Rent Control
Is there preemption?
No.
What are the governing state statutes?
The statute governing landlord-tenant law in Pennsylvania is the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, P.L. 69, No. 20. It does not include any rent control restrictions on landlords’ ability to raise rent, however, it also does not preempt municipalities from adopting their own rent control regulations.
What is the current state of rent control law in Pennsylvania?
There have been efforts to both enact statewide rent control regulations and, on the other hand, to prohibit municipalities from enacting local rent control regulations.
State Senator Jimmy Dillon (D) indicated that he planned to introduce a bill that would “help stabilize rent across the state.” However, that bill did not materialized. By contrast, in the 2021-2022 session, Senator Greg Rothman (R) proposed a bill that would add a preemption amendment to the Landlord and Tenant Act to “prevent a local government from enforcing a law that would attempt to control the rent a private property owner can charge.” The bill, however, was not enacted.