How to Evict a Roommate in Pennsylvania (and Other Household Situations)
What Pennsylvania law says about roommates who are not on the lease, guests who won't leave, family members, renting a room in your own home, and tenancies at will — each with the statute or official source.
Short answer: Since 2024, Pennsylvania's Landlord and Tenant Act defines a tenant as a person who occupies another's land or premises in subordination to the other's title and with the other's express or implied consent, including through an oral or written lease or the owner's (or agent's) acceptance of rent. So a roommate not on the written lease can become a tenant if the owner expressly or impliedly consents, for example by accepting rent from them. 68 P.S. § 250.102 ('Tenant', added by Act of July 17, 2024, P.L.944, No.88)
| Roommate not on the lease | Since 2024, Pennsylvania's Landlord and Tenant Act defines a tenant as a person who occupies another's land or premises in subordination to the other's title and with the other's express or implied consent, including through an oral or written lease or the owner's (or agent's) acceptance of rent. So a roommate not on the written lease can become a tenant if the owner expressly or impliedly consents, for example by accepting rent from them. |
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| Removing a roommate or subtenant | No roommate-specific statute. To recover possession from a tenant, the landlord serves a written notice to quit: 15 days from service when the term expires or the lease is forfeited for a lease of one year or less or of indeterminate time (30 days for a lease of more than one year), or 10 days for unpaid rent. If the tenant does not leave, the landlord files a complaint with the magisterial district judge. The notice may be served personally, left at the principal building on the premises, or posted conspicuously on the premises. Whether a tenant who sublets can use this procedure against a roommate depends on whether the roommate is the tenant's own tenant. |
| Guests who won't leave | A guest becomes a tenant only with the owner's express or implied consent to occupy (such as an oral or written lease or the owner's acceptance of rent). The notice-to-quit and eviction procedure of the Landlord and Tenant Act does not apply to repossessing property from a person who is not, and never has been, a tenant. In buildings with three or more households, tenants have a non-waivable right to have social guests, family, or visitors for a reasonable period of time, without extra fees. Section 250.501(g) was added in 2024 (P.L.944, No.88). |
| Tenancy at will | A lease of real property for more than three years that is not in writing and signed has the force of a lease at will only, unless the tenancy has continued for more than one year and both sides have recognized it by claiming and admitting rent, in which case it becomes year-to-year. For a lease of indeterminate time, the landlord's notice to quit must give 15 days from service (10 days for unpaid rent). Source: 68 P.S. §§ 250.202, 250.501(b) |
Never remove someone by changing the locks or taking their belongings: if the person has become a tenant, only a court can order them out. If there is violence or a threat, call 911 and ask about a protective order.
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Pennsylvania eviction laws · Free legal help in Pennsylvania · Roommate rules in other states
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.