Pennsylvania Roommate Agreement
The Pennsylvania rules that shape the document: no lodger law for removal, no default rule on rent liability or deposit splits, and a two-part fair housing exemption for shared living.
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Introduction
A roommate agreement is a private contract between co-tenants, not a lease, and it does not bind the landlord or change what the lease says. In Pennsylvania, a handful of state rules sit on top of the national template: there is no lodger statute, so removing an unwanted roommate always requires a formal eviction where a landlord-tenant relationship exists, or an ordinary civil ejectment action where it does not; no statute says whether an added roommate becomes a co-tenant or a subtenant, or requires the landlord's consent by default, so the lease's own terms control; and the state's fair housing law exempts shared living through two separate carve-outs rather than one simple unit-count threshold, while adding age, ancestry, and use of a guide or support animal as protected classes. Everything else, the rent split, chores, guests, and quiet hours, is covered by the national template.
Key Things to Know
- 1
Pennsylvania has no lodger law. Where a landlord-tenant relationship exists, only the landlord can remove an occupant, and only through the formal Notice to Quit and eviction process under the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951. Where no landlord-tenant relationship exists, the only route is an ordinary civil ejectment action. Neither roommate may remove the other by self-help, lockout, or removing belongings.
- 2
No Pennsylvania statute says whether an added roommate becomes a co-tenant on the lease or a subtenant of the original tenant, or requires the landlord's consent by default. The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 only requires that a lease assignment over three years be in writing; the lease's own terms control everything else.
- 3
Pennsylvania's Notice to Quit periods are fifteen days for a lease term of one year or less or an indeterminate term, thirty days for a term over one year, and ten days for nonpayment of rent. This is the landlord's tool against a tenant of record, not something one roommate can use against another.
- 4
No Pennsylvania statute sets a default joint-and-several or pro-rata rule for rent liability among co-tenants. The lease controls what the landlord can collect from each signer, so this agreement should state each roommate's payment share explicitly.
- 5
No Pennsylvania statute addresses how departing roommates split a security deposit refund or reimburse each other for damage. The deposit statute governs only the landlord's return of the escrowed deposit to the tenant, so the split is left entirely to this agreement.
- 6
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act adds age, ancestry, and use or handling of a guide or support animal to the federal fair housing classes, but does not add sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or source of income at the state level.
- 7
Pennsylvania's shared-living exemption is not one simple unit-count threshold. A personal residence of two or fewer units is excluded from coverage entirely, and a separate, size-uncapped exemption covers any landlord-occupied rooming house with a common entrance. Philadelphia's own Fair Practices Ordinance adds sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, and source of income within city limits.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Roommate Agreement in Pennsylvania, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Roommate Agreement guide walks through them.
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Pennsylvania Requirements for Roommate Agreement
Pennsylvania has no lodger statute. Where a landlord-tenant relationship exists, only the landlord may remove an occupant, and only through the formal Notice to Quit and eviction process under the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 (68 P.S. Section 250.501). Where no such relationship exists, the only route is an ordinary civil ejectment action. The agreement should not suggest any self-help removal right.
No Pennsylvania statute says whether an added roommate becomes a co-tenant on the lease or a subtenant of the original tenant, or requires landlord consent by default. The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 (68 P.S. Section 250.203) only requires a lease assignment over three years to be in writing. The lease's own terms control.
Under 68 P.S. Section 250.501, a Notice to Quit must give at least fifteen days for a lease term of one year or less or an indeterminate term, thirty days for a term over one year, or ten days for nonpayment of rent, before a landlord-tenant complaint may be filed. This is the landlord's tool against a tenant, not a mechanism between roommates.
No Pennsylvania statute sets a default joint-and-several or pro-rata rule for rent liability among co-tenants. Draft the payment clause to state each roommate's share explicitly rather than relying on an assumed state default.
Pennsylvania's escrow-funds statute (68 P.S. Section 250.511a) governs only the landlord's return of the deposit to the tenant, with no statutory division among roommates. The agreement should set out how a shared deposit is divided when a roommate moves out.
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act exempts shared living through a two-or-fewer-unit personal residence exclusion and a separate, size-uncapped landlord-occupied rooming house exemption, adds age, ancestry, and guide or support animal use as protected classes, and lifts the advertising restriction only for the sex-based dormitory carve-out. Philadelphia's Fair Practices Ordinance separately adds sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, and source of income within city limits.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a private contract between co-tenants sharing a Pennsylvania home. It divides rent and expenses, sets house rules, and addresses issues the lease does not, like how roommates split a security deposit. It is separate from the lease and does not involve the landlord.
No. Pennsylvania has no lodger law like California's. Where a landlord-tenant relationship exists, only the landlord can remove an occupant, and only through the formal Notice to Quit and eviction process. Where no such relationship exists, the only route is a civil ejectment action. Self-help removal is not allowed either way.
No Pennsylvania statute directly answers this. The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 requires only that an assignment of a lease longer than three years be in writing; it does not set a default consent rule. Whether the landlord's consent is required depends on the lease itself, so check its assignment and occupancy clauses.
Pennsylvania has no statute or appellate case that squarely answers this. It is left to the lease's own terms and general contract and property law, so the roommate agreement should not assume a status the lease does not grant.
No Pennsylvania statute sets a default rule on this. Whether roommates are jointly and severally liable for rent depends on the lease itself. Because state law does not fill this gap, this agreement should state each roommate's payment share explicitly.
Pennsylvania law does not say. The state's escrow-funds statute governs only the landlord's return of the deposit to the tenant on surrender of the unit, with no mechanism for dividing it among roommates. The roommate agreement is what actually controls the split.
Under the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, a Notice to Quit must give at least fifteen days for a lease term of one year or less or an indeterminate term, thirty days for a term of more than one year, or ten days for nonpayment of rent, before a landlord-tenant complaint may be filed. This is the landlord's process against a tenant, not something one roommate can use against another.
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act bars housing discrimination based on race, color, familial status, age, religious creed, ancestry, sex, national origin, and disability, adding age, ancestry, and use or handling of a guide or support animal beyond federal law. It exempts a personal residence of two or fewer units, and separately exempts landlord-occupied rooming houses with a common entrance, from most of its rules.
Yes. Philadelphia's Fair Practices Ordinance adds protected classes the state Human Relations Act does not cover, including sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, source of income, citizenship or immigration status, and domestic or sexual violence victim status. Those classes are not protected in roommate selection anywhere else in Pennsylvania unless another city has its own ordinance.
Pennsylvania's Human Relations Act exempts sex-based selection, and sex-based advertising, for a single-sex dormitory or shared-common-area rooms in a personal residence, and separately exempts a landlord-occupied rooming house with a common entrance from most of its rules regardless of size. Selection based on other protected classes is not covered by that exemption, and general advertising restrictions still apply outside the sex-specific carve-out.
Yes. The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act separately protects the use or handling of a guide or support animal as its own basis, beyond the federal disability classification. A roommate agreement or listing should not exclude someone because they use a guide or support animal, even in an otherwise exempt shared residence.