Undergraduate housing:
Rooming houses and large apartments (4+ bedrooms):
Students begin thinking, planning and inquiring about next year's off-campus housing as early as October, but the actual search begins November 15 and continues through December. By winter break the majority of landlords have rented all their large houses, the students have signed their leases and concerns about living off-campus are put on hold until June 1.
Studios, one bedroom and two bedroom apartments:
Begin your search after January 1. Start early, good apartments at popular locations go fast and demand for apartments increases in March, the on-campus selection process is completed.
Check the "Quick Guide for Off-Campus Services - Undergraduate Students (pdf)" brochure for additional information.
Graduate housing:
It is not uncommon for graduate students to begin enquiries as early as February with the actual search beginning in March. Companies that target the graduate student market will usually have information about available apartments as early as March/April.
Check the "Graduate Housing Off-Campus (pdf)" brochure for additional information.
A good way to find out about the choices available is to use the resources of the University of Pennsylvania, Office of Off-Campus Services (OCS). The interactive apartment search database will give you information about the hundreds of available apartments in the areas of interest to you. You can search the database online by clicking on "Search Listings" at: http://www.upenn.edu/offcampusservices.
Additionally, information about the major buildings in Center City and University City, with contact information, prices and time frame for inquiry and application, is available on-line and in the office.
The OCS office (located at Stouffer Commons, 3702 Spruce Street, phone number 215-898-8500 and fax number 215-573-2061) is designed to assist students, staff and faculty at all stages of their Off-Campus Services experience.
You can also find information on available apartments through http://www.phillyweekly.com and http://www.craigslist.org.
The landlord will ask you to fill out a Rental Application, which allows a landlord to obtain information from a prospective tenant. You may be charged an application processing fee, which usually ranges from $30 to $50 and also covers the cost of the credit/background check the landlord will run on you.
For more information on the application process, check the "Rental Application" page.
In Pennsylvania, landlords and tenants are bound by federal, state and local laws and ordinances regulating and punishing discriminatory behavior in the leasing of residential property.
In Philadelphia, the protected classes of Title VIII of the Federal Housing Act are complemented by the requirements of the PA Human Relations Act and the Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance. The Fair Practices Ordinance prohibits discrimination in housing and public accommodations based on the following:
- race
- color
- gender
- sexual orientation
- religion
- national origin
- ancestry
- marital status
- age
- presence of children
- source of income
- physical disability (including HIV)
Landlords are legally free to choose among prospective tenants as long as their decisions comply with these fair housing laws and are based on legitimate business criteria. The landlord will have to apply the same procedure for all applicants to avoid claims of alleged discrimination.
Some of the grounds for not approving an application can be:
- insufficient income - as a general guideline, rent should not be more than 33% of gross monthly income
- poor credit history - make sure you know what your credit report contains
In cases of insufficient income, the landlord may ask for a co-signer or a guarantor.
Leases are contracts the terms of which can, at least theoretically, be negotiated between the landlord and tenant. However, in a tight rental market, such as exists in Philadelphia, the bargaining power between the landlord and tenant is unequal. As a consequence tenants may not practically be able to negotiate the terms of the lease with the landlord and may be presented with a lease on a "take-it-or-leave-it" basis.
A contract of adhesion is an agreement that has not been fairly bargained because of a substantial difference between the parties' economic, legal, social, political or professional status.
Be aware that although certain clauses in leases are illegal and are not enforceable, the lease may legally contain clauses that are unfair to the tenant. If you are not prepared to agree to terms which you consider to be unfair and the landlord refuses to negotiate the terms, your option is to not sign the lease and walk away.
The Plain Language Consumer Contract Act requires that a residential lease be written, organized, and designed to be easy to read and understand.
A list of unwaivable and waivable rights is included on the "Tenants Rights and Responsibilities" page.
Security deposits are a standard feature of most residential lease agreements. A security deposit is an amount of money retained by the landlord and held in escrow for the duration of the lease term. The security deposit may be used to compensate the landlord for any damage done to the property during the tenant's occupancy. A tenant cannot use the security deposit as payment of rent.
According to the Pennsylvania Security Deposit Law, a landlord can charge an amount up to or equal to two months' rent as security deposit in the first year of a lease. After the first year, the landlord can only hold a security deposit equal to one month's rent and must return to the tenant the amount exceeding one-month's rent.
At the beginning of the third year, the deposit must be placed in an interest-bearing escrow account. At the end of the third year and every year thereafter, the landlord must remit the interest to the tenant. The landlord can, however, deduct 1% of the total interest for administrative costs.
If the rent goes up, the landlord can ask the tenant to make up the difference between the current rent and the amount of the deposit. After five years of living on the premises, the landlord may not increase the amount of the deposit.
The legal rules concerning security deposits cannot be waived. Any clause in the lease which purports to waive the rules is not valid and cannot be enforced.
For more information on security deposits check the "Security Deposits" page.
A lease will specify who the two parties signing the contract are. If several tenants sign a lease together they may be jointly and severally responsible for the fulfillment of all terms.
This means that if one of the tenants leaves early or fails to pay his or her share of the rent, the landlord can pursue any one of the tenants for the entire rent.
This is a "distraint" clause, which was commonly used in old leases. Distraint was a landlord's self-help remedy where the tenant had not paid the rent. Under the clause the landlord could enter the leased property and subject personal property of the tenant located upon the premises to distress for any rent reserved and due.
Distraint clauses have been declared unconstitutional by Pennsylvania courts and, therefore, are no longer available to landlords.
The answer to this question depends on the specific facts of the situation. In general, where there is no signed lease the landlord should not be permitted to retain a deposit if the tenant cancels. There is no specific law in Pennsylvania which gives the tenant a certain amount of time to change his or her mind about the lease and obtain a refund of the deposit.
If the application states that there will be no refund of a deposit you should make sure that you are happy with the apartment, prior to paying the deposit. If the application clearly states that the deposit is not refundable, you are likely to have difficulty in obtaining a refund.
However, if the tenant has changed his or her mind quickly after providing the deposit, there may be an argument that the landlord has not given anything to the tenant in exchange for the deposit. On the other hand, if the tenant changed his or her mind 3 weeks after providing the deposit, the landlord may have taken the apartment off the market in exchange for the deposit.
Broadly speaking, a landlord should not be permitted to keep a deposit if he or she has not actually suffered a loss. Where a tenant elects to cancel, the landlord is required to make reasonable efforts to re-let the apartment and so reduce any losses. If the tenant cancels several months prior to the commencement of the lease, it is likely that the landlord will be able to re-let the apartment in time and will not suffer any loss in rent. The landlord may argue that he or she has suffered additional costs in re-advertising the apartment, however, these costs are likely to be small and the tenant should be entitled to the return of all or the large majority of the deposit. If the tenant cancelled a week before the commencement of the lease, the situation is likely to be different and the landlord may suffer a loss of rent, even if reasonable steps to re-let the premises are undertaken.
In some rental markets, for example in areas surrounding colleges and universities, many potential tenants may not yet be adults, may not have established a credit history or may not be fully employed. In these circumstances the landlord may require that a financially responsible adult assume responsibility for payment of rent and charges.
The landlord may either require that the financially responsible adult sign the lease as a tenant or execute a guaranty to the landlord. The effect of either of these options is that if the primary tenant fails to pay the rent, the landlord can seek payment from the adult tenant or guarantor.
A lease can be either written or oral: once you pay rent and have been given keys to access the premises, you have a lease.
Oral leases can be valid for up to 3 years in the state of Pennsylvania. An oral lease is easier to terminate, as the initial terms are hard to prove. Usually a 30-day notice in writing can terminate an oral lease, either by the landlord or by the tenant. The obvious disadvantage of an oral lease is that there is no written statement of the terms and conditions of the agreement. This may increase the possibility of a dispute over the terms and conditions regulating the lease.
Written leases are binding for the whole duration specified on the contract.
Remember that a lease is a document originating with the landlord and as such it tends to represent the landlord's interests.
The inclusion of pet prohibitions, limitations and restrictions is a matter of negotiation between the landlord and tenant.
Many residential leases include a separate provision in the lease prohibiting the tenant from keeping pets on the leased premises. Where the lease allows pets, some landlords will limit the type and number of pets that can be kept on the premises and may impose additional charges of rent to compensate for the additional risk of damage to the apartment.
In Philadelphia, anyone who offers a dwelling unit or rooming unit for rent must obtain proper licenses and zoning approval from the Department of Licenses and Inspections.
The owner of any rental dwelling unit or rooming unit can not legally collect rent without having the required licenses and an owner can not proceed with an eviction without the required licenses.
Despite having a legitimate concern that the house cannot practically be fixed by the commencement of the lease, there is no right to require the landlord to undertake repairs until the lease has commenced. As of the lease commencement, the tenants have a right to premises which complies with the warranty of habitability and the building code. This is not to say that it would not be useful to write to the landlord prior to the commencement date, indicating that you expect that these standards will be met at the time the students are able to move in.
A fair lease will specify that if the apartment is not ready for occupancy because of reasons beyond the landlord's control, the tenant can either wait until it is ready (and not pay rent) or terminate the lease and get any money paid returned. Some leases require the tenant to wait for a number of days before the lease may be terminated. In either case, do not expect the landlord to pay for storage or hotel accommodation.
You should inspect the premises upon moving in and make a list documenting the condition of the apartment. You can use our "Move In/Move Out Checklist (pdf)" or draw up your own (include holes, or marks on the wall, damage to floors and windows, any broken appliances that came with the property). If possible, have the landlord inspect the property with you. If not, sign the list and mail it certified to the landlord, keeping a copy for yourself. This will assist you in proving that you were not responsible for certain defects which existed prior to the commencement of your lease.
You should also become familiar with your rights and responsibilities as a tenant: "Tenants Rights and Responsibilities".
The law requires a landlord to give a tenant 10 days of notice for non-payment of rent and 15 days for other violations of lease terms prior to filing a complaint in court. Some landlords may ask tenants to waive their right to notice or to reduce it to five days. The right to notice in case of non-payment of rent or other violations of the lease term is a waivable right and as such it is regulated by the lease and not by law.
As a matter of procedure the Philadelphia Municipal Court does require landlords to notify tenants before filing in court, so the tenant will get notice even if the right was waived in the lease.
The allocation of responsibilities for the payment of utility services is a matter for agreement between the landlord and the tenant. Make sure the responsibilities regarding payment of utilities are clearly outlined in the lease.
If the apartment is separately metered for electricity, gas, water and sewerage, the landlord is able to have the tenant assume payment of those charges. If the leased apartment is not separately metered the landlord may be required to assume payment of the charges and incorporate an assessment of these costs into the rental amount.
If the landlord is responsible for payment of utilities, tenants are protected from utility shut off, if the landlord fails to pay for the utility bills. If the landlord fails to pay for the utilities as agreed, the tenant may pay the monthly bill to the utility company and can deduct that amount from the rent. If you are in such a situation, call our office to find out more about the Utilities Service Tenant's Rights Act.
Many leases contain this type of clause. Typically, the courts have interpreted the clauses as not extending to negligent conduct of the landlord causing injury or damage. For example, even if the lease contains such a clause, a landlord will likely be liable for injuries caused to tenants as a result of the fire escape not being properly maintained.
The landlord will also continue to be liable for injuries or damage resulting from defects in the apartment, where it can be shown that the landlord was on notice concerning the defect. For example, a landlord will be liable for injuries occurring from a faulty oven because the landlord is required to maintain the apartment. However, the issue will be proving that the landlord was advised about the defect. To address this problem tenants should be careful to document complaints about defects in writing.
The landlord is required to maintain the rental unit and the services that are vital to the life, health and safety of the tenant so that the unit you are renting is at all times habitable. By entering into a contract with the landlord, the tenant is automatically given an assurance that the premises are in safe and habitable condition and that they will be maintained so during the tenancy. This is called the "warranty of habitability".
The warranty of habitability is a tenant's unwaivable right and the tenant has certain remedies available when the landlord is in breach of the warranty of habitability. Landlord must comply with the building and property maintenance code of the locality where the rental property is situated (in Philadelphia - the Property Maintenance Code issued by the City of Philadelphia Licenses and Inspections).
At a minimum, the implied warranty of habitability in a residential lease means that the premises must be safe and sanitary; however, there is no obligation on the part of the landlord to supply a perfect or aesthetically pleasing dwelling. The warranty of habitability will include the following:
- structurally sound building
- waterproof roofs, ceilings and walls
- walls and woodwork properly painted (no peeling-off paint)
- adequate heat in winter
- hot and cold running water
- bathroom equipment and drains that work properly
- functioning stove
- doors that lock properly
- windows that work and can be locked
- apartment/house free from infestation with roaches and/or rodents
- smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and fire escapes, in compliance with the local Fire Code
Renter's insurance will cover your belongings if they are stolen or damaged and cover you against claims where someone is injured in your apartment. Some leases require that the tenant get renters' insurance but even if your lease does not, renters' insurance is a good idea. The landlord's insurance will likely only cover damage to the building and claims for injury occurring in common areas where the landlord has control.
For contacts and further information check the "Renters' Insurance" page.
