Pennsylvania eviction notice and late fee rules

Notice for unpaid rent

10 days — When a tenant fails, upon demand, to pay rent reserved and due, the notice to quit must specify that the tenant remove within ten days from the date of service.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

The same notice periods apply on expiration of a term: fifteen days for leases of one year or less or of indeterminate time, thirty days for leases over one year.

Late-fee limit

No statutory cap found

Grace period before a late fee

None found in the statutes we read

What we could not verify for Pennsylvania: Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 (palegis.us) has no late-fee cap or grace period and no express self-help/lockout ban; Utility Service Tenants Rights Act not fetched. No statewide just-cause rule; month-to-month termination is covered only via the 501(b) 'indeterminate time' notice (15 days).

Notice for unpaid rent

When a tenant fails, upon demand, to pay rent reserved and due, the notice to quit must specify that the tenant remove within ten days from the date of service.

“In case of failure of the tenant, upon demand, to satisfy any rent reserved and due, the notice shall specify that the tenant shall remove within ten days from the date of the service thereof.”
68 P.S. § 250.501(b) (Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, § 501(b))

Paying to stop an eviction

In a case for possession based solely on unpaid rent, the tenant may, at any time before the writ of possession is actually executed, make the writ of no effect by paying the rent actually in arrears and the costs to the writ server, constable, or sheriff.

“At any time before any writ of possession is actually executed, the tenant may, in any case for the recovery of possession solely because of failure to pay rent due, supersede and render the writ of no effect by paying to the writ server, constable or sheriff the rent actually in arrears and the costs.”
68 P.S. § 250.503(c)

Notice for other lease violations

For expiration of a term or forfeiture for breach of lease conditions, the notice must give fifteen days from service when the lease is for one year or less or an indeterminate time, and thirty days when the lease is for more than one year (subsection (c) excepted).

“Except as provided for in subsection (c), in case of the expiration of a term or of a forfeiture for breach of the conditions of the lease where the lease is for any term of one year or less or for an indeterminate time, the notice shall specify that the tenant shall remove within fifteen days from the date of service thereof, and when the lease is for more than one year, then within thirty days from the date of service thereof.”
68 P.S. § 250.501(b)

Ending a month-to-month or other periodic tenancy

The same notice periods apply on expiration of a term: fifteen days for leases of one year or less or of indeterminate time, thirty days for leases over one year.

“Except as provided for in subsection (c), in case of the expiration of a term or of a forfeiture for breach of the conditions of the lease where the lease is for any term of one year or less or for an indeterminate time, the notice shall specify that the tenant shall remove within fifteen days from the date of service thereof, and when the lease is for more than one year, then within thirty days from the date of service thereof.”
68 P.S. § 250.501(b)

Retaliation

A residential lease may not be terminated or nonrenewed based on a tenant's or family member's participation in a tenants' organization or association.

“No individual unit lease on residential property shall be terminated or nonrenewed on the basis of the participation of any tenant or member of the tenant's family in a tenants' organization or association.”
68 P.S. § 250.205

What the notice must say and how it is delivered

The notice may be for a shorter time or waived by the tenant if the lease so provides.

“The notice above provided for may be for a lesser time or may be waived by the tenant if the lease so provides.”
68 P.S. § 250.501(e)

The notice to quit may be served personally on the tenant, left at the principal building on the premises, or posted conspicuously on the leased premises.

“The notice provided for in this section may be served personally on the tenant, or by leaving the same at the principal building upon the premises, or by posting the same conspicuously on the leased premises.”
68 P.S. § 250.501(f)

The summons may be served personally on the tenant, by mail, or by posting it conspicuously on the leased premises.

“The summons may be served personally on the tenant, by mail or by posting the summons conspicuously on the leased premises.”
68 P.S. § 250.502(b)

Court deadlines and the eviction case

The summons commands the tenant to appear before the magisterial district judge to answer the complaint on a date not less than seven nor more than ten days from the date of the summons.

“commands that writ server, constable or sheriff to summon the tenant to appear before the justice of the peace to answer the complaint on a date not less than seven nor more than ten days from the date of the summons.”
68 P.S. § 250.502(a)

A writ of possession is to be served within no later than forty-eight hours and executed on the eleventh day following service on the tenant.

“This writ is to be served within no later than forty-eight hours and executed on the eleventh day following service upon the tenant of the leased premises.”
68 P.S. § 250.503(b)

If you have received a notice

1. Write down the date you received it and how it was delivered.
2. Check what it asks for — payment, fixing a problem, or moving out — and the deadline it gives against the Pennsylvania rules above.
3. Keep paying what you can document; ask for receipts.
4. If you receive court papers, note the response deadline on them; a legal-aid office or the court’s self-help center can help.

Check another situation with the eviction notice checker or the late fee checker.

Common questions

How much notice does a landlord in Pennsylvania have to give for unpaid rent?

When a tenant fails, upon demand, to pay rent reserved and due, the notice to quit must specify that the tenant remove within ten days from the date of service. (68 P.S. § 250.501(b) (Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, § 501(b))).

How much notice is needed to end a month-to-month tenancy in Pennsylvania?

The same notice periods apply on expiration of a term: fifteen days for leases of one year or less or of indeterminate time, thirty days for leases over one year. (68 P.S. § 250.501(b)).