the rental term, for added legal security. Under Pennsylvania law and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), people with disabilities may bring their service animals to all public accommodations, such as government buildings, hotels, restaurants, stadiums, and stores. 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