We dealt with the eviction moratorium by the PA Supreme Court from late March through May 11th, despite no relief being provided to landlords who did not receive rent. We fought in court, and although our emergency case was found by the PA Supreme Court not to be an...
Landlord-Tenant
Decision handed down regarding Pennsylvania evictions
As a litigator since 1984, I have lost a few cases which I felt I deserved to win, won some cases I thought were questionable, but have almost never felt as though I was denied the opportunity to have any court actually consider the facts and law presented by me. On...
Recent Developments in PA Rental Registration and Inspection Cases
By: Bradley S. Dornish, Esquire The last few months have seen several important developments in rental registration litigation in Pennsylvania. The most recent development was a series of Commonwealth Court decisions on May 17th, which will have a significant impact...
Use of Criminal History to Deny Rental Applicants and Fair Housing
By Bradley S. Dornish, Esq. For many years I have used criminal records histories to screen applicants for my own rental properties, and taught others how to search online for PA criminal records histories of their own rental applicants. I have done this without...
Facts and Figures about Pittsburgh’s anticipated 2016 Rental Registration Ordinance
By Bradley S. Dornish, Esquire In November of 2014, the Pittsburgh City Council had a public hearing on Ordinance 2014-1020, the Residential Rental Housing Registration Ordinance which would impose on each residential rental unit in the city a $65.00 per year...
PROA Regroups for the Long Haul on Student Housing Legislation
By Bradley S. Dornish, Esquire After over a year of hard work finding the right language, a committed sponsor in the legislature, and the right timing to move forward, we had in HB 809 sponsored by Representative Sue Helm a vehicle we believed would protect students...
In Act 167 PROA Sees Another Victory for Landlords Dealing with Abandoned Tenant Property
By Bradley S. Dornish, Esq. Since the passage of Act 129 in the summer of 2012, landlords in Pennsylvania have had far more direction from PA law on how to handle personal property left behind by tenants who have vacated their rental units than was ever previously...
Magisterial District Court Landlord/Tenant Dockets Now Available Online
By Bradley S. Dornish, Esquire For years, I have been showing landlords how to search the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System web portal for free and detailed information about potential tenants’ criminal records, traffic citations and more. The one glaring absence...
Pennsylvania Finally Passes Act 129 Law on Abandoned Tenant Property
By Bradley S. Dornish, Esquire For many years, landlords (and tenants) in Pennsylvania have faced uncertainty on their respective legal rights to personal property of tenants left behind in rental properties. How long did a landlord have to hold onto tenant...
Service Animals for Tenants with Disabilities: When Landlords and Condominium Associations Must Waive “No Pets” Rules
By Bradley S. Dornish, Esq. The American Veterinary Medical Association estimates that substantially more than half of all households in America own either a dog or a cat. Many of those who own pets consider them to be members of the family, and dogs didn’t get the...