Landlord Question and Answer Forum

I have a tenant that has lived with me for about 5 years now that I normally wouldn't take but she has had a co-signer that signs the checks for the entire duration. The lease renewal is coming up and the co signer want to be off of the lease because he feels she can hold her own now... I'm obviously reluctant to do so... plus should they move out the apartment needs a lot of work and I'm not in the position to do so right now so I could use another term. My initial Idea was to have 3 months rent for security deposit because that's how long it will take to evict them should they default. In PA the Limit is 2 months rent for new tenants and 1 month for any tenant that has lived there 2+ years. I have two questions: 1. Is the above limit from 1 month to 2 months rent security deposit dependent on how long they've lived their or how long they've been in current lease... Because if I take co-signer off technically its a brand new lease with a much greater risk. 2. She has two dogs that I could potentially substitute for an additional two months rent to further cover my ass in this situation. Is any limit to pet deposit amounts similar to security deposits? Thanks!

This would mean that your tenant will only have to pay one month for the security deposit, if they have lived in the property for over two years. I would make another type of deposit like a pet deposit to cover any animal damage. MAKE SURE YOU DO THE MOVE IN AND MOVE OUT CHECKLIST! This is very important when determining the damages.

Posted by Sid F, PA on Thursday, October 26, 2017