An Act amending the act of April 6, 1951 (P.L.69, No.20), known as The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, in tenement buildings and multiple dwelling premises, further providing for landlord's duties; and providing for tenant relocation.

PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 758 PRINTER'S NO. 983
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 734
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY MADSEN, HOWARD, RABB, SANCHEZ, SCHLOSSBERG, HILL-
EVANS, FIEDLER, CIRESI, McANDREW, FLEMING, OTTEN, DEASY AND
GREEN, FEBRUARY 25, 2025
AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT,
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, MARCH 17, 2025
AN ACT
Amending the act of April 6, 1951 (P.L.69, No.20), entitled "An
act relating to the rights, obligations and liabilities of
landlord and tenant and of parties dealing with them and
amending, revising, changing and consolidating the law
relating thereto," in tenement buildings and multiple
dwelling premises, further providing for landlord's duties;
and providing for tenant relocation.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 502-A of the act of April 6, 1951
(P.L.69, No.20), known as The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951,
is amended to read:
Section 502-A. Landlord's Duties.--(a) The retention of
control of the stairways, passages, roadways and other common
facilities of a tenement building or multiple dwelling premises
places upon the landlord, or other possessor, the duty of
reasonable care for safety in use. This responsibility of the
landlord extends not alone to the individual tenant, but also to
his family, servants and employees, business visitors, social
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guests, and the like. Those who enter in the right of the
tenant, even though under his mere license, make a permissible
use of the premises for which the common ways and facilities are
provided.
(b) The landlord shall provide a tenant a habitable
dwelling.
Section 2. The act is amended by adding an article to read:
ARTICLE V-C
TENANT RELOCATION
Section 501-C. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this article
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Displaced tenant." A temporarily displaced tenant or a
permanently displaced tenant.
"Permanently displaced tenant." A tenant that is required to
and does vacate rental housing for 60 days or more because the
rental housing is condemned as unfit for human habitation by a
municipality or determined to be uninhabitable by another
governmental entity with oversight of the property through no
fault of the tenant.
"Temporarily displaced tenant." A tenant that is required to
and does vacate rental housing for less than 60 days because the
rental housing is condemned as unfit for human habitation by a
municipality or determined to be uninhabitable by another
governmental entity with oversight of the property through no
fault of the tenant.
Section 502-C. T emporary displacement.
(a) Requirement.--For a temporarily displaced tenant, a
landlord shall comply with the provisions of this section within
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60 hours of the posting of condemnation on the rental housing.
(b) Alternative offer from landlord.--
(1) For a temporarily displaced tenant, a landlord may
offer any alternative available dwelling unit of comparable
size and rental price for the temporarily displaced tenant
and the temporarily displaced tenant's belongings for the
full temporarily displaced period.
(2) A temporary displacement period shall not exceed 60
days.
(3) If a displaced tenant accepts a landlord's offer of
an available dwelling unit under this subsection for the
remainder of the temporary displacement period, the landlord
shall have no other requirements under this article.
(c) Movement of tenant's belongings.--
(1) At the beginning of a temporary displacement period,
a landlord shall either:
(i) provide p ayment for the costs of the immediate
relocation of the temporarily displaced tenant and the
tenant's belongings; or
(ii) with the tenant's written approval, move the
tenant's belongings at the landlord's expense.
(2) At the end of a temporary displacement period, a
landlord shall either:
(i) provide payment for the costs to move the
temporarily displaced tenant and the temporarily
displaced tenant's belongings back to the tenant's
original rental housing; or
(ii) with the tenant's written approval, move the
tenant's belongings.
(d) Lease terms.--If a temporarily displaced tenant returns
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to the tenant's original housing, all lease provisions,
including provisions regarding the length of the lease term and
the amount of rent due at the time of the displacement shall
remain in place for the remainder of the lease in effect at the
time of the tenant's displacement.
Section 503-C. Permanent displacement.
If a tenant has been displaced for more than 60 days, the
tenant shall be considered a permanently displaced tenant.
Within 72 hours of the 60th day of displacement, the landlord
shall pay, by check or money order, the following to a
permanently displaced tenant:
(1) The permanently displaced tenant's security deposit
with interest IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTIONS 511.1 AND 511.2 . If
the permanently displaced tenant had unpaid debts or
arrearages owed to the landlord prior to the rental housing
becoming uninhabitable, a landlord may use the security
deposit to recoup the unpaid debts or arrearages. The
remainder of the security deposit, after the unpaid debt or
arrearage has been collected with interest, shall be returned
to the permanently displaced tenant.
(2) Any pro rata rent for the remainder of the month.
Section 504-C. Landlord tenant agreement.
A landlord and a displaced tenant may agree to an
arrangement, including:
(1) The tenant shall have the first right of refusal
when the original rental housing is made habitable.
(2) A landlord may offer to a displaced tenant any
available dwelling unit of comparable size and rental price
for the remainder of the lease period. If the tenant accepts
an arrangement of the dwelling unit under this paragraph, the
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landlord shall have no other requirements under this article.
(3) A landlord may offer to a displaced tenant to be
released from the requirements of the written lease early if
the rental housing will not be made habitable by the end of
the original lease agreement. If a displaced tenant agrees to
being released from the lease early, in writing, a landlord
shall have no other requirements under this article.
Section 505-C. Proof of compliance.
Within five days after a tenant vacates the rental housing, a
landlord shall provide the local housing authority or
municipality with a letter stating that the landlord and the
tenant have reached an agreement .
Section 506-C. First right to reoccupy.
A landlord shall provide a permanently displaced tenant with
the first right to reoccupy rental housing once the rental
housing becomes habitable and is compliant with all municipal
codes. The following shall apply:
(1) A landlord shall provide a permanently displaced
tenant with written notice of the tenant's first right to
reoccupy.
(2) The notice provided by the landlord shall include
the landlord's current address and telephone number which the
permanently displaced tenant can use to contact the landlord.
(3) It is the responsibility of the permanently
displaced tenant to provide the landlord with the permanently
displaced tenant's current address and telephone number to be
used for future notification.
(4) When the rental unit becomes habitable, the landlord
shall give written notice by certified mail to the
permanently displaced tenant informing the tenant that the
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rental housing is habitable and ready to be occupied.
(5) A permanently displaced tenant shall notify a
landlord of the tenant's intent to reoccupy the rental
housing no later than five days after receipt of the
certified letter notifying the tenant that the rental housing
is ready to be occupied.
(6) A permanently displaced tenant must reoccupy the
rental housing within 30 days after the tenant notifies the
landlord of the tenant's intent to reoccupy the rental
housing.
(7) A permanently displaced tenant may waive the right
to reoccupy the rental housing at any time after displacement
from the rental housing.
Section 507-C. Applicability.
This article shall not apply to either of the following:
(1) A landlord or managing agent who:
(i) resides in this Commonwealth and operates less
than 15 residential dwelling units within this
Commonwealth;
(ii) employs an on-site property management team
within this Commonwealth;
(iii) employs an on-site property maintenance team
within this Commonwealth; or
(iv) has entered into an agreement with a third-
party property management company or property maintenance
team within this Commonwealth.
(2) If the rental housing is condemned due to:
(i) events that are beyond the control of the
landlord, including fires, water damage, natural
disasters or acts of God; or
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(ii) damages that are the result of the lack of
maintenance, neglect, failure to pay utility bills or
other preventative action that could have been taken by
the tenant.
Section 3. This act shall take effect in one year.
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