How much can a landlord charge for a rental application fee in Pennsylvania?

No statutory cap on application fees.

Does a landlord have to give a receipt for an application fee in Pennsylvania?

No statutory receipt duty for application money.

Does Pennsylvania have a reusable tenant screening report law?

No statute on reusable screening reports.

Can a landlord charge a holding deposit in Pennsylvania?

No statute on holding deposits.

What can a landlord charge for a rental application in Pennsylvania?

Verified August 26, 2026 Correction November 2, 2026 All Pennsylvania topics →

Enacted but not yet in force. This page reflects the law in force today. The following measures have been signed and take effect on the dates shown:

HB 558 (2025-2026 Regular Session), Printer's No. 3170 — Adds a new section 207 to the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951: a landlord or the landlord's agent may charge only a rental application fee reasonably related to the actual administrative expenses incurred, and may not use application fees as a general revenue source; nothing in the section requires or prohibits a rental application fee for commercial, residential or nonresidential property. The $20 cap and the background-check clause of the bill as introduced were removed in committee and are not part of the act. Status: Passed the House 148 to 53 on May 4, 2026 and the Senate 36 to 14 on October 21, 2026, without amendment; approved by the Governor on October 22, 2026 as Act No. 67 of 2026. It takes effect in 60 days, on December 21, 2026. Until then no statute limits the fee. (checked November 1, 2026).
HB 344 (2025-2026 Regular Session), Printer's No. 3169 — Adds a new section 207 to the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 requiring a residential lease to state whether parking is provided and, if it is, whether a fee applies and its amount (a lease silent on parking is read as providing none), barring a change or added parking fee during the lease except for a change in availability or in a third-party provider's pass-through fee, and giving a tenant a lower-court remedy: the court may order the landlord to pay the parking costs the tenant incurs for the duration of the lease. A fee-disclosure measure rather than a fee cap. Status: Passed the House 201 to 0 on April 29, 2026 and the Senate 49 to 1 on October 20, 2026, without amendment; approved by the Governor on October 22, 2026 as Act No. 64 of 2026. It takes effect in 60 days, on December 21, 2026. (checked November 1, 2026).

Legislative changes ahead — not yet in force. This page reflects the law in force today. The following measures would change Pennsylvania's landlord-tenant law:

SB 1216 (2025-2026 Regular Session), Printer's No. 1517 — Would add a new section 207 to the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 limiting a fee charged in connection with an application for a residential dwelling unit to the lesser of the actual cost of a background check or $50, allowing the fee to be used only for a criminal history record check and a credit check, barring a policy that excludes every applicant with a criminal history in favor of an individualized assessment, and making any waiver by an applicant or tenant unenforceable. It would take effect in 60 days. Status: Introduced and referred to the Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee on March 18, 2026; no committee action reported. (checked November 1, 2026).
SB 1270 (2025-2026 Regular Session), Printer's No. 1583 — The Senate counterpart to HB 344, without the House amendments: it would add a new section 207 to the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 requiring the lease to state whether parking is provided and the amount of any parking fee, and barring any change or addition to a parking fee during the lease, with the same complaint route to a lower court. Status: Introduced and referred to the Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee on April 14, 2026; no committee action reported. (checked November 1, 2026).
HB 1492 (2025-2026 Regular Session), Printer's No. 2549 — Chiefly a bill about the use of criminal records to screen applicants, which is a separate subject, but it bears on application money: among the remedies the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission could order against a housing provider are returning the complainant's rental application fee and paying the complainant up to $1,000. Status: Reported as amended from the House Housing and Community Development Committee on September 29, 2025, amended on second consideration on October 29, 2025, re-reported from Appropriations on November 17, 2025, and laid on the table in the House under House Rule 71 on March 25, 2026; it has not reached third consideration. (checked August 26, 2026).

Pennsylvania does not regulate rental application fees at all: no statute caps the fee, ties it to what a screening actually costs, requires a receipt or a refund, requires anything to be disclosed before the money is taken, or sets a state denial-notice duty, and there is no reusable screening report law and no rule on money taken to hold a home.

Cited to Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 (68 P.S. 250.101 to 250.602) Article II, sections 201-206 and 18 more cited sources · Verified August 26, 2026

The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 governs residential renting in the Commonwealth and its only money rules are the security deposit and escrow provisions. The Attorney General's consumer guide describes the application fee as one landlords commonly charge on a non-refundable basis to cover administrative costs and says it should be reasonable, which is an expectation rather than a limit. Deceptive or unconscionable fee practices can be reached under the general consumer protection law, which carries civil penalties and a private action for damages that a court may treble. That changes on December 21, 2026: Act No. 67 of 2026 (House Bill 558), signed October 22, 2026, adds section 207 to the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, under which a landlord may charge only a rental application fee reasonably related to the actual administrative expenses incurred and may not use application fees as a general revenue source; the bill's $20 cap was removed before passage. A second bill, capping the fee at the lesser of the actual background-check cost or $50, remains in committee.

Pennsylvania application & screening fees at a glance

Application fee cap	No statutory cap on application fees
Fee limited to actual screening cost	No statute ties the fee to screening cost
Screening charge rules	No statute governs screening charges separately
Receipt required	No statutory receipt duty for application money
Refund required in some circumstances	No statutory refund duty
Refund rules	No statutory refund duty
Disclosure before collecting	No statutory disclosure duty
Denial-notice duties (state law)	No state statute — federal fair-credit duties still apply
Reusable screening reports	No statute on reusable screening reports
Holding deposits	No statute on holding deposits
Rental fee-transparency rules	No rental fee-transparency statute
Penalty for violation	No specific statutory penalty

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Pennsylvania Application & Screening Fee Laws (verified August 26, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/application-fees/pennsylvania/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Everything above is cited in the citations section below.

Notes and caveats

Two 2026 acts amend the 1951 act — The act's money provisions date from its 1972 escrow amendments, and the absence of an application-fee rule is long-standing rather than a recent repeal. Two acts approved on October 22, 2026 amend the act from December 21, 2026: Act No. 67 of 2026 limits the application fee, and Act No. 64 of 2026 governs parking terms and parking fees in a lease.
The fee limit arriving December 21, 2026 — Act No. 67 of 2026 (House Bill 558), signed October 22, 2026 and in force December 21, 2026, limits a rental application fee to one reasonably related to the actual administrative expenses incurred and bars using application fees as a general revenue source; the $20 cap in the bill as introduced was struck in committee and is not law. SB 1216, which would cap the fee at the lesser of the actual background-check cost or $50, sits in the Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee.
Reasonable is guidance, not a limit — The Attorney General's consumer guide says an application fee should be reasonable. That is the agency's stated expectation for landlords, not a figure a court or agency enforces as a cap.
Denial rights come from federal law — When a landlord uses a tenant screening or credit report to turn down an application, the notice, the free copy of the report within 60 days and the right to dispute it come from the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. Pennsylvania adds nothing of its own.
Where a licensed agent is involved — Two duties in the real estate licensing law touch this area at the edges: a licensee dealing with a prospective tenant must give a written statement of the capacity in which the licensee is acting when the rental application is taken, and a broker holding a deposit must keep it until the transaction closes, the parties direct otherwise in writing, or a court orders its release.
Commonwealth law only — These entries state Pennsylvania law. Several Pennsylvania cities set their own rules about renting, and no state statute either authorizes or blocks local rules on application fees.
Parking fee disclosure from December 21, 2026 — Act No. 64 of 2026 (House Bill 344), signed October 22, 2026 and in force December 21, 2026, requires a lease to state whether parking is provided and the amount of any parking fee, and freezes that fee for the term except for a change in parking availability or in a third-party provider's pass-through fee. Its Senate counterpart, SB 1270, did not move. It is the closest thing in Pennsylvania to a rental fee-disclosure law.
About the application fee rule — Pennsylvania sets no limit on what a landlord or their agent may charge someone to apply for a home, and no statute bans the charge or lists the only charges allowed. The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 is the Commonwealth's residential landlord and tenant statute, and the article that creates leases, sections 201 through 206, carries no fee provision; the act's only money rules are the escrow and security deposit sections. The Attorney General's consumer guide states that many landlords charge a non-refundable application fee to cover administrative costs, that the fee should be reasonable, and that crediting it toward first month's rent or the security deposit is at the landlord's option and is not required by law. Two bills would set a cap and are listed under pending legislation.
How the cost limit works — No Pennsylvania statute ties an application or screening charge to what a credit, background or eviction report actually costs. The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 contains no reference to a credit check, a credit report or screening, and no other statute supplies a cost limit. What an applicant pays is a matter of the landlord's own pricing.
Screening charges — Pennsylvania places no conditions on charging an applicant for credit, background or eviction reports. No statute says who may charge, limits the charge to one per applicant, requires that a report actually be obtained, requires written notice or an agreement first, or requires that a unit be available. The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 does not mention screening. The Commonwealth's consumer report statute, the Credit Reporting Agency Act, deals with security freezes and places duties on consumer reporting agencies rather than on landlords.
What the receipt duty covers — No Pennsylvania statute requires a receipt or an itemized breakdown for money paid to apply for a home. The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 imposes no receipt duty at all, for application money or for rent. Whether an applicant gets one is a matter of the landlord's own practice.
When money must come back — No Pennsylvania statute forces the return of any part of an application or screening fee. The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 has one return-of-money duty, the security deposit accounting in section 512, and it does not reach application money. The Attorney General's consumer guide describes the application fee as one landlords commonly charge on a non-refundable basis. Whether money comes back depends on the agreement between the applicant and the landlord.
Refunds — Because no return duty exists, Pennsylvania sets no circumstances, deadlines or mechanics for returning application money. Nothing requires part of the fee back where the applicant was never screened, was turned down, withdrew, or where the home was let to someone else first, and nothing requires the excess over the cost of a report to be returned. The Attorney General's consumer guide notes that a landlord may choose to credit the fee toward first month's rent or the security deposit but is not required to.
What must be disclosed up front — Pennsylvania requires nothing to be told to an applicant before application money is taken: not the criteria that will be used, not what the fee pays for, not the applicant's rights. The Attorney General's consumer guide frames uniform written screening criteria as something landlords should do rather than must do. One nearby duty applies only where a licensed real estate agent is involved and concerns the agent's role rather than the fee: under the Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act, a licensee dealing with a prospective tenant for rental only must give a written statement of the capacity in which the licensee is acting, and where the licensee requires a rental application that statement is given when the application is taken.
Denial notices — Pennsylvania imposes no state denial-notice duty on landlords. No statute requires written reasons for turning down an application, sets a deadline for a notice, or requires a copy of the report relied on. The Commonwealth's own consumer report statute, the Credit Reporting Agency Act, is about security freezes and says nothing about landlords, tenants or denials. The rights an applicant does have when a tenant screening or credit report is used come from the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, which the Attorney General's consumer guide describes as the source of the notice, the free copy of the report within 60 days, and the right to dispute what it says.
Reusable screening reports — Pennsylvania has no reusable or portable tenant screening report law. A landlord is not required to accept a report an applicant already paid for elsewhere, nothing bars charging a fee when such a report is used, and no validity window is set. The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, the statute that would carry such a rule, does not mention screening reports.
Money to hold a unit — No Pennsylvania statute caps money taken to hold a home while a lease is prepared, requires a written statement about it, or says what happens to it if the tenancy does or does not go ahead. Section 511.1 of the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, the section that would carry such a limit, reaches only sums held in escrow for damage to the premises or unpaid rent, and section 511.2 reaches funds over $100 held under a lease that has been executed or re-executed. One narrow rule applies where a licensed real estate broker holds the money: the Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act requires a broker to keep all deposits and escrows until the transaction closes, until the parties agree or instruct otherwise in writing, or until a court directs. It sets no cap and no disposition rule for a landlord.
Advertising and fee transparency — Pennsylvania has no rental pricing-transparency law. No statute requires an advertised rent to include mandatory fees, requires those fees to be itemized, or bans hidden rental fees, and the Bureau of Consumer Protection's chapters in the Pennsylvania Code cover automotive trade practices, loan brokers, plain language consumer contracts and dog purchases, none of which reaches homes offered for rent. What governs instead is the general Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, which the Attorney General states applies to the leasing of residential property and whose own text covers the advertising of real property and gives a private action to a person who leases for personal, family or household purposes. That law bars deceptive and unconscionable conduct in general terms but sets no pricing-disclosure rule for rentals. An act requiring parking fees to be stated in the lease takes effect December 21, 2026 and is listed under pending legislation.
Penalties — No penalty attaches to application or screening fees, because Pennsylvania sets no duty about them to break. The general consumer protection route remains open where a fee practice is deceptive or unconscionable: the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law allows a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for each violation of an injunction or an assurance of voluntary compliance, a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for each wilful use of an unlawful practice in an action brought by the Attorney General or a district attorney, and a private action for actual damages or $100, whichever is greater, which a court may treble and may accompany with costs and reasonable attorney fees.

Common questions: Pennsylvania application & screening fees

Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

How much can a landlord charge for a rental application fee in Pennsylvania?: No statutory cap on application fees.
Does an application fee have to be refunded in Pennsylvania?: No statutory refund duty.
Does a landlord have to give a receipt for an application fee in Pennsylvania?: No statutory receipt duty for application money.
Does Pennsylvania have a reusable tenant screening report law?: No statute on reusable screening reports.
Can a landlord charge a holding deposit in Pennsylvania?: No statute on holding deposits.

Changes since last full verification

The Verified date above (August 26, 2026) marks the last time every figure on this page was verified end-to-end against official sources. The changes below were published since then, each verified against the official source it names (what these dates mean).

Correction, November 2, 2026 — Pennsylvania: three corrections to the act's own words. Act No. 64 of 2026 lets a lower court order a landlord who breaks the parking-disclosure section to pay the parking costs the tenant incurs for the duration of the lease, in the amount the court determines (the page had said the rest of the lease). Under the county contact-information filing in force since September 18, 2026 (68 Pa.C.S. chapter 25), when an owner is cited for a municipal code violation the municipality collects and relays the owner's contact information (the page had put that filing on the owner); a business names one owner or employee and a limited liability company one member or manager with an ownership interest; an address-confidentiality participant may not be required to give an actual address, but is not excused from the filing. The eviction-process page states the magisterial district judge rules as restyled since November 1, 2026 (Supreme Court order of April 21, 2026), no amount changed. Bill statuses re-read: House Bill 2696 (assistance animals) re-referred in committee October 6; the 2026 acts list runs to Act No. 117.
Updated, October 23, 2026 — Pennsylvania enacted Act No. 67 of 2026 (House Bill 558), approved October 22, 2026 and effective December 21, 2026, adding section 207 to the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951: a landlord or the landlord's agent may charge only a rental application fee reasonably related to the actual administrative expenses incurred and may not use application fees as a general revenue source; the section neither requires nor prohibits a fee for residential or nonresidential property. The $20 cap and the background-check clause in the bill as introduced were struck in committee and are not part of the act; the page's earlier description of the bill as a $20 cap is corrected. Until December 21, 2026 no statute limits the fee, and the page's answers change on that date.

Citations

Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 (68 P.S. 250.101 to 250.602) · Article II, sections 201-206 (verified 2026) Official source
Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Consumer Guide to Tenant and Landlord Rights, Version 1.1 (June 13, 2022) · Part III.C (verified 2026) Official source
Credit Reporting Agency Act (Act 163 of 2006) · sections 1-2 (verified 2026) Official source
Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 (68 P.S. 250.101 to 250.602) · Article II, sections 201-206; Article V, sections 511.1-512 (verified 2026) Official source
Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 (68 P.S. 250.101 to 250.602) · section 512; Article II, sections 201-206 (verified 2026) Official source
Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act (Act 9 of 1980) · section 608(b)(2) (verified 2026) Official source
Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Consumer Guide to Tenant and Landlord Rights, Version 1.1 (June 13, 2022) · Part III.D (verified 2026) Official source
Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Consumer Guide to Tenant and Landlord Rights, Version 1.1 (June 13, 2022) · Part III.B (verified 2026) Official source
Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 (68 P.S. 250.101 to 250.602) · sections 511.1, 511.2 (verified 2026) Official source
Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act (Act 9 of 1980) · section 608.5(a) (verified 2026) Official source
37 Pa. Code, Part V (Bureau of Consumer Protection) · chapters 301, 303, 305, 307, 309 (verified 2026) Official source
Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (73 P.S. 201-1 to 201-9.2) · sections 2(3), 2(4)(xxi), 9.2(a) (verified 2026) Official source
Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Consumer Guide to Tenant and Landlord Rights, Version 1.1 (June 13, 2022) · Part I, relevant laws (verified 2026) Official source
Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (73 P.S. 201-1 to 201-9.2) · sections 8(a), 8(b), 9.2(a) (verified 2026) Official source
Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 (68 P.S. 250.101 to 250.602) (verified 2026) Official source
Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (73 P.S. 201-1 to 201-9.2) (verified 2026) Official source
Credit Reporting Agency Act (Act 163 of 2006) (verified 2026) Official source
37 Pa. Code, Part V (Bureau of Consumer Protection) (verified 2026) Official source
Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Consumer Guide to Tenant and Landlord Rights, Version 1.1 (June 13, 2022) (verified 2026) Official source

How this record was verified: Direct read of the whole Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 (Act of Apr. 6, 1951, P.L. 69, No. 20; 68 P.S. sections 250.101 to 250.602), all six articles including sections 201 to 206 and the escrow sections 511.1, 511.2, 511.3 and 512, on the Pennsylvania General Assembly's statutes site; the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (Act 387 of 1968) sections 1, 2, 3, 3.1, 4, 8 and 9.2; the Credit Reporting Agency Act (Act 163 of 2006); the Real Estate Licensing and Registration Act (Act 9 of 1980) sections 201, 301, 561, 601, 608 and 608.5; the official Pennsylvania Code Title 37 table of contents including Part V, Bureau of Consumer Protection; the Attorney General's Consumer Guide to Tenant and Landlord Rights, Version 1.1, last updated June 13, 2022; a title review of all 60 acts on general legislation approved in 2025 and all 51 approved in 2026 in the General Assembly's enacted-act index; and bill-text searches of the 2025-2026 Regular Session for rental application fee, application fee, tenant screening, screening fee, fee transparency, consumer report, junk fee and portable screening.