PRINTER'S NO. 576
No. 543 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY FUMO, PECORA, SALVATORE, PORTERFIELD, REIBMAN,
STAPLETON, FATTAH, ANDREZESKI, MUSTO, LEWIS, MELLOW, RHOADES,
STOUT, O'PAKE AND LINCOLN, FEBRUARY 15, 1989
REFERRED TO URBAN AFFAIRS AND HOUSING, FEBRUARY 15, 1989
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of April 6, 1951 (P.L.69, No.20), entitled "An
2 act relating to the rights, obligations and liabilities of
3 landlord and tenant and of parties dealing with them and
4 amending, revising, changing and consolidating the law
5 relating thereto," providing for removal of tenants for drug
6 violations.
7 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
8 hereby enacts as follows:
9 Section 1. Section 501 of the act of April 6, 1951 (P.L.69,
10 No.20), known as The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, repealed
11 in part April 28, 1978 (P.L.202, No.53), is amended to read:
12 Section 501. Notice to Quit.--A landlord desirous of
13 repossessing real property from a tenant may notify, in writing,
14 the tenant to remove from the same at the expiration of the time
15 specified in the notice under the following circumstances,
16 namely, (1) Upon the termination of a term of the tenant, (2) or
17 upon forfeiture of the lease for breach of its conditions, (3)
18 or upon the failure of the tenant, upon demand, to satisfy any
19 rent reserved and due.
1 In case of the expiration of a term or of a forfeiture for
2 breach of the conditions of the lease where the lease is for any
3 term of less than one year or for an indeterminate time, the
4 notice shall specify that the tenant shall remove within thirty
5 days from the date of service thereof, and when the lease is for
6 one year or more, then within three months from the date of
7 service thereof. In case of failure of the tenant, upon demand,
8 to satisfy any rent reserved and due, the notice, if given on or
9 after April first and before September first, shall specify that
10 the tenant shall remove within fifteen days from the date of the
11 service thereof, and if given on or after September first and
12 before April first, then within thirty days from the date of the
13 service thereof.
14 In case of termination due to the provisions of section 505-
15 A, the notice shall specify that the tenant shall remove within
16 fifteen days from the date of service of the notice.
17 The notice above provided for may be for a lesser time or may
18 be waived by the tenant if the lease so provides.
19 The notice provided for in this section may be served
20 personally on the tenant, or by leaving the same at the
21 principal building upon the premises, or by posting the same
22 conspicuously on the leased premises.
23 Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
24 Section 505-A. Use of Illegal Drugs.--(a) The following
25 acts relating to illegal drugs shall be a breach of condition of
26 the lease and shall be grounds for removal of the tenant from an
27 apartment, a multiple-dwelling premises or a tenement building:
28 (1) The sale or distribution of a drug in violation of the
29 act of April 14, 1972 (P.L.233, No.64), known as "The Controlled
30 Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act," on a portion of the
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1 apartment, multiple-dwelling premises or tenement building;
2 (2) The second violation of "The Controlled Substance, Drug,
3 Device and Cosmetic Act" on a portion of the apartment,
4 multiple-dwelling premises or tenement building;
5 (3) The seizure by law enforcement officials of illegal
6 drugs on the leased premises in the apartment, multiple-dwelling
7 premises or tenement building.
8 (b) Failure to remove a tenant for violation of subsection
9 (a) shall not operate as a waiver of the landlord's rights with
10 regard to that tenant or any other tenant relating to any
11 subsequent acts.
12 Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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