HB 734 — 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.

PRINTER'S NO.   758

                     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

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT,
        FEBRUARY 25, 2025


                                     AN ACT
 1   Amending the act of April 6, 1951 (P.L.69, No.20), entitled "An
 2      act relating to the rights, obligations and liabilities of
 3      landlord and tenant and of parties dealing with them and
 4      amending, revising, changing and consolidating the law
 5      relating thereto," in tenement buildings and multiple
 6      dwelling premises, further providing for landlord's duties;
 7      and providing for tenant relocation.
 8      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 9   hereby enacts as follows:
10      Section 1.    Section 502-A of the act of April 6, 1951
11   (P.L.69, No.20), known as The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951,
12   is amended to read:
13      Section 502-A.     Landlord's Duties.--(a)   The retention of
14   control of the stairways, passages, roadways and other common
15   facilities of a tenement building or multiple dwelling premises
16   places upon the landlord, or other possessor, the duty of
17   reasonable care for safety in use. This responsibility of the
18   landlord extends not alone to the individual tenant, but also to
19   his family, servants and employees, business visitors, social
 1   guests, and the like. Those who enter in the right of the
 2   tenant, even though under his mere license, make a permissible
 3   use of the premises for which the common ways and facilities are
 4   provided.
 5      (b)   The landlord shall provide a tenant a habitable
 6   dwelling.
 7      Section 2.    The act is amended by adding an article to read:
 8                               ARTICLE V-C
 9                            TENANT RELOCATION
10   Section 501-C.   Definitions.
11      The following words and phrases when used in this article
12   shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
13   context clearly indicates otherwise:
14      "Displaced tenant."   A temporarily displaced tenant or a
15   permanently displaced tenant.
16      "Permanently displaced tenant."      A tenant that is required to
17   and does vacate rental housing for 60 days or more because the
18   rental housing is condemned as unfit for human habitation by a
19   municipality or determined to be uninhabitable by another
20   governmental entity with oversight of the property through no
21   fault of the tenant.
22      "Temporarily displaced tenant."      A tenant that is required to
23   and does vacate rental housing for less than 60 days because the
24   rental housing is condemned as unfit for human habitation by a
25   municipality or determined to be uninhabitable by another
26   governmental entity with oversight of the property through no
27   fault of the tenant.
28   Section 502-C.   Temporary displacement.
29      (a)   Requirement.--For a temporarily displaced tenant, a
30   landlord shall comply with the provisions of this section within

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 1   60 hours of the posting of condemnation on the rental housing.
 2      (b)   Alternative offer from landlord.--
 3            (1)   For a temporarily displaced tenant, a landlord may
 4      offer any alternative available dwelling unit of comparable
 5      size and rental price for the temporarily displaced tenant
 6      and the temporarily displaced tenant's belongings for the
 7      full temporarily displaced period.
 8            (2)   A temporary displacement period shall not exceed 60
 9      days.
10            (3)   If a displaced tenant accepts a landlord's offer of
11      an available dwelling unit under this subsection for the
12      remainder of the temporary displacement period, the landlord
13      shall have no other requirements under this article.
14      (c)   Movement of tenant's belongings.--
15            (1)   At the beginning of a temporary displacement period,
16      a landlord shall either:
17                  (i)    provide payment for the costs of the immediate
18            relocation of the temporarily displaced tenant and the
19            tenant's belongings; or
20                  (ii)    with the tenant's written approval, move the
21            tenant's belongings at the landlord's expense.
22            (2)   At the end of a temporary displacement period, a
23      landlord shall either:
24                  (i)    provide payment for the costs to move the
25            temporarily displaced tenant and the temporarily
26            displaced tenant's belongings back to the tenant's
27            original rental housing; or
28                  (ii)    with the tenant's written approval, move the
29            tenant's belongings.
30      (d)   Lease terms.--If a temporarily displaced tenant returns

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 1   to the tenant's original housing, all lease provisions,
 2   including provisions regarding the length of the lease term and
 3   the amount of rent due at the time of the displacement shall
 4   remain in place for the remainder of the lease in effect at the
 5   time of the tenant's displacement.
 6   Section 503-C.   Permanent displacement.
 7      If a tenant has been displaced for more than 60 days, the
 8   tenant shall be considered a permanently displaced tenant.
 9   Within 72 hours of the 60th day of displacement, the landlord
10   shall pay, by check or money order, the following to a
11   permanently displaced tenant:
12          (1)   The permanently displaced tenant's security deposit
13      with interest. If the permanently displaced tenant had unpaid
14      debts or arrearages owed to the landlord prior to the rental
15      housing becoming uninhabitable, a landlord may use the
16      security deposit to recoup the unpaid debts or arrearages.
17      The remainder of the security deposit, after the unpaid debt
18      or arrearage has been collected with interest, shall be
19      returned to the permanently displaced tenant.
20          (2)   Any pro rata rent for the remainder of the month.
21   Section 504-C.   Landlord tenant agreement.
22      A landlord and a displaced tenant may agree to an
23   arrangement, including:
24          (1)   The tenant shall have the first right of refusal
25      when the original rental housing is made habitable.
26          (2)   A landlord may offer to a displaced tenant any
27      available dwelling unit of comparable size and rental price
28      for the remainder of the lease period. If the tenant accepts
29      an arrangement of the dwelling unit under this paragraph, the
30      landlord shall have no other requirements under this article.

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 1          (3)     A landlord may offer to a displaced tenant to be
 2      released from the requirements of the written lease early if
 3      the rental housing will not be made habitable by the end of
 4      the original lease agreement. If a displaced tenant agrees to
 5      being released from the lease early, in writing, a landlord
 6      shall have no other requirements under this article.
 7   Section 505-C.    Proof of compliance.
 8      Within five days after a tenant vacates the rental housing, a
 9   landlord shall provide the local housing authority or
10   municipality with a letter stating that the landlord and the
11   tenant have reached an agreement.
12   Section 506-C.    First right to reoccupy.
13      A landlord shall provide a permanently displaced tenant with
14   the first right to reoccupy rental housing once the rental
15   housing becomes habitable and is compliant with all municipal
16   codes. The following shall apply:
17          (1)     A landlord shall provide a permanently displaced
18      tenant with written notice of the tenant's first right to
19      reoccupy.
20          (2)     The notice provided by the landlord shall include
21      the landlord's current address and telephone number which the
22      permanently displaced tenant can use to contact the landlord.
23          (3)     It is the responsibility of the permanently
24      displaced tenant to provide the landlord with the permanently
25      displaced tenant's current address and telephone number to be
26      used for future notification.
27          (4)     When the rental unit becomes habitable, the landlord
28      shall give written notice by certified mail to the
29      permanently displaced tenant informing the tenant that the
30      rental housing is habitable and ready to be occupied.

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 1          (5)    A permanently displaced tenant shall notify a
 2      landlord of the tenant's intent to reoccupy the rental
 3      housing no later than five days after receipt of the
 4      certified letter notifying the tenant that the rental housing
 5      is ready to be occupied.
 6          (6)    A permanently displaced tenant must reoccupy the
 7      rental housing within 30 days after the tenant notifies the
 8      landlord of the tenant's intent to reoccupy the rental
 9      housing.
10          (7)    A permanently displaced tenant may waive the right
11      to reoccupy the rental housing at any time after displacement
12      from the rental housing.
13   Section 507-C.       Applicability.
14      This article shall not apply to either of the following:
15          (1)    A landlord or managing agent who:
16                 (i)    resides in this Commonwealth and operates less
17          than 15 residential dwelling units within this
18          Commonwealth;
19                 (ii)    employs an on-site property management team
20          within this Commonwealth;
21                 (iii)    employs an on-site property maintenance team
22          within this Commonwealth; or
23                 (iv)    has entered into an agreement with a third-
24          party property management company or property maintenance
25          team within this Commonwealth.
26          (2)    If the rental housing is condemned due to:
27                 (i)    events that are beyond the control of the
28          landlord, including fires, water damage, natural
29          disasters or acts of God; or
30                 (ii)    damages that are the result of the lack of

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1         maintenance, neglect, failure to pay utility bills or
2         other preventative action that could have been taken by
3         the tenant.
4     Section 3.    This act shall take effect in one year.




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