Look Yourself in the Mirror: Consider the Habitability Defense Before Trying to Evict a Tenant for Unpaid Rent in Pennsylvania

By: Daniel J. Hinger, Esq.

Your tenant has fallen behind on rent. You are growing concerned because the rental payments help pay the mortgage on your property. You have reached out to the tenant about payment on multiple occasions with no response. It’s time to start considering eviction. Before filing your eviction lawsuit, you need to consider what is known as the “warranty of habitability.” If your tenant can prove that the unit was not “habitable” during the timeframe you are seeking to collect unpaid rent, they may be entitled to a reduction, or even forgiveness, of the outstanding unpaid rent. It is one of the most common defenses to an eviction action and should never be overlooked.

What is the Warranty of Habitability?

The warranty of habitability is a guarantee that in exchange for collecting rent, a landlord will provide a residence that is fit for modern human living standards. Property conditions that may violate the warranty of habitability include:

• Lack of heat during the winter
• Malfunctioning appliances
• Infestation
• Malfunctioning locks
• Unsafe structural components
• Unsafe electrical components
• Inadequate lighting
• Leaks in the walls or roof
• Malfunctioning plumbing
• Mold (in certain circumstances) 

The warranty of habitability became an implied part of every residential lease between landlord and tenant in the late 1970s. Under no circumstances can the warranty be waived.

            What should I do before filing an eviction action?

For the period of time you are seeking to recover unpaid rent, consider whether the tenant has notified you about any problems with the unit that are mentioned above. If these complaints went ignored for an unreasonable period of time, the tenant can argue that all, or a portion of, the unpaid rent is not owed. This needs to be considered before filing an eviction lawsuit in Pennsylvania.

            How do I prevent a habitability issue in the first place?

Simply put, take a tenant’s complaint about the above conditions in the rental property seriously. If the complaint falls under one of the above categories and you fail to fix the problem, you may lose your right to collect rent. You can also be sued for not providing a habitable property to your tenant.If you need to evict a tenant because they are not paying their rent, we would be happy to help. Evictions involve many more legal questions than one might think.

Please contact the firm here 

Budget-Friendly: How a Carefully Drafted Lease Can Get You Reimbursed For Your Eviction Attorney’s Fees

By: Daniel J. Hinger, Esq.

It’s not every day that you see the words “reimburse” and “attorney’s fees” mentioned together. Today is one of those days.

In the United States, each party to a lawsuit is generally responsible for paying their own attorney, no matter who wins the case. This is commonly referred to as the “American Rule.” However, in Pennsylvania, there is a limited exception to this rule in the landlord-tenant context. Specifically, for filing a lawsuit to evict a tenant for violating the lease or not paying rent. The way you get the tenant to pay your legal fees is through an attorney fee-shifting provision in your lease. 

Of course, the fee-shifting provision needs to be in your lease before you attempt to evict the tenant. Pennsylvania courts have ruled that attorney fee-shifting provisions in residential lease agreements are enforceable. This means that as long as your lease has a clearly drafted fee-shifting provision, the tenant can be required to pay your attorney’s fees for the eviction lawsuit. 

Evictions can involve many legal hurdles.  There are notice requirements, pleading rules, defenses and procedures for collecting on a judgment for damage to the property or unpaid rent. Other routine expenses, such as mortgage payments and insurance premiums, do not stop coming. Given these hurdles, it makes a lot of sense to hire a lawyer. Why not get reimbursed for that cost? If you need to pursue eviction, we would be happy to help.

Please contact the firm here 

Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney: Will it cost me anything?

Let me paint a picture for you. You were recently in a serious car accident where someone rear-ended you. You stayed at a hospital overnight and are in an overwhelming amount of pain. You’re on multiple medications and are seeing types of doctors you’ve never even heard of before. Co-pays and medical bills are piling up. Your car is seriously damaged, and you don’t even want to think about the deductible you’ll have to pay to get it fixed. Every day is a challenge. 

You have heard that it may make sense to hire a personal injury lawyer to help get you compensation for what you are going through. However, you are concerned about how much a personal injury lawyer will cost you. You believe that lawyers can be expensive, and you don’t need any additional stress in your life right now.

You can put that fear aside. Enter the contingency fee.

            Hiring a personal injury attorney won’t cost you anything out of pocket.

Yes, you read that right. For personal injury cases, such as a serious car accident, the attorney works for you on what is known as a “contingency fee basis”. This means they only earn a fee if they recover money for you in your case. If they don’t, you don’t owe them a penny. It is “contingent” on your financial recovery. The fee is calculated as a percentage of the amount recovered. The fee will range from 25% to 40%, depending on the circumstances of the case. There may also be litigation costs necessary for pursuing your case, such as the cost of obtaining your medical records, court filing fees and court reporter fees. However, as long as these costs are reasonably necessary, the attorney will pay these costs upfront and then get reimbursed for them out of any financial recovery they obtain for you. If this seems confusing, think of the attorney’s fees and litigation costs as if you were having a mechanic fix your car-  where the attorney’s fees are the labor and the litigation costs are the parts.

All of this means that instead of worrying about money after your car accident injury, you can focus on what matters most: healing. If you have been seriously injured in a car accident, please contact the firm for a free consultation here(“here” would be hyperlink