As a tenant, you have the right to a safe environment and privacy. Notify Philadelphia’s Department of Licenses & Inspections if your landlord doesn’t provide a safe and habitable property. A list of Basic Tenant’s Rights
Orgs to Support You
Philly Home First Rent Assistance – Philly gov support for rent payments
Partners for Good Housing outlines the responsibilities of owners, tenants, and landlords for maintaining houses and apartments in a safe and clean condition. https://business.phila.gov/media/partners_for_good_housing.pdf
TURN is a tenant service and advocacy organization that promotes the human right to housing. We offer Tenant Rights Workshops, Individual Counseling, Hotline Assistance, and Tenant Union Organizing Assistance. http://rturn.net/
Community Legal Services (CLS) assists clients when they face the threat of losing their homes https://clsphila.org
Philly Tenant’s Union is a tenant-led organization dedicated to winning safe, decent, and affordable housing for every renter in Philly. http://phillytenantsunion.org/
PhillyTenant.org, your resource for tenant’s rights in Philadelphia.
Partners for Good Housing outlines the responsibilities of owners, tenants, and landlords for maintaining houses and apartments in a safe and clean condition. This is great if you need to complain or learn more about your legal rights
Basic tenant rights
- A flush toilet in a room with a door
- A bathtub or shower in a private room—it has to be ventilated, too.
- A kitchen sink
- A safe gas or electric cooking range
- Running water and hot water
- Heat at 68 degrees minimum from October through April. If you have control of your own heat (i.e. a thermostat), the landlord is not required to keep the heat at 68 degrees minimum.
- Electricity
- Windows or a ventilation system in every room
- Two electrical outlets in every “habitable” room, which does not include bathrooms, closets, or hallways.
- Lighting in all public hallways
- All repairs: Roofs, walls, windows etc. have to actually do their job, and it is the landlord’s job to maintain them.
- Landlords are responsible for extermination or vermin control prior or after leasing. So if you’re a tenant and currently have a roach issue, it’s on you to get that sorted out.
- Functional doors and windows
- A lead paint certificate that assures you as a tenant that the property is lead safe, when the property was 1) built before 1978 and 2) Any new occupant is aged six years or less.
West Philly Resource 