Eviction is one of those things every landlord hopes they’ll never need to use. And then, eventually, most do.
If you own rental property in Philadelphia and a tenant stops paying or won’t leave, you’re not just dealing with a frustrating situation. You’re stepping into one of the most procedurally demanding landlord-tenant frameworks in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia layers its own local ordinances on top of state law, and a single paperwork mistake can get your case thrown out entirely before a judge hears a word of it.
We’ve managed over 1,000 units across Philadelphia for 40 years, and we see owners run into the same costly missteps over and over. Not because they’re careless. Because nobody told them how the process actually works in this city.
This guide covers the full eviction timeline, the Philadelphia-specific rules that catch landlords off guard, and some honest thoughts on when formal eviction might not be your best move at all.
“$2,400–$3,600 | avg lost rent during 2–3 month process”
In This Guide
Make Sure Your Rental License Is Current Before You Do Anything
This is step zero. Most landlords skip it because they don’t know it exists.
Philadelphia requires all landlords to hold a valid City of Philadelphia rental license. If yours has lapsed or was never obtained, your eviction complaint will be dismissed at the magisterial district court the moment opposing counsel or the judge notices. You’ll have paid the filing fee, lost three to six weeks of time, and have to restart from scratch once the license is reinstated.
How to check and apply
You can search for your current license status through the City’s rental license Philadelphia search portal on the Philadelphia Licenses and Inspections website. If you need to apply or renew, you can apply for a rental license in Philadelphia online through the same L&I portal. There’s also a separate Certificate of Rental Suitability Philadelphia requirement that certifies your unit meets basic habitability standards. Both need to be in order.
What it costs and how long it takes
Licensing fees vary based on unit count, but expect the process to take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks depending on whether inspections are required. Don’t wait until you’re ready to file to check on this. We’ve seen owners lose $1,200 to $2,400 in rent, roughly one to two months at our portfolio average, just from having to pause a filing because of a lapsed license.
Filing an eviction without a valid rental license in Philadelphia is one of the most common and expensive mistakes we see. The case gets dismissed, you restart from zero, and the tenant stays put while you sort it out.
Step One: Determine What Kind of Eviction You’re Filing
Not every eviction works the same way. The type of notice you need, and the timeline that follows, depends entirely on why you’re removing the tenant.
There are three main grounds for eviction in Pennsylvania:
- Nonpayment of rent: Tenant owes money and hasn’t paid.
- Lease violation: Tenant is violating a lease term other than nonpayment (unauthorized occupants, property damage, etc.).
- End of tenancy: The lease has expired or you want to end a month-to-month arrangement.
Get clear on which one applies before you start writing notices. Mixing up your grounds, or trying to file a nonpayment complaint when the real issue is a lease violation, creates procedural problems down the line.
Step Two: Serve the Correct Written Notice
Pennsylvania law requires a written notice before you can file any eviction complaint. A verbal warning doesn’t count. A text message almost certainly doesn’t count.
Pay-or-quit notice for nonpayment
For nonpayment cases, Pennsylvania gives tenants 10 days to pay or vacate after receiving a written “Pay or Quit” notice. That 10-day clock starts from the date of proper service, not the date you wrote the letter.
One owner managing a single-family rental in Cedar Park served a verbal notice and thought they’d started the clock. They hadn’t. When they filed at the magisterial district court, the case was dismissed on the spot for lack of documented written notice. They had to restart, losing another three to four weeks of rent income in the process.
Notice to terminate tenancy
If you’re ending a month-to-month tenancy rather than pursuing nonpayment, the notice period depends on how long the tenant has lived there:
- 15 days notice: Required if the lease term was one year or less.
- 30 days notice: Required if the tenancy has run longer than one year.
How to serve it properly
Notice under the Pennsylvania Landlord-Tenant Act (68 P.S. § 250.501) may be served by one of three methods: personal service on the tenant, leaving the notice at the principal building on the premises, or a third method authorized by the statute. Whatever method you use, document it with photos, certified mail receipts, or a written service log. You’ll need to prove service if the tenant challenges it.
Step Three: File the Complaint at the Magisterial District Court
If the notice period expires and the tenant hasn’t paid or left, you file an eviction complaint (formally called an unlawful detainer complaint) at the magisterial district court that covers your property’s zip code.
Filing fees in Philadelphia County typically run between $100 and $500 depending on the court and the specifics of the complaint. After you file, expect the hearing to be scheduled somewhere between 15 and 30 days out.
Philadelphia MDJ assignments matter
Here’s something a lot of landlords don’t realize. There are multiple magisterial district judges serving Philadelphia, and which one handles your case depends on your property’s zip code. A property in University City (19104) or Cedar Park (19143) will land with a different MDJ than one in Passyunk or Queen Village (19147). Scheduling timelines and court culture vary slightly between them. This matters if you’re trying to estimate when you’ll actually get your hearing.
Philadelphia’s additional procedural requirements
Philadelphia has enacted tenant-protection ordinances that go beyond Pennsylvania state law, including various notice requirements and tenant rights protections that apply during the eviction process. Miss that step and your case can be dismissed at the magisterial court level, regardless of how legitimate your claim is.
The gap between how Philadelphia handles evictions and how suburban Pennsylvania counties like Montgomery County operate is significant. In Philly, a paperwork misstep is far more likely to result in dismissal. This is a city where the formal process is built to slow things down, and landlords who treat it casually pay for it.
Philadelphia landlords must comply with both the Pennsylvania Landlord-Tenant Act (Act 20 of 1951) and the city’s own ordinances simultaneously. When in doubt, over-document everything.
Step Four: Attend the Hearing
Show up. Bring everything.
Your evidence for the hearing should include:
- A copy of the signed lease
- All written notices you served, with proof of delivery
- Rent ledger showing the missed payments
- Any written communication with the tenant about the issue
- Your valid Philadelphia rental license
- Documentation of any required tenant rights notices you provided
The MDJ will hear both sides and issue a judgment, typically on the same day. If you win, that’s a judgment in your favor. If you lose or the case is dismissed on procedural grounds, you may be able to re-file, but you’ve lost time and filing fees.
Step Five: Understand That Winning the Hearing Isn’t the End
This is where a lot of landlords mentally check out, assuming it’s over. It’s not.
After a judgment is entered in your favor, the tenant has 10 days to file an appeal with the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. If they appeal, the process gets extended significantly. You must wait at least 10 days (the appeal window) before a writ of possession can be filed, and the full process from judgment to execution typically takes around 21 days. And if the appeal is heard in Common Pleas, you’re looking at weeks or months of additional delays before you get possession.
We had one owner who delayed even filing a complaint for two months after the tenant stopped paying, hoping things would work out. By the time judgment was entered and the Sheriff executed the writ of possession, that owner had absorbed nearly $4,800 in unpaid rent, four full months at $1,200, plus court and attorney fees on top of that.
Step Six: The Writ of Possession and the Sheriff’s Office
After the appeal window closes and no appeal is filed (or after an appeal is resolved in your favor), you can request a writ of possession from the court. This authorizes a physical lockout.
In Philadelphia, writs of possession are executed by the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office. Not a constable, like in many other Pennsylvania counties. Scheduling a lockout with the Sheriff can take an additional two to four weeks after the writ is issued. If you’ve been managing your timeline expecting a faster turnaround based on how evictions work elsewhere in the state, that gap is going to sting.
What this means for your total timeline
Add it up: 10-day notice period, 15 to 30 days until the hearing, a potential 10-day appeal window, 30-day hold if appealed, two to four weeks for Sheriff scheduling. In a straightforward case with no appeal, you’re looking at somewhere around two to three months from notice to lockout. With an appeal, three to five months is realistic, sometimes longer.
At New Age’s portfolio average of $1,200 per month, a two-to-three month eviction process represents $2,400 to $3,600 in lost rent. And that’s before attorney fees, which typically run $500 to $2,000 or more for a straightforward nonpayment case handled by a Philadelphia-area eviction attorney.
Never Try a Self-Help Eviction
We have to say this clearly because we still see it happen.
Changing the locks, removing the tenant’s belongings, shutting off utilities, or otherwise forcing someone out without going through the courts is illegal in Pennsylvania. Full stop.
One owner we work with inherited a multi-family property in Kingsessing and tried to remove a nonpaying tenant by simply changing the locks. The tenant sued. The owner faced potential damages. And the property sat in legal limbo for nearly four months before the situation was finally resolved the correct way through the courts. The owner lost far more time than if they’d filed immediately on day one.
There is no shortcut here. Pennsylvania courts do not look kindly on self-help evictions, and Philadelphia’s tenant protections make the potential exposure even greater.
When Formal Eviction Isn’t Actually the Right Move
Here’s a take that surprises some owners. Filing for eviction isn’t always the fastest route out of a bad situation.
A well-documented payment plan, offered before the situation gets worse, can sometimes get rent paid and the tenancy back on track. When that’s not realistic, a properly negotiated cash-for-keys agreement, where you offer the tenant a small payment to vacate voluntarily by a set date, can get possession returned faster and cheaper than the formal court process. No court record. No attorney fees. No risk of a procedural dismissal sending you back to square one.
In a city with as many tenant protections as Philadelphia, the formal eviction process is a last resort, not a first reflex.
Eric, our property manager, walks owners through exactly this kind of decision when a tenant falls behind. The goal is always to find the most efficient path to resolution for the owner, which isn’t always the courthouse steps.
What an Attorney Actually Costs (and When You Need One)
For a straightforward nonpayment eviction in Philadelphia, a local eviction attorney typically charges somewhere between $500 and $2,000 from filing through judgment. Complex cases, contested hearings, or appeals can push that figure higher.
Whether you need one depends on the situation. If the tenant has legal representation, you almost certainly want one too. If the case is contested or involves lease violation claims rather than clear-cut nonpayment, the procedural complexity in Philadelphia courts makes professional representation worth the cost.
You can look up prior cases through the Philadelphia landlord tenant court website (accessible via the Philadelphia Courts public portal) if you want to get a sense of what MDJ hearings look like for properties in your zip code.
How to Avoid Getting Here in the First Place
The best eviction is the one you never have to file.
We’ve talked to owners who were spending eight to ten hours a month per property trying to stay on top of late payments, lease compliance, and tenant communication while also managing their own lives. By the time they came to New Age, they’d already burned through multiple costly situations that a more structured process would have prevented.
Thorough screening upfront catches a lot of problems before they start. We use AppFolio to track every payment in real time, so late rent gets flagged immediately rather than two weeks after it was due. One client described the experience of working with us as feeling “like a partner, not a number” after years of self-managing and dealing with eviction complications on his own, including one situation where a lease that had quietly rolled month-to-month for over a year complicated his notice requirements significantly.
Staying ahead of small issues before they turn into eviction-sized ones is most of the job.
What to Look For in a Philadelphia Property Manager (If This Process Sounds Exhausting)
Managing the eviction process correctly in Philadelphia requires knowing city ordinances, MDJ procedures, license requirements, and tenant rights notice obligations simultaneously. That’s a lot to carry alongside owning property.
If you’re evaluating whether to bring in professional management, ask directly about their eviction track record, not just their general pitch. Ask how they handle notice documentation. Ask whether they coordinate with eviction attorneys. Ask what happens when a tenant appeals.
We’ve been operating across West Philly and beyond since the mid-1980s, and our team has worked through enough Philadelphia evictions to know where the traps are. For rental property owner questions about the Philadelphia market, our business development team, including Andrea on that side of the business, is genuinely happy to have a straight conversation about what you’re dealing with.
If the eviction process in Philadelphia feels harder than it should, we’re open to talking through it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the eviction process take in Philadelphia?
In a straightforward nonpayment case without an appeal, most Philadelphia evictions take roughly two to three months from the initial notice to physical possession. If the tenant files an appeal with the Court of Common Pleas after the MDJ judgment, three to five months is more realistic, and cases can run longer than that depending on court scheduling and complexity.
Can a Philadelphia landlord remove a tenant without going to court?
No. Self-help evictions, including changing locks, removing belongings, or shutting off utilities to pressure a tenant out, are illegal under Pennsylvania law. The courts are the only legal path. Attempting a workaround exposes landlords to lawsuits and potential damages, and it typically makes the overall timeline longer, not shorter.
What happens if I file an eviction without a valid Philadelphia rental license?
Your complaint will almost certainly be dismissed at the magisterial district court. You’ll lose your filing fees, potentially $100 to $500, and several weeks of processing time. You’ll need to get the license reinstated and re-file from the beginning. Checking your rental license status before filing anything is a non-negotiable first step.
Do I have to give written notice before filing for eviction in Pennsylvania?
Yes. A written notice is required before any eviction complaint can be filed. For nonpayment of rent, Pennsylvania requires a 10-day written notice. For ending a month-to-month tenancy, it’s 15 days if the tenancy has lasted one year or less, and 30 days if it has run longer than one year. Verbal notices, texts, and emails are not reliable substitutes for properly served written notice.
What is a writ of possession and who executes it in Philadelphia?
A writ of possession is the court order that authorizes a physical lockout after a landlord wins an eviction judgment. In Philadelphia, writs are executed by the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office, not a constable. Scheduling the lockout with the Sheriff typically adds another two to four weeks to the timeline after the writ is issued.
Is cash-for-keys a legitimate option in Philadelphia?
Absolutely, and in many cases it’s faster and cheaper than a formal eviction. If a tenant is willing to accept a negotiated payment in exchange for vacating by a specific date, both parties can avoid court fees, attorney costs, and months of back-and-forth. A written cash-for-keys agreement should be signed by both parties and should include a clear move-out date and surrender of the property. It’s worth considering seriously before defaulting straight to a court filing.
Where can I search for Philadelphia landlord-tenant court cases or look up rental license information?
The Philadelphia Courts public portal lets you search prior landlord-tenant cases by address or party name. For rental license lookups, the City of Philadelphia’s Licenses and Inspections website has a rental license Philadelphia search function where you can check the status of any address. Both are free to use and worth bookmarking if you own property in the city.