License and certificate records can affect a filing
Philadelphia Code limits rent and possession remedies during specified periods of rental-license noncompliance. The applicable result is not a universal automatic conclusion: preserve the exact license dates, filing instructions, and any appeal or defense for counsel.
Under §9-3903, a CRS for a new tenancy is issued no more than 60 days before tenancy inception and travels with specified tenant documents. Published City guidance conflicts on renewals. We recommend the stricter L&I workflow as a precaution, not as a settled legal interpretation.
A separate lead-law record matters for covered older properties. Phila. Code §6-809(4) contains rent-recovery and possession limits for specified lead-certification noncompliance and an attachment requirement for covered eviction or rent filings. Whether the property is covered, which certification duty applies, and how the provision affects a particular claim require case-specific review.
Check the current Eviction Diversion process and exceptions
Philadelphia Code §9-811 governs the ordinary pre-filing process while the City operates a mandatory program. For an ordinary covered case, it requires enrollment, delivery of the Notice of Diversion Rights, and reasonable good-faith participation for at least 30 days before taking steps to evict.
The section includes an exception when eviction is necessary to cease or prevent an imminent threat of harm by the person being evicted, including physical harm or harassment. Verify current program operation, forms, timing, the asserted basis, and documentary requirements when the case arises; a checklist cannot decide whether an exception applies.
Landlords start the program with an application at the City's Eviction Diversion Program site (eviction-diversion.phila.gov), which also carries the program FAQ; tenants cannot apply. The site and the City's Landlord Gateway resources page both link the Notice of Diversion Rights you give the tenant; the site says the 2022 version is current.
Good cause: the rules for ending a tenancy, now and as scheduled for November 1, 2026
Current Philadelphia Code §9-804(12) applies the good-cause framework to covered residential leases of less than one year, including month-to-month tenancies. The specific ground, notice, timing, and review path require case-specific analysis.
Bill 250330-AA was enacted with a November 1, 2026 effective date and expands the scope to expiring residential leases more broadly. A federal lawsuit challenging the Act is pending (Floyd v. City Council, E.D. Pa.); when the free docket was last read (entries through August 31, 2026) no order had delayed the date, and the City's motion to dismiss is set for argument October 30, 2026. Verify later orders and present applicability before acting.
Bill 250330-AA's future exemption language is narrow and would require a court finding under the enacted criteria. Its separate remedy provision lists compensatory damages and restitution or an elective statutory-damages measure, plus other remedies under stated conditions. The applicable trigger, election, amount, license consequence, and effect on a particular rent claim require case-specific review.
Who carries out an eviction (context, not a to-do)
Since March 18, 2025, residential evictions in Philadelphia must be executed by licensed, insured eviction officers with annual training in firearm safety, crisis intervention, and de-escalation (Phila. Code §9-812, added by Bill 240018, approved June 18, 2024). The burden falls on the officers, not you; two takeaways anyway. A lockout happens only through this licensed channel at the end of a court process: changed locks, shut-off utilities, or removed doors are self-help moves that risk being treated as illegal lockouts. And the regulated, documented execution stage is one more reason your paper trail has to be clean.
November 1, 2026: scheduled filing-record duties (verify current status)
Bill 250329-AA was enacted with a stated November 1, 2026 effective date. Verify current implementation and any later court orders. If operative, its separate §9-3901(4)(h) attachment provision would address the license, CRS records required during the tenancy, and relevant code-violation records in eviction and rent-collection actions. The exact record and any filing or possession consequence must be evaluated under the operative text and current court procedure.
A distinct future CRS provision is written for an eviction action. At filing, the owner must provide the tenant and court a CRS issued no more than 30 days before the bill's stated "date of enrollment" (Phila. Code §9-3903(1)(c)). The certified text does not define "date of enrollment," so this guide does not substitute "filing date"; current court guidance and legal review are required. A separate tenant-request provision uses a 90-day request interval, a 10-day response period, and its own stated consequence and safe-harbor cross-reference. The broader attachment provision applies to eviction and rent-collection actions, and those duties should not be collapsed into one fresh-CRS rule.
The bill includes future private-remedy safe harbors for a qualifying renewal within 15 days, specified City-caused reinspection delays, and specified appeals. The renewal provision is not a license-validity grace period. The two bills use different remedy formulations; counsel should apply the right provision to the right claim.
Records to organize before counsel reviews a filing
Keep a dated file per property for counsel to review. Completing this list records organization work; it does not certify that a notice or filing is legally sufficient.
- The exact rental-license record and dates, plus the related Commercial Activity License, tax-clearance, and violation/appeal records used by the City's current eligibility rules
- Your current CRS with proof of delivery, plus the signed attestation, Handbook, and voter-registration link (Phila. Code §9-3903(1)(a)), and copies of every CRS issued during the tenancy
- For covered Targeted Housing: a current lead-safe certificate (generally valid 4 years for post-February-1-2020 testing) or lead-free certificate, filed with the Health Department, with the tenant's receipt; preserve any statutory-exclusion or City exemption record (Phila. Code §§6-802, 6-803)
- The complete code-violation history for the unit and property during the tenancy: resolved, with documentation
- A rent ledger that matches, to the dollar, any arrears you would claim
- For an ordinary covered case, proof of Eviction Diversion enrollment, service of the Notice of Diversion Rights, and reasonable good-faith participation for at least 30 days; separately preserve the facts and legal review for any asserted imminent-threat exception (Phila. Code §9-811)
- Written documentation of your good-cause grounds and the notice you served, with proof of mailing or hand delivery (Phila. Code §9-804)
- Your rental-license dates as the Municipal Court landlord-tenant complaint asks for them: the complaint has you state that you held a valid license at filing, with its effective and expiration dates, and, for each month of rent you claim, that you held a license and attach a copy of each; it also asks for the CRS issue date
Before any filing: talk to a lawyer
This guide organizes records; it does not decide strategy, pleading, defenses, exceptions, or legal sufficiency. The future November 2026 provisions require current effective-date and litigation verification.
Before serving a notice or filing with Municipal Court, ask a licensed Pennsylvania attorney who handles Philadelphia landlord-tenant matters to review the exact tenancy, documents, current court process, and official records.