THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY McGEEHAN, BURNS, DALEY, KORTZ, MANN, M. O'BRIEN, SABATINA, K. SMITH, SOLOBAY AND VULAKOVICH, APRIL 3, 2009

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON URBAN AFFAIRS, APRIL 3, 2009  

AN ACT

Amending the act of April 6, 1951 (P.L.69, No.20), entitled "An

act relating to the rights, obligations and liabilities of

landlord and tenant and of parties dealing with them and

amending, revising, changing and consolidating the law

relating thereto," providing for disruptive conduct of

tenants. 

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  The act of April 6, 1951 (P.L.69, No.20), known

as The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, is amended by adding an

article to read:

ARTICLE III-A

DISRUPTIVE CONDUCT

Section 301-A.  Scope of article.

This article relates to disruptive conduct of tenants.

Section 302-A.  Applicability.

This article shall apply to cities of the first class.

Section 303-A.  Definitions.

The following words and phrases, as used in this article,

shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the

context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Code enforcement officer."  A person designated by a

municipality to enforce the municipality's building, property

maintenance or fire safety codes by inspecting structures to

determine whether they conform to the codes and by citing the

structures' owners for noncompliance.

"Disruptive conduct." Any form of conduct perpetrated, caused

or permitted by a tenant or visitor of a dwelling unit that is

so loud, untimely as to hour of the day, offensive, riotous,

disturbs other persons of reasonable sensibility in their

peaceful enjoyment of their premises or causes damage to

premises such that an officer conducts an investigation of the

conduct and files a disruptive conduct report. 

"Disruptive conduct report" or "report."  A written report by

an investigating officer of disruptive conduct on a form

prescribed and maintained by the municipality. 

"Dwelling unit."  A building or structure, or part of a

building or structure, which is used for living or sleeping by

human occupants, subject to licensing requirements. 

"Landlord."  Any of the following:

(1)  The owner, lessor or sublessor of residential

premises.

(2)  The agent of the owner, lessor or sublessor under

paragraph (1).

(3)  Any person authorized by the owner, lessor or

sublessor under paragraph (1) to manage the premises or to

receive rent from a tenant under a rental agreement.

"Law enforcement officer."  A member of the Pennsylvania

State Police or an individual employed as a police officer who

holds a current certificate under 53 Pa.C.S. Ch. 21, Subch. D

(relating to municipal police education and training).

"Municipality."  A city of the first class.

"Officer."  A code enforcement officer or a law enforcement

officer.

"Tenant."  A person in possession of a dwelling unit for a

week-to-week term or a longer term by virtue of a written or

oral agreement with a landlord. The term includes a purchaser

under an installment land contract as defined under section 3 of

the act of June 8, 1965 (P.L. 115, No. 81), known as the

Installment Land Contract Law. The term shall not include a

traveler or transient guest in a hotel or motel.

Section 304-A.  Tenant duties.

A tenant shall do all of the following:

(1)  Comply with all obligations imposed under this

article.

(2)  Conduct himself and require other persons, including

guests on the premises and within his dwelling unit with his

consent, to conduct themselves in a manner that will not

disturb the peaceful enjoyment of the premises by others and

that will not disturb the peaceful enjoyment of adjacent or

nearby dwellings by people occupying the premises.

(3)  Not engage in nor permit others on the premises to

cause damage to the dwelling unit or engage in disruptive

conduct or other violations of law.

Section 305-A.  Investigation.

(a)  Disruptive conduct report.--Officers shall investigate

alleged incidents of disruptive conduct and shall complete a

disruptive conduct report upon a finding that the reported

incident constitutes disruptive conduct. The information filed

in the report shall include the identity of the alleged

perpetrator of the disruptive conduct and all other obtainable

information, including the factual basis for the disruptive

conduct described on the prescribed form. A copy of the

disruptive conduct report shall be given or mailed to the tenant

and mailed to the owner, landlord, agent or other person

operating or managing the premises within ten working days of

the occurrence of the alleged disruptive conduct.

(b)  Appeal.--A tenant shall have ten working days from the

date of receipt of a disruptive conduct report under subsection

(a) to appeal the report. The appeal shall be made in writing

and submitted to the municipality. An appeal of a third report

within a 12-month period shall stop an eviction proceeding

against the tenant until the appeal is resolved, if the eviction

proceedings were a direct result of the third report.

(c)  Eviction.--

(1)  After a tenant commits three disruptive conduct

incidents in a 12-month period, documented by disruptive

conduct reports, a landlord shall have ten working days from

the date of receipt of the notice to begin eviction

proceedings against the tenant. 

(2)  Failure to take action under paragraph (1) shall

result in the immediate revocation of the business privilege

license provided to the landlord. The dwelling unit involved

shall not have its business privilege license reinstated

until the disruptive tenants have been evicted.

(d)  Reoccupation.--The disruptive tenants, upon eviction,

may not reoccupy any dwelling unit on the same premises involved

for a period of at least one year from date of eviction. This

paragraph is not intended to limit or inhibit a landlord's right

to initiate eviction actions prior to the third disruptive

conduct incident.

(e)  Multiple reports.--The content of a report shall count

against all tenants of the dwelling unit. More than one report

filed against the tenants of a dwelling unit in a 24-hour period

shall count as a single report for the purpose of subsection

(d). The municipality shall maintain a list of the names of all

tenants evicted as a result of subsection (d). The names shall

remain on the list for a period of five years.

Section 306-A.  Exempt dwellings.

(a)  Nonapplicability.--This article shall not apply to any

of the following:

(1)  The following facilities in which all operations of

the facilities are subject to Federal, State or county

licensing or regulations concerning the health and safety of

the users, patients or tenants:

(i)  Hospitals.

(ii)  Nursing homes.

(iii  Group homes.

(iv)  Dwellings used for human habitation which offer

or provide medical or nursing services.

(2)  Dormitories, fraternity houses, hotel units and

sorority houses, as defined in the zoning ordinance of the

municipality.

(b)  Violation.--If, in response to a complaint, an exempt

dwelling unit is found to be in violation, the owner, landlord

agent or other person operating or managing such premises shall

correct the violation within the time frame cited by the code

enforcement officer. If the violation is not corrected, the

dwelling unit shall lose its exemption until the violation is

corrected. If three verified complaints are received in a

12-month period, the dwelling shall lose its exemption for a

period of five years.

Section 2.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.