Question: Can we non renew residents? For example residents who complain constantly?

Answer: Absent a provision in the lease, a landlord has no obligation to renew a tenant's lease.  Thus, generally, unless the reason for non-renewal is based on illegal discrimination, a landlord can non-renew for any reason.

Question: How long after we evict a tenant do we have to hold their furniture and personal items?

Answer: This is probably one of the most asked questions, and the one with the least certain answer.  The first question is whether your lease has any provision regarding abandoned property.  The second question is whether you know to where the tenant has moved.  If you can serve the tenant with a certified letter advising that he must remove all of his property or it will be deemed to have been abandoned, you may be able to establish an abandonment if he does not retrieve the property within thirty days.  The real problem is when you are unable to serve the tenant with notice.  In that event, I advise that you consult counsel to assist you through the web of issue that confront you.

Question: How can I evict someone if I do not have a lease?

Answer: The eviction process without a written lease is basically the same as with a written lease, except that you must serve on your tenant certain notices required by Pennsylvania law. First, you should provide a notice that your tenant is in default of the lease and, if the default is one that can be cured, give your tenant a reasonable period of time to cure it.  While this notice is not specifically required by law, most District Judges want to see that you provided a default notice prior to initiating an eviction.  Second, if the default is not cured, or it is not one that can be cured (e.g. the lease term has ended), you must serve on your tenant (via hand delivery to the tenant or by posting on the property) a notice to quit.  There is then a waiting period before you can file the eviction complaint.  If the default is nonpayment of rent, then you must wait ten days before you can file the complaint.  If the default is for some other reason, you must wait fifteen days if the lease term was for one year or less, or thirty days if the lease term was for more than one year.  Upon the expiration of the wait period, you can file an eviction complaint at your local Magisterial District Judge's office.  The staff there will usually assist you in the process.  (Note, I have presumed that your tenant is not a mobile home park resident.  If he is, then there are some differences that you will need to be aware of.)

Question: I cosigned a lease for my son and daughter in law. They received an eviction notice due to rent being late by a few days, which they later paid. The landlord still decided to go ahead with the eviction since she was afraid this would happen again. They are completely up to date with rent, and are in the process of moving into another place. My question is should I have been notified of their eviction. I was not, I was told after the fact. I am on the lease again as cosigner.

Answer: Without seeing the document you signed, I am unable to provide you any guidance in this.  The obligations between a landlord and a co-signer are governed by the document you signed.  Whether or not you were entitled to notice depends on what the document says.  It is not unusual, however, for such documents to provide that the landlord is not obligated to provide such notices to co-signers.

Question: My fiance and I rent a house from a family. They have decided to sell the house. Are they required to the terms of our lease until the lease is up? Also if we find somewhere else to live in the meantime are we held accountable for the rest of the rent?

Answer: When a landlord sells his property, the buyer takes it subject to all existing leases.  Thus, the buyer must honor the terms of the leases, and the tenants remain bound to the terms of the leases.

Question: If a handicapped parking space is already provided directly in front of the apartment building are we required to add additional handicapped parking spaces if a future tenant requests this in writing? Is there a way for us to cancel a future tenant's application once they have been approved? Are we able to refuse to rent to someone for any reason once they have an approved application?

Answer: The number of handicapped parking spaces needed depends on many factors, such as the size of the complex, the total number of parking spaces, the total number of tenants and the number of tenants who need handicapped parking spaces.  Many local ordinances contain requirements on the number of required spaces.  With or without a local ordinance, the fair housing requirement is a question of reasonableness.  If you refuse to add additional spaces, you will need to be able to prove that your decision was reasonable under all of the circumstances. Without seeing your rental application, I am unable to answer with certainty your second question.  Generally, however, applications do not constitute enforceable contracts.  Thus, unless your application provides for some contractual obligation to enter into a lease agreement, you can probably refuse to rent to someone, even if their application is approved.  I suggest, however, that before you take this action, you have a lawyer review your application documents.

Question: According to fair housing laws, what is the maximum occupancy in an apartment? Is it based on square footage or the number of bedrooms? How is that determined?

Answer: There is no clear cut answer to this question.  HUD issued a memorandum some years ago (the infamous "Keating Memo") suggesting that a good rule of thumb is two people per bedroom.  However HUD recognized that this rule of thumb may not always be reasonable.  For example, in a large rental unit, more than two people per bedroom may be appropriate, whereas in a very small unit, two per bedroom may be too many.  There are some building codes that suggest a square footage analysis, while others take into account the layout of the rental units and number of bedrooms.  I suggest that you check with the Codes officer for your municipality to see if the local ordinances contain any guidelines.  If they do, you are probably safe if you are in compliance with them.  If there are no local ordinances in effect, then you should consult with legal counsel to discuss your precise situation and to develop an appropriate occupancy policy.

Question: I recently learned that an apartment house was built before 1978. What is the best way to disseminate the required information about lead paint that will decrease my liability? May this be done when renewing the leases?

Answer: The best way to notify your tenants is by disseminating the lead paint pamphlet that is put out by HUD.  You can likely find a copy of it online, or by contacting HUD.  It is possible that the National Apartment Association may be able to provide you a copy of the pamphlet.  As for the timing, you should provide your tenants a copy of the pamphlet as soon as possible.  I do not suggest waiting for the renewals.

Question: A dispute has arisen with our tenant. The lease is silent on lawn care, and we think the tenant should be responsible for it. What does the law require?

Answer: Generally, if the lease is silent and there are no oral agreements to the contrary, all maintenance and repairs are the tenant's obligations.  However, if the landlord has routinely maintained and made repairs to the property throughout the period of the tenant's occupancy, the tenant may have an argument that, by the landlord's actions, he has undertaken the responsibility.

Question: It is legal to charge a 10% late fee for rent that is then compounded monthly? We charge a 10% late fee on the 6th of each month on all outstanding balances due, even fees from previous months. Does that violate the PA usury laws? Our lease only outlines the 10% late fee but does not mention it will be compounded monthly on outstanding balances.

Answer: Most judges will not honor a late fee provision that appears to be a penalty.  Accumulating late fees, at some point, clearly become punitive and would be deemed to be penalties. Furthermore, if the lease does not clearly provide for the accumulation, most judges will not grant them.

Question: We manage Affordable housing properties. We have a tenant who gave his thirty day written notice to site manager. He did not return his keys. He has returned to the property and wants to remain in the apt again. He was gone six weeks. He did not pay a full months rent. Can we refuse to let move back in the apt?

Answer: It sounds like the tenant has not abandoned the property.  As such, he is entitled to possession until you follow the legal course of evicting him.  If you refuse to allow him back into the apartment, you may be guilty of a self-help constructive eviction.

Question: I have an application here for a gentleman who is moving to this area from New Jersey to attend college. He is coming up with his roommate and friend, and his mother has agreed to co-sign for him. The only problem is - he's still 17, and won't be 18 until January. I know he legally can't sign any documents that would be binding at his age, but can he still reside in the apartment with a parent's written permission?  

Answer: An individual who is under 18 (and who is not legally emancipated from his parents) does not have the legal capacity to enter into a contract.  Thus, it is quite possible that if you have the student sign the lease, the parents' guaranty may be worthless.  That is, it could be argued that the guaranty only applies to his obligations.  Since he has no legal obligation to perform the contract, there may be nothing to which the guaranty can attach.  To cure this problem, I might suggest having the parents sign the lease as the "tenant" and allow the son to reside there as an authorized resident.  Once he turns 18, you can terminate the first lease and execute a new one with him.