Renting in Pennsylvania: Security Deposits, Leases and Getting Your Deposit Back

Pennsylvania's Landlord and Tenant Act sets rules for security deposits that apply to most residential leases in the state. Knowing them helps you budget for a move and get your deposit back when you leave.

How much a deposit can be

• First year of a lease: no more than two months' rent.
• From the start of the second year: no more than one month's rent. If your landlord holds more, the excess should come back to you.

When interest is owed

For tenancies of more than two years, a deposit over $100 must be held in an interest-bearing account, and the tenant is entitled to the interest, beginning with the 25th month, less a small administrative fee the landlord may keep.

Getting your deposit back

1. Give your landlord your forwarding address in writing when you move out.
2. Return the keys.
3. Within 30 days after the lease ends, the landlord must either return the deposit or send a written, itemized list of damages along with any balance.

If the landlord sends no itemized list within 30 days, they lose the right to keep any part of the deposit. A tenant who is wrongly denied the deposit may be able to recover double the amount owed. Photographs of the home at move-in and move-out are the best evidence either side can have.

Before you sign a lease

• Read who pays which utilities, and who handles repairs and snow removal.
• Check the lease length, renewal terms and any notice required to leave.
• Ask how rent is paid and whether there are fees beyond rent.
• Walk through the home with the landlord and record its condition.

Fair housing

Landlords may not refuse to rent, or set different terms, because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin, and some Pennsylvania municipalities protect additional groups. Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities, including assistance animals, must be considered. See our fair housing page.

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