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For renters

Got our flyer? You're in the right place.

Is your landlord licensed? The City's record says. Check your address free, in about 30 seconds.

Most tenants treat rent as automatic. In Philadelphia it isn't. The City requires a rental license, and a landlord operating without one is limited in their ability to recover rent through the courts.

That doesn't mean a check arrives in your mailbox. It means the license is one of the first things raised when rent is disputed, which is why it is worth knowing what the record says before you need it.

One address at a time; include your unit if you have one. The check is free, needs no account, and your landlord is not contacted.

When renters check

Most people check when something has already gone wrong:

  • Repairs the landlord keeps promising and not making
  • An eviction notice, or a court date over unpaid rent
  • Heat, water, or a lock that's been broken for weeks
  • A rent increase you were not expecting

License status can change, so check what the supported City record shows for your address.

Whether it applies to any particular situation depends on facts this check doesn't look at. Before you change anything about how or whether you pay rent, talk to free legal help first: Philly Tenant Hotline (267) 443-2500.

Keep a dated copy: the full tenant report, $9.99 once

One clear, dated report showing the exact City records matched to your address, what they establish, what they do not establish, and the next steps to consider.

  • A dated, timestamped page you can save or print: proof of what the record said the day you checked
  • The license status, and the license number and expiry date where the record shows them
  • The number of open L&I violations on record that day
  • Plain English on what each finding does and does not establish
  • What to put in writing, and in what order
  • Where to take it: L&I, the Fair Housing Commission, or free legal help

The free check answers today. Records change and screens close; the report is the dated copy you keep, for $9.99 once. No subscription, no account, and your landlord is not contacted.

One address. If we can't match your address to the City's records, you pay nothing. The report opens right after payment and stays open through its private link for 90 days.

This check reports supported City rental-license and L&I records for the address. It does not provide legal advice or determine how any dispute would be decided.

Will my landlord find out I checked?

Not from us. A lookup does not notify the landlord or create a City complaint. The free check does not ask for payment-card details.

Later steps are different. A complaint to L&I, a Fair Housing Commission filing, or anything that reaches court is visible to a landlord. If you're worried about how yours might react, talk it through with the Philly Tenant Hotline at (267) 443-2500 before you act.

What can this record tell me?

What a license record speaks to is rent a landlord is trying to collect. It documents the supported City rental-license and L&I records matched to the address at the time checked. It does not determine legal rights or recommend what action to take. For advice about rent, repairs, or a court notice, contact free tenant legal help.

If that's your question, ask someone who can answer it. It's free: Philly Tenant Hotline (267) 443-2500.

Built by Morgan Page, a licensed Pennsylvania real estate agent who has overseen leasing for thousands of Philadelphia units and dozens of Landlord-Tenant Court cases.

Before you act on what you find

Do not stop paying rent or ignore a court notice based only on this report.

Withholding rent on your own is the most common way a licensing problem turns into a court date. There is a right order to do this in, and the report sets it out, along with the free legal help that will walk through it with you. If the finding could affect a rent payment, eviction, or repair dispute, contact the Philly Tenant Hotline or a Pennsylvania attorney.

If your landlord may be unlicensed, call the Philly Tenant Hotline at (267) 443-2500 before you change how you pay rent: a missing license is a defense your lawyer can use, not a refund you can claim from a website.

The City's records are free to read

This site is built for Philadelphia owners and property managers. If you rent, the City records we read are free to you directly:

Own or manage a Philadelphia rental? Check my property free.