Eviction

• In Pennsylvania you can be evicted if you do not pay the rent, if the time on your lease is up or if you do not live up to an oral or written agreement you have established with the landlord. If an oral or written provision of your agreement with the landlord establishes that you can be evicted for disorderly conduct, this could support the landlord's eviction proceedings.
  
  

No Eviction

• In Pennsylvania you cannot be evicted based on your race, religion, ancestry, sex, natural origin, color or age. Additionally, you cannot be evicted for asserting your legal rights against the landlord or because a household member is pregnant or has children. Finally, a landlord may not evict you because a household member is disabled or because that household member requires a service animal such as a guide dog.
  
  

Eviction Notice

• Unless your lease states otherwise, your landlord must give you written notice before beginning legal proceedings to evict you. The amount of time the eviction notice must give you to move out will depend on the length of your lease and the reason you are being asked to vacate the premises. A typical eviction notice will give a tenant 10 to 30 days to vacate the premises.
  
  

Eviction Proceedings

• After you have been given your eviction notice, the landlord may file a complaint with the court requesting formal eviction. You will receive a copy of the complaint and the option to notify the court if you intend to attend the eviction proceedings in order to defend yourself. Also, you will have an option to file a counterclaim against the landlord prior to the court hearing.
  
  

Hearing

• At the hearing you must dispute the landlord's definition of disorderly conduct or that you ever agreed you could be evicted for disorderly conduct. If your landlord is evicting you on the basis of a zero tolerance policy for criminal offenses and you have been cited by the police for disorderly conduct, you will need to argue that the citation is a minor offense and that it should not affect your residency status. Finally, if you lose at the hearing, you may still appeal the decision by paying a portion of your rent as a deposit and filing a notice of appeal.