Pennsylvania guest rules for landlords in multi-unit buildings, and the drug breach rule
In a Pennsylvania building with three or more households, Article V-A of the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 gives tenants a right to have business visitors, tradespeople and, for a reasonable time, social guests and family. The landlord cannot waive it in the lease or charge a fee for it. The same article makes certain drug convictions or seizures a breach of the lease and grounds for removal.
Which buildings does it cover?
Section 501-A defines the terms. A "tenement building" is a house or building, or part of one, intended or used as a residence for three or more households living in separate apartments and cooking on the premises. "Multiple dwelling premises" means any area occupied by dwelling units, grounds and facilities that are intended or used as individual homes for three or more households, and it includes mobile home parks. So the guest and common area rules below are for buildings with at least three households. A duplex is outside these definitions.
What may a tenant do?
Section 504-A gives the tenant a right to invite to the apartment such employees, business visitors, tradesmen, deliverymen, suppliers of goods and services as the tenant wishes, as long as the tenant keeps the obligations of the article. The tenant may also invite social guests, family or visitors for a reasonable period of time. These rights may not be waived by a written rental agreement, and the landlord may not charge a fee, service charge or additional rent for the tenant exercising them.
The same section protects choice of suppliers. The landlord may not restrict the tenant's right to buy goods and services from a source the tenant chooses, and a lease clause trying to limit that right is void and unenforceable. That matters if you have a lease clause that requires a tenant to use one vendor.
What the statute leaves open is the meaning of "a reasonable period of time." It does not set a number of nights, so a lease cap on guest stays should be written as a reasonable rule and applied to everyone the same way. A guest who is really living there is a different issue: add them to the lease through your screening and approval process.
What are the duties on each side?
Section 502-A says that when a landlord keeps control of the stairways, passages, roadways and other common facilities of a tenement building or multiple dwelling premises, the landlord has a duty of reasonable care for safety in using them. That duty extends to the tenant's family, servants and employees, business visitors, social guests and others who enter in the right of the tenant, even under a mere license.
Section 503-A puts duties on tenants. They must comply with the municipal, county and Commonwealth codes, regulations, ordinances and statutes that apply to tenants, and in particular they must not permit any person on the premises with their permission to willfully or wantonly destroy, deface, damage, impair or remove any part of the structure, facilities or equipment, and must not do so themselves. They also must not permit any person on the premises with their permission to willfully or wantonly disturb the peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other tenants and neighbors.
What does the drug rule in 505-A say?
Section 505-A(a) makes three events a breach of a condition of the lease and grounds for removal of the tenant from a single-family dwelling, apartment, multiple dwelling premises or tenement building. The first is a first conviction for an illegal sale, manufacture or distribution of any drug under Pennsylvania's Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act on the dwelling or part of the premises. The second is a second violation of that act on the dwelling or premises. The third is the seizure by law enforcement of illegal drugs on the leased premises. Subsection (b) says failing to remove a tenant for one violation does not waive your rights for later acts.
Example a made-up tenant is the subject of a drug seizure by police inside the leased apartment on Thursday, October 1, 2026. Under 505-A(a)(3) that is a breach of a lease condition and grounds for removal. The landlord decides not to act at that time. A later, separate violation on Monday, December 7 is not excused, because subsection (b) says the earlier decision is not a waiver.
Breach and removal are not the same as self-help. You still go through the notice and court process in our guide to Pennsylvania notice to quit rules and how to evict a tenant in Pennsylvania. Keep a record of the conviction or the seizure, since you will have to prove it.
Where does DoorKeeping fit?
DoorKeeping stores the lease, the rent ledger, work orders and a copy of every notice you send, so the dates are on file if a court or a tenant asks. You still write, serve and track the notice yourself, and anything with a legal step waits for your one-tap approval. This is general information, not legal advice: check the current statute, and ask a local attorney if the tenant disputes what you did.
Sources
Questions
- Can a Pennsylvania landlord charge a fee for tenant guests?
- Not in a building with three or more households. Section 504-A bars any fee for the tenant exercising the guest and visitor rights, and the lease cannot waive them.
- Can a Pennsylvania lease limit where a tenant buys goods and services?
- No. Section 504-A voids a written clause that limits the tenant's right to buy from a source the tenant chooses.
- Is a drug seizure a lease breach in Pennsylvania?
- Yes. Under 505-A, seizure of illegal drugs on the leased premises is a breach and grounds for removal, alongside certain convictions.