Pennsylvania · Landlord and Tenant Act §§104, 511.1–512Pennsylvania tenant security deposits when you sell a rental

Pennsylvania's Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 has no separate deposit-transfer procedure for a sale, but its section 104 says that any person who acquires title to real property by purchase has the same duties – and the same rights, powers and remedies – in relation to the property as the person from whom title was acquired. That puts the buyer in the seller's shoes under the deposit rules. A landlord may not require more than two months' rent as a deposit in the first year of a lease, or more than one month's rent in the second and later years, and after five years of possession a rent increase can't require a higher deposit (§511.1). Deposits over $100 go into an escrow account at a regulated institution, with written notice to each tenant of the bank's name and address and the amount; after the second anniversary of the deposit, interest belongs to the tenant – less 1% a year the landlord may keep for administration – and is paid annually (§511.2). Within 30 days after the lease ends or the premises are surrendered and accepted, whichever is first, the landlord must give the tenant a written list of damages and pay the difference; a landlord who doesn't send the list forfeits the right to withhold, and one who doesn't pay is liable for double the amount by which the deposit exceeds actual damages (§512). Tenants can't waive these rules.