Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Pennsylvania

It is likely that your landlord's actions violate Pennsylvania landlord-tenant law. First, do you have a written lease? If so, what were the terms of the lease and had the lease expired at the time of this "eviction? As a general rule, a landlord has to give you written notice of his intention to evict you. The notice has to give you a certain amount of time to vacate, depending on the term of the lease. If it is an oral lease, it is treated as a month to month lease. Since you appear to be current on your rent payments, the landlord must give you 15 days written days notice, before filing papers with the Court. If the lease was for longer than 1 year and was in writing, you are entitled to 30 days written notice before the landlord can file in court. depending on the language of the lease.

Under any circumstances, THE LANDLORD MUST TAKE YOU TO COURT to evict you. Since your rent was current, you would definitely be entitled to stay until the end of the month. Further, the landlord has no legal right to take "self help" measures by entering your apartment, packing your stuff and attempting to dispose of your personal property.

You should consult an attorney immediately to file suit against the landlord in district justice court. You may be entitled to money damages for your expenses, losses and other damages, together with attorneys fees and the costs (filing and service fees) from the landlord. You can certainly do this on your own, but because attorneys' fees are recoverable, why not seek legal help.

The actions of the landlord in evicting you without first going to court clearly violate PA law.

Not to mention the tort the landlord committed namely trespass to chattels.

{John}