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What does the Free Property Check cover?
The Free Property Check reads City of Philadelphia records for one address and shows the rental license (status and the expiration date on file), open L&I violations, any unsafe or imminently dangerous designation, and lead certification, with the time of the check. It takes about 30 seconds and needs no account or credit card. You enter an email at the end, and we send you a copy and one free reminder before the license on record expires, where that date allows one.
See your matched property, rental-license status and recorded expiration date, plus separate counts for what the City's records call for, what needs your answer, what needs a professional, and which City sources didn't answer. The free preview includes the check time; Compliance Watch adds the full record details and next steps. It keeps the selected unit or building scope visible and separates genuine City-record action from owner confirmations, professional-review items and unavailable sources. Its lead-status summary is an initial signal, not a certificate or unit-coverage review.
Compliance Watch adds what the free check leaves out: the full license number and history, available lead certificate details, each violation case and a next step for every item, plus scheduled daily City-record re-checks, reminders, a monthly status message and a dated history. Starting Compliance Watch does not turn an unavailable source into a completed check.
Two limits. The check reads only what the City has published, so each result carries the time we read it, and a City publication delay can make it lag. And the City's lead-certification record may not establish coverage of your exact unit. The free preview keeps missing or stale data unresolved, and Compliance Watch adds available source details and questions about private facts such as tenant delivery and business-tax account status. Independent service using public City records. We are not the City or a law firm and do not provide legal advice or a legal-compliance certification.
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Philly Rental Compliance is an independent service, not the City of Philadelphia or a law firm. Answers about City rules summarize the City's published requirements as general information, not legal advice; requirements change, and future-effective provisions need a current check of implementation and litigation status. For legal questions about your situation, talk to a licensed Pennsylvania attorney.
See where your own property stands
Preview your rental-license status, recorded expiry and counts of items needing attention (free, in about 30 seconds, with a copy by email). Compliance Watch adds the full record details, next steps, reminders and supported-source rechecks, from $99/year.