A Pennsylvania tenant’s right to recover a security deposit.

Under Pennsylvania’s Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, 68 P.S. ‘250.101, et. Seq., a landlord may require a security deposit to be held for tenant caused damages and possible past due rent. See 68 P.S. §250.511 and §250.512. A security deposit is not the same as rent. It is money that actually belongs to the tenant, but is held by the landlord for tenant-caused damages and sometimes past-due rent. Without the agreement of the landlord, a security deposit may not legally be used as the last month’s rent.

Pennsylvania law places a limit on the amount of a security deposit that a landlord may require. Under 68 P.S. §250.511a (a), no landlord may require a sum in excess of two months’ rent to be deposited in escrow for the payment of damages to the leasehold premises and/or default in rent thereof during the first year of any lease. During the second and subsequent years of the lease or during any renewal of the original lease the amount required to be deposited may not exceed one month’s rent. See 68 P.S. §250.511a (b). At the beginning of the second year of a lease the landlord may not keep a security deposit equal to more than one month’s rent and must return any money greater than one month’s rent still being held as a deposit. See 68 P.S. §250.511a (c) After five years the landlord cannot increase a security deposit even if the monthly rent is increased. 68 P.S. §250.511a (d).

Pennsylvania also regulates where residential security deposits must be kept and when interest payments on the security deposits must be made to the tenant. Security deposit monies in excess of $100 and held more than two years must be deposited by the landlord in an approved bank, and the tenant must be notified in writing where the bank and deposit is located. See 68 P.S. §250.511b (a). A landlord is entitled to receive as administrative expenses, a sum equivalent to one per cent per annum upon the security money so deposited, which shall be in lieu of all other administrative and custodial expenses. The balance of the interest paid shall be the money of the tenant making the deposit and will be paid to the tenant annually upon the anniversary date of the commencement of his lease. See 68 P.S. §250.511b (b).

After termination the lease or upon surrender of the lease and acceptance by the landlord of the leasehold premises, a landlord must provide a tenant with a written list of any damages to the leasehold premises for which the landlord claims the tenant is liable. Delivery of the list shall be accompanied by payment of the difference between any sum deposited in escrow, including any unpaid interest thereon, for the payment of damages to the leasehold premises and the actual amount of damages to the leasehold premises caused by the tenant. See 68 P.S. §250.512.

Reasonable wear and tear caused by a tenant’s lawful use of the lead premises is not damages. In 1979, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court officially recognized that an Warranty of Habitability that is implied in every residential lease agreement. Pugh v. Holmes, 486 Pa. 272, 405 A.2d 897 (1979). The Supreme Court decided that landlords who rent property for people to live in must make sure such property is “safe, sanitary and fit for human habitation.” A landlord’s obligations under the Warranty of Habitability cannot be taken from a tenant even if you sign a lease that says you are renting the property “as is” or that you are responsible for all repairs.

The warranty implies that the landlord has placed the rented premises in a livable conditions prior to the occupancy by the tenant; or that he will do so within a reasonable time after the occupancy of the demised residence; that the facilities will remain usable during the entire term of the lease and that the landlord will maintain the demised premises in a condition which will render the premises livable. Any repairs made necessary by reasonable wear and tear are the responsibility of the landlord. Derr v. Cangemi, 66 Pa. D & C 2nd 162 (1974).

A landlord is responsible for all normal wear and tear and must bear that cost as part of the implied Warranty of Habitability whenever he leases a property to a tenant. A landlord can not pass on normal wear and tear expenses to a tenant. Deluca v. Matthews, 2015 Pa. Dist & Cnty. Dec. Lexis 14718.

Assuming that there are valid damages, a landlord must refund the security deposit less the cost of the repairs on the list. If the landlord fails to do this, the tenant cannot be sued for any damages the landlord claims the tenant caused. In addition, if the landlord does not give the tenant this 30-day response, the tenant may sue for double the amount of the security deposit. In order to be able to sue for double the deposit, the tenant must give the landlord written notice of his or her new address once the tenant has moved out. See 68 P.S. §250.512.

Under 68 P.S. §250.512 (e), failure of the tenant to provide the landlord with his new address in writing upon termination of the lease or upon surrender and acceptance of the leasehold premises shall relieve the landlord from any liability under this section.