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Companies that do business in the City of Philadelphia are required to obtain a Commercial Activity License from the City’s Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I). While there are some exceptions, your company will likely need a license to own and operate a business in Philadelphia. If you or your business operates a non-profit, rents 3 units in a building that you also live in, or is securing a vacant property license, then a different license is required.
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Continue Reading Philadelphia’s Commercial Activity License

If you have had construction work performed at your property, then you may have had the unfortunate experience of having a contractor or subcontractor file a mechanic’s lien against your real property. A mechanic’s lien can cause any number of problems when trying to sell your property – most notably, a cloud on your property’s title. It can also come as a shock to a property owner who was unaware that a subcontractor had not been paid in full.
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Continue Reading Discharging Mechanic’s Liens in Pennsylvania

Today, the Philadelphia Municipal Court issued an Administrative Order postponing Landlord Tenant cases that are currently scheduled for a hearing before the Municipal Court between July 6, 2020 and September 2, 2020 until further order of the Court. Governor Wolf’s May 7, 2020 Executive Order previously extended the moratorium on certain evictions and foreclosures from May 11, 2020 to July 10, 2020.
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Continue Reading Philadelphia Landlord Tenant Cases Postponed Until Further Notice

Yesterday, Governor Wolf signed an Order staying evictions that would require compliance with the Pennsylvania Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 and the Manufactured Home Community Rights Act for 60 days, until July 10, 2020. The Order provides that the timelines necessary to start an eviction action are tolled until July 10, 2020. The Order also puts foreclosures requiring compliance with Act 6 and Act 91 on hold for the same 60 day period.
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Continue Reading Pennsylvania Evictions, Foreclosures & the CARES Act

Evictions are currently prohibited in Pennsylvania through April 30, 2020. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s April 1, 2020 Second Supplemental Order prohibits evictions, ejectments, or other displacements from a residence for non-payment of rent or taxes, or a mortgage foreclosure.

Despite the ban, landlords are permitted to send termination notices during the moratorium period. Once the eviction ban is lifted, if a tenant remains in breach of the terms of their lease, a landlord will then be able to file an eviction or ejectment action.…

Continue Reading Evictions in Pennsylvania During the Pandemic

A tenant fails to pay rent or breaches another term of the lease agreement. The landlord terminates the lease. The tenant does not vacate the premises, and does not pay any additional rent. What can you, as a landlord, do to fix this problem? You can get the tenant out, and obtain a judgment for rent owed.
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Continue Reading What If: My Tenant Won’t Vacate the Leased Premises?

One of the topics generating a great deal of attention in zoning relates to people leasing their residential homes via Airbnb.

This issue came up in Reihner v. City of Scranton Zoning Hearing Board No. 256 C.D. 2017 (PA Commw. Ct. Dec. 8, 2017). The owners of a single family residential dwelling rented the three bedrooms on the second floor of their house via the Airbnb website.

The City filed a notice of violation alleging that the use was a “Bed and Breakfast” which was not allowed in the property’s zoning district.

Scranton’s ordinance defined a “Bed and Breakfast use” as follows:

“The use of a single family residential dwelling and/or accessory structure which includes the rental of overnight sleeping accommodations and bathroom access…and which does not provide any cooking facilities or provision of meals for guests other than breakfast…”

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Continue Reading Zoning Concerns from Listing Your Property on Airbnb

A recent Commonwealth Court case involving a pair of residential properties has aptly demonstrated that not every residential property in Philadelphia can be automatically utilized for student housing. This case in question is Schwartz v. Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment, 2015 Pa Commw. Lexis 413 (2015).

In Schwartz, two properties were zoned for single family and two family residential use, and located near Drexel University’s campus in Powelton Village. The properties were unequivocally zoned and used for residential purposes, and they were currently being leased to Drexel students, with each property rooming at least 4 students. For the record, the Philadelphia Zoning Code defines a family as “a person living independently or group of persons living as a single household unit using housekeeping facilities in common, but not to include more than three persons unrelated by blood, marriage or adoption.”…

Continue Reading Commonwealth Court Upholds Philadelphia’s Definition of a Family for Zoning Purposes

At times, when a lender gives a loan secured by a mortgage on real estate, something happens in the loan origination or closing processes (whether through mistake, inadvertence, or even fraud), which results in the mortgage being defective, and therefore not a lien on the real estate. Items such as missing signatories to the mortgage…

Metro Bank v. Board of Commissioners of Manheim Township (Pa. Commonwealth Court 2015) dealt with the appropriate calculation for a transportation impact fee. Metro Bank was approved to build a bank in Manheim Township, and was required to pay an estimated transportation impact fee prior to the start of construction. This dispute is due to…