Bill Text: PA HB1192 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Providing for disruptive conduct of tenants.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-04-03 - Referred to URBAN AFFAIRS [HB1192 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-HB1192-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 1420
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 1192 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY McGEEHAN, BURNS, DALEY, KORTZ, MANN, M. O'BRIEN, SABATINA, K. SMITH, SOLOBAY AND VULAKOVICH, APRIL 3, 2009
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON URBAN AFFAIRS, APRIL 3, 2009
AN ACT
Amending the act of April 6, 1951 (P.L.69, No.20), entitled "An
act relating to the rights, obligations and liabilities of
landlord and tenant and of parties dealing with them and
amending, revising, changing and consolidating the law
relating thereto," providing for disruptive conduct of
tenants.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The act of April 6, 1951 (P.L.69, No.20), known
as The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, is amended by adding an
article to read:
ARTICLE III-A
DISRUPTIVE CONDUCT
Section 301-A. Scope of article.
This article relates to disruptive conduct of tenants.
Section 302-A. Applicability.
This article shall apply to cities of the first class.
Section 303-A. Definitions.
The following words and phrases, as used in this article,
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Code enforcement officer." A person designated by a
municipality to enforce the municipality's building, property
maintenance or fire safety codes by inspecting structures to
determine whether they conform to the codes and by citing the
structures' owners for noncompliance.
"Disruptive conduct." Any form of conduct perpetrated, caused
or permitted by a tenant or visitor of a dwelling unit that is
so loud, untimely as to hour of the day, offensive, riotous,
disturbs other persons of reasonable sensibility in their
peaceful enjoyment of their premises or causes damage to
premises such that an officer conducts an investigation of the
conduct and files a disruptive conduct report.
"Disruptive conduct report" or "report." A written report by
an investigating officer of disruptive conduct on a form
prescribed and maintained by the municipality.
"Dwelling unit." A building or structure, or part of a
building or structure, which is used for living or sleeping by
human occupants, subject to licensing requirements.
"Landlord." Any of the following:
(1) The owner, lessor or sublessor of residential
premises.
(2) The agent of the owner, lessor or sublessor under
paragraph (1).
(3) Any person authorized by the owner, lessor or
sublessor under paragraph (1) to manage the premises or to
receive rent from a tenant under a rental agreement.
"Law enforcement officer." A member of the Pennsylvania
State Police or an individual employed as a police officer who
holds a current certificate under 53 Pa.C.S. Ch. 21, Subch. D
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(relating to municipal police education and training).
"Municipality." A city of the first class.
"Officer." A code enforcement officer or a law enforcement
officer.
"Tenant." A person in possession of a dwelling unit for a
week-to-week term or a longer term by virtue of a written or
oral agreement with a landlord. The term includes a purchaser
under an installment land contract as defined under section 3 of
the act of June 8, 1965 (P.L. 115, No. 81), known as the
Installment Land Contract Law. The term shall not include a
traveler or transient guest in a hotel or motel.
Section 304-A. Tenant duties.
A tenant shall do all of the following:
(1) Comply with all obligations imposed under this
article.
(2) Conduct himself and require other persons, including
guests on the premises and within his dwelling unit with his
consent, to conduct themselves in a manner that will not
disturb the peaceful enjoyment of the premises by others and
that will not disturb the peaceful enjoyment of adjacent or
nearby dwellings by people occupying the premises.
(3) Not engage in nor permit others on the premises to
cause damage to the dwelling unit or engage in disruptive
conduct or other violations of law.
Section 305-A. Investigation.
(a) Disruptive conduct report.--Officers shall investigate
alleged incidents of disruptive conduct and shall complete a
disruptive conduct report upon a finding that the reported
incident constitutes disruptive conduct. The information filed
in the report shall include the identity of the alleged
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perpetrator of the disruptive conduct and all other obtainable
information, including the factual basis for the disruptive
conduct described on the prescribed form. A copy of the
disruptive conduct report shall be given or mailed to the tenant
and mailed to the owner, landlord, agent or other person
operating or managing the premises within ten working days of
the occurrence of the alleged disruptive conduct.
(b) Appeal.--A tenant shall have ten working days from the
date of receipt of a disruptive conduct report under subsection
(a) to appeal the report. The appeal shall be made in writing
and submitted to the municipality. An appeal of a third report
within a 12-month period shall stop an eviction proceeding
against the tenant until the appeal is resolved, if the eviction
proceedings were a direct result of the third report.
(c) Eviction.--
(1) After a tenant commits three disruptive conduct
incidents in a 12-month period, documented by disruptive
conduct reports, a landlord shall have ten working days from
the date of receipt of the notice to begin eviction
proceedings against the tenant.
(2) Failure to take action under paragraph (1) shall
result in the immediate revocation of the business privilege
license provided to the landlord. The dwelling unit involved
shall not have its business privilege license reinstated
until the disruptive tenants have been evicted.
(d) Reoccupation.--The disruptive tenants, upon eviction,
may not reoccupy any dwelling unit on the same premises involved
for a period of at least one year from date of eviction. This
paragraph is not intended to limit or inhibit a landlord's right
to initiate eviction actions prior to the third disruptive
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conduct incident.
(e) Multiple reports.--The content of a report shall count
against all tenants of the dwelling unit. More than one report
filed against the tenants of a dwelling unit in a 24-hour period
shall count as a single report for the purpose of subsection
(d). The municipality shall maintain a list of the names of all
tenants evicted as a result of subsection (d). The names shall
remain on the list for a period of five years.
Section 306-A. Exempt dwellings.
(a) Nonapplicability.--This article shall not apply to any
of the following:
(1) The following facilities in which all operations of
the facilities are subject to Federal, State or county
licensing or regulations concerning the health and safety of
the users, patients or tenants:
(i) Hospitals.
(ii) Nursing homes.
(iii Group homes.
(iv) Dwellings used for human habitation which offer
or provide medical or nursing services.
(2) Dormitories, fraternity houses, hotel units and
sorority houses, as defined in the zoning ordinance of the
municipality.
(b) Violation.--If, in response to a complaint, an exempt
dwelling unit is found to be in violation, the owner, landlord
agent or other person operating or managing such premises shall
correct the violation within the time frame cited by the code
enforcement officer. If the violation is not corrected, the
dwelling unit shall lose its exemption until the violation is
corrected. If three verified complaints are received in a
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12-month period, the dwelling shall lose its exemption for a
period of five years.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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