In Pennsylvania, after the tenant fails to pay rent you've demanded, you can give a written notice to quit telling them to leave within 10 days from the date of service. The lease can shorten or waive that notice, so read it first.
Step by step in Pennsylvania
Demand the rent that is due.
If it isn't paid, write a notice to quit that tells the tenant to remove within ten days from the date of service.
Check the lease. If it provides for a shorter notice or a waiver, the lease can control.
Serve the notice personally, leave it at the main building on the premises, or post it conspicuously on the premises.
Wait out the notice period before filing with the magisterial district judge.
Common Pennsylvania mistakes to avoid
Using the 15-day or 30-day periods meant for lease expirations and other breaches.
Skipping the demand for rent first.
Assuming every lease waives notice without reading it.
This is general information, not legal advice. The verified rule and official sources above control. Check the source or a local attorney for your situation.
Related Pennsylvania rules
Eviction court process & timeline
After the landlord files a complaint, the magisterial district judge issues a summons for a hearing 7 to 10 days later. If the landlord wins, a writ of possession can be issued after the fifth day following judgment; it is served within 48 hours and carried out on the 11th day after service. Either side may appeal to the court of common pleas within 10 days for a residential lease (30 days for a domestic-violence victim). A tenant's appeal stops the eviction only if the tenant pays the judgment amount and keeps paying rent into escrow.
In 2026, magisterial district judge costs for landlord-tenant actions are $102.50 for claims of $2,000 or less, $125.50 for $2,000 to $4,000, and $171.00 for $4,000 to $12,000 (204 Pa. Code § 29.402(a), set under 42 Pa.C.S. § 1725.1). Postage and service costs are extra. The amounts rise each year by CPI; a notice published October 10, 2026 sets $105.00, $128.50 and $175.00 from January 1, 2027.
There is no Pennsylvania statute expressly banning lockouts in the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 (68 P.S. 250.101 et seq.). Reviewed by full-text search. AG guidance (labelled, not law): the Attorney General's guide says self-help eviction is prohibited and the landlord may not change the locks or shut off utilities, but must use the court process.
A landlord may not terminate or refuse to renew a lease because of the tenant's participation in a tenants' association. Beyond that, Pennsylvania's landlord-tenant law has no general anti-retaliation provision, though local ordinances (e.g. Philadelphia) may have one.
A search of the full Act found no double-rent or other set holdover penalty. When a tenant stays after proper notice, the landlord files for possession and the judgment can include the property, damages for the unjust detention, and unpaid rent.
Pennsylvania's Landlord and Tenant Act refers to the separate City Rent Withholding Act (Act of Jan. 24, 1966): when an agency certifies a unit uninhabitable and the tenant chooses to pay rent into escrow under that law, the certifying agency must mail the landlord a monthly statement of escrowed funds. The Landlord and Tenant Act itself has no rent-withholding procedure.
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