Pennsylvania Rental and Short-Term Rental Permits by City
Program and regulatory figures verified September 15, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
There is no Pennsylvania short-term-rental law to learn, and that is the point. The Commonwealth leaves it to municipalities, so the only answer that matters comes from the city your parcel sits in. Here is what the two largest cities require, and how we handle the rest.
Pennsylvania leaves it to the municipality
Several states have taken the short-term-rental question away from their cities. Wisconsin bars a municipality from prohibiting a rental of seven consecutive days or longer. Pennsylvania has done nothing of the kind. There is no statewide short-term-rental statute here, which means a borough of 4,000 people and the City of Philadelphia each set their own rule, and the rule can change on a council vote.
For an investor that has one practical consequence, and we apply it to every Pennsylvania short-term-rental file: we underwrite the long-term rent unless the permit is already issued. A short-term projection for a property you cannot legally operate as a short-term rental is not income, it is a hope. If the permit is in hand, we will use documented short-term revenue, usually a trailing-12 operating history or a third-party projection with a haircut.
Pittsburgh: the Chapter 781 rental permit
Pittsburgh's requirement is a rental permit, and it covers rental housing generally rather than short-term rental specifically. Under the Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections rules for City Code Title VII, Article X, Chapter 781, effective December 19, 2024, "a Landlord or Owner shall obtain a Permit as required by the Permit Program."
| Item | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Who needs one | Landlords and owners of residential rental units, with narrow exemptions |
| Exemptions | Dormitories, certified rehabilitation facilities, long-term medical care facilities, and hotels, motels and nursing homes under the Allegheny County Health Department program |
| Sequence | Registration, review, provisional permit, inspection, non-provisional permit, renewal |
| Provisional permit term | One year from issuance, renewed annually until the non-provisional issues |
| Non-provisional permit term | Three years, with annual registration renewals |
| Inspection required | For every permit, except a unit with a certificate of occupancy issued within three years of registration and renewals already holding a non-provisional permit |
| Penalty | $500 per rental unit leased, rented or occupied without a non-provisional permit, plus prosecution as a summary offense |
| Fee exemptions | Section 8 units with required documentation; for a natural-person owner, the per-unit inspection fee on the owner-occupied unit only |
City of Pittsburgh PLI, Rules and Regulations for PCC Chapter 781 Residential Housing Rental Permit Program, effective December 19, 2024. Fee amounts are set by the schedule in force when you register; confirm current fees with PLI before budgeting.
Correction worth making. A number of short-term-rental aggregator sites describe Pittsburgh's program as voluntary and unenforced. The City's own rules say a permit is required and attach a $500-per-unit penalty. Pittsburgh ran a voluntary registration phase-in at launch, and that is what those pages are repeating. Do not budget a Pittsburgh purchase on the assumption that the permit is optional.
Philadelphia: a license stack, not a permit
Philadelphia's requirements for long-term residential rental are the heaviest in the Commonwealth. From the City's own landlord guidance: a rental license covering all units at the address; a designated local managing agent responsible for maintenance, rent collection and disputes; a Commercial Activity License for properties with five or more units or that the owner does not occupy, or an Activity License Number where the owner occupies and there are four or fewer rental units; a BIRT tax account, assigned before a Commercial Activity License will issue; a Certificate of Occupancy; a Certificate of Rental Suitability given to the tenant no more than 60 days before the lease starts; zoning approval, required even where the owner occupies a unit; lead certification filed with the Department of Public Health for properties built before March 1978; a written bed bug control plan with disclosure of infestation or remediation in the preceding 120 days; a written smoking policy disclosure in buildings of three or more units; the Partners in Good Housing guidebook; and Renters Access Act screening compliance.
Philadelphia also distinguishes hosted, primary-residence short-term lodging from commercial visitor accommodation, and the commercial category carries its own zoning and licensing path. Confirm the current classification with the Department of Licenses and Inspections before you underwrite short-term revenue on a Philadelphia parcel.
Everywhere else in Pennsylvania
Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, Harrisburg, Erie, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and the boroughs each set their own rental registration and short-term-rental rules, and they vary widely. The Poconos municipalities in Monroe, Pike and Wayne counties have the most active short-term-rental regulation outside the two big cities, because that is where the resort demand is. There is no shortcut here and no statewide table that stays accurate. The workflow that does work:
- Call the municipality's zoning or code office and ask two questions: is a rental registration required, and is short-term rental permitted in this zoning district.
- If the property is in a homeowners association or a condominium, read the declaration. An association restriction binds you regardless of what the municipality allows.
- Get the answer before the inspection contingency expires, not after.
- Send us what you learn. We will underwrite to the rent you can legally collect.
We do not publish a city-by-city fee table for Pennsylvania, because those figures go stale faster than a page can be updated and a wrong number in a pro forma is worse than no number. What we publish is what we have verified from the municipality's own rules.
No pressure and no obligation: a 20-minute call with our team, the real full payment run against a realistic Pennsylvania rent, with the actual parcel tax bill in it, and a straight answer on whether the deal clears before you write an offer.
Frequently asked questions
Does Pennsylvania have a statewide short-term rental law?
No. Pennsylvania has no statewide short-term-rental statute, so every rule is set by the municipality. That is the opposite of a state like Wisconsin, which bars a municipality from prohibiting a rental of seven consecutive days or longer. In Pennsylvania a borough and a city can reach opposite conclusions about the same use, and either can change its rule by ordinance.
Do I need a rental permit in Pittsburgh?
Yes. Under Pittsburgh City Code Chapter 781 and the PLI rules effective December 19, 2024, a landlord or owner shall obtain a Residential Housing Rental Permit. The penalty is $500 for each rental unit leased or occupied without a non-provisional permit, plus prosecution as a summary offense. Aggregator sites calling the program voluntary are repeating the launch phase-in rather than the current rules.
What licenses does Philadelphia require to rent a property?
A rental license, a designated local managing agent, and either a Commercial Activity License (five or more units, or a property the owner does not occupy) or an Activity License Number (owner-occupied with four or fewer rental units). Add a BIRT tax account, a Certificate of Occupancy, a Certificate of Rental Suitability given to the tenant within 60 days before the lease starts, zoning approval, and lead certification on pre-March-1978 properties.
Will a lender count short-term rental income on a Pennsylvania property?
Only when the property can legally be operated that way. Our rule is to underwrite the long-term rent unless the municipal permit is already in hand. Where it is, documented short-term revenue can carry the file, usually from a trailing-12 operating history or a third-party projection with a haircut applied. A projection for a use the municipality does not allow is not income.
How do I find out if short-term rental is allowed at a specific Pennsylvania address?
Call that municipality's zoning or code office and ask whether rental registration is required and whether short-term rental is permitted in the parcel's zoning district. Then read any homeowners association or condominium declaration, since an association restriction binds you regardless of the municipal answer. Do it before your inspection contingency expires.
Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content, not a loan commitment and not legal or tax advice. County assessment practice, school district millage, city rental-permit rules, and short-term-rental ordinances change; confirm current requirements with the county assessment office, your CPA, or a Pennsylvania real estate attorney before you buy. Loans are subject to buyer and property qualification.