Tenant Screening in Pennsylvania

FCRA-compliant tenant screening for landlords in Pennsylvania — serving Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, Reading and every other Pennsylvania market. Reports start at $24.99 with no subscription. Pennsylvania-specific reporting-law overlays are applied automatically before the landlord sees any record.

What landlords in Pennsylvania can include in a screening report

• Credit report and score — TransUnion VantageScore plus tradeline detail.
• Criminal background — nationwide criminal record search with Pennsylvania-specific look-back limits applied.
• Housing records — sealed, dismissed, and time-barred housing-court records filtered before they reach you.
• Income verification — optional payroll + bank-link verification via Pinwheel.
• AI landlord reference call — optional AI agent calls the applicant’s prior landlord and produces a structured summary.

Housing records reporting in Pennsylvania

Federal FCRA 7-year limit applies.

Statutory citation: 15 U.S.C. § 1681c

How reporting limits interact with what you may lawfully consider is covered in what landlords can screen for and the investigative consumer report explainer.

Criminal-record reporting in Pennsylvania

Federal FCRA 7-year limit applies for non-conviction items. Philadelphia has Fair Chance in Housing.

Fair housing in Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act applies in addition to the federal Fair Housing Act. Source of income is not a statewide protected class in Pennsylvania; check your municipal ordinance, which may add this protection locally.

Notable Pennsylvania considerations

Philadelphia has additional Fair Chance in Housing protections.

What Pennsylvania law limits when you screen and rent

These are the statutory limits most likely to affect a Pennsylvania landlord at the application stage, compiled from state statutes and reviewed August 2026. Where a limit could not be tied to a specific statute it is left out rather than estimated. Statutes change and local ordinances often add limits your state does not — this is a starting point for your own check, not legal advice, and not a substitute for counsel licensed in Pennsylvania.

Rental application / screening fee

Pennsylvania sets no statewide limit on rental application or tenant screening fees. Citation:

Security deposit limit

Pennsylvania caps security deposits at two months' rent during the first year of a lease and one month's rent thereafter, and a tenant in possession five years or more cannot be required to increase the deposit. Citation: 68 Pa. Stat. § 250.511a

Criminal history (fair-chance housing)

Pennsylvania has no statewide fair-chance housing law; Philadelphia's fair criminal record screening ordinance applies only within that city. Citation:

Local ordinances frequently add limits your state statute does not — check your city and county before you set an application fee or a deposit.

How RentalApplication.ai works for Pennsylvania landlords

1. You start a screening at rentalapplication.ai/apply. Enter the applicant’s name and email; pick the reports you want.
2. The applicant gets an email with a secure link, completes the application, and authorizes the screening (FCRA § 1681b(b)(2)).
3. The applicant pays at the moment of submission (or you can land-lord-pay).
4. Reports are delivered to you in minutes (credit) to a few hours (housing/criminal). State-law overlays are applied before the landlord sees any record.
5. If you decline based on the report, we generate the FCRA § 1681m adverse-action notice for you.

This page is an informational summary, not legal advice. State and local landlord-tenant law changes frequently — verify against current statute and local counsel before relying on this content. RentalApplication.ai is a reseller of consumer reports under FCRA § 1681a(u) and does not make tenancy decisions. The landlord (the “end user”) is the party who decides whether to approve or deny an application.