Pennsylvania Rent Increase Laws for Landlords (2026)

Updated September 2026 · Written for self-managing landlords · Not legal advice

In short: Pennsylvania has no rent-increase law. To raise the rent you use the notice for changing a month-to-month tenancy, which is 15 days' notice, and there is no cap on the amount.

What Pennsylvania law requires

Pennsylvania has no statute about raising rent. That surprises most landlords, and it is the single most misreported fact in this area - plenty of sites will quote you a “Pennsylvania rent increase notice law” that does not exist.

What Pennsylvania does have is the notice required to end or change a month-to-month tenancy, and that is the mechanism you have to use: raising the rent is legally a change of terms. The period is 15 days' notice, in writing, under 68 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 250.501.

Citation: 68 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 250.501 · read the source

The notice is not one number. 15 days where the term is a year or less, including month-to-month; 30 days where the term is longer than a year.

How much can you raise it in Pennsylvania?

There is no statutory ceiling. No cap. Pennsylvania has no rent-increase statute; the notice comes from the rule for ending or changing a tenancy.

Only four US jurisdictions cap the size of an increase - California, Oregon, Washington and the District of Columbia. Pennsylvania is not one of them, so the amount is a business decision, not a legal one. The usual constraint is practical: a tenant who leaves over an increase costs you a turnover, and a turnover costs more than the increase was worth.

Can you raise rent mid-lease in Pennsylvania?

Not unless the lease says so. A fixed-term lease fixes the rent for its term, whatever the statute does or does not require about notice. An increase belongs at renewal, or on a month-to-month tenancy after proper notice.

Serving the notice so it holds up

Most rent increases that fall apart fall apart on the date, not the amount: the notice went out too late, or nobody can prove when it went out. Count the days from delivery, not from the day you wrote it, and keep the proof.

LandlordPro generates the notice against the state's rule, dates it, records when it was sent, and carries the new rent onto the rent roll on the right day so the ledger and the notice agree.

Generate the notice, keep the proof

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Frequently asked questions

How much notice does a landlord have to give to raise rent in Pennsylvania?

15 days in writing. Pennsylvania has no rent-increase statute, so that is the notice required to change a month-to-month tenancy under 68 Pa. Stat. Ann. § 250.501.

Is there a limit on how much rent can be raised in Pennsylvania?

No. Pennsylvania sets no cap on the size of an increase. Only California, Oregon, Washington and the District of Columbia cap the amount.

Can rent be raised during a lease in Pennsylvania?

No, unless the lease itself provides for it. A fixed-term lease fixes the rent for the term; an increase belongs at renewal or on a month-to-month tenancy after notice.

Does a Pennsylvania rent increase notice have to be in writing?

Yes.

Do city rules change this in Pennsylvania?

We found no local rent regulation in Pennsylvania, but ordinances change faster than statutes. Check with the municipality before serving notice on a large increase.