Monthly Archives: November 2014

Is a tenant permitted to withhold rent in Pennsylvania if there are problems with the rental property?  In some cases, a tenant can withhold rent, but proper procedure must be followed. In most cases, tenants do not follow the proper procedure in withholding rent and are in breach of the Lease Agreement by withholding rent.

A typical scenario occurs when a tenant has a complaint about a certain problem existing on the property such as mold, lack of heat, water leaks, insect or rodent infestation, or code violations. The tenant has a duty to inform the landlord of the problem and give the landlord a reasonable period of time to fix the problem. In the event the landlord is not diligent in fixing the problem within a reasonable period of time, the tenant is able to exercise their remedies under law.

The tenant generally has three remedies when a landlord …

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In Pennsylvania, a tenant is required to provide the landlord with their forwarding address in writing in order to receive the return of their security deposit.  Once the landlord receives the tenant’s forwarding address, the landlord must then return the unused portion of the tenant’s security deposit with an itemized list of damages within thirty (30) days. A landlord is permitted to use the tenant’s security deposit to cover items related to physical damages, unpaid rent, and unpaid utilities that the tenant is responsible for under the terms of the lease. If an itemized list of damages is not sent to the tenant within thirty (30) days of receipt of the tenant’s forwarding address, the landlord will forfeit the right to withhold any portion of the tenant’s security deposit and the tenant is able to seek double the amount of the security deposit.

What if I sent the tenant a