Holdover Clause
in Your Lease
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Statutes verified against primary state sources
Every statute cited here was read in its published text before this page went live: on the state's own site where that site can be reached, otherwise on a republished copy of the code. Court decisions are quoted from the published opinion and linked to it, so you can read the original yourself.
Primary sourcesNot legal advice
Content verified against primary state statutes before publicationLast updated: October 2026
What it actually means, what Pennsylvania law says, what's specific to Philadelphia - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 has no double-rent provision. Any holdover multiplier comes from your lease.
- Written notice to quit: 15 days for leases up to a year, 30 days if longer (§ 250.501(b)).
- A judgment can include unpaid rent and actual damages for unjust detention, not a fixed multiple (§ 250.503(a)).
- Philadelphia requires good cause to refuse renewal of a lease under one year (Phila. Code § 9-804).
- An unlicensed Philadelphia landlord cannot recover possession or collect rent (Phila. Code § 9-3902).
Step by step
How it plays out
- Lease endsYou stay past the termThe Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 has no double-rent provision for holding over. Any multiplier comes from your lease.
- Notice servedWritten notice to quit arrives15 days for a lease of one year or less or an indeterminate term, 30 days for a longer lease (§ 250.501(b)).
- After notice runsLandlord may seek possessionOnly after the written notice to quit. Your lease can shorten or waive that period only if it says so (§ 250.501(e)).
- If landlord winsJudgment can include rent and damagesPossession, unpaid rent and actual damages for unjust detention, not a fixed multiple (§ 250.503(a)).
Count it for your dates
15 days: when does it end?
What it means: The 15-day notice period must run before the landlord may move to evict you for holding over. Applies to a lease of one year or less or an indeterminate term; a lease longer than one year gets 30 days, a lease can shorten or waive the period only if it says so (§ 250.501(e)), and on a Philadelphia lease of less than one year Phila. Code § 9-804 also requires good cause before a landlord refuses to renew (68 P.S. § 250.501(b)). Calendar arithmetic only; check how the section counts days before you rely on a date.
Copy and send: Before your lease ends, as soon as you know you need extra time
Ask about renewal before your end date
Fill in the brackets and keep a copy of what you send.
How Pennsylvania compares
Statutory holdover rent multiplier, state by state
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See all 27 cities as a chart
Figures are the state rule, or the stronger city ordinance where one exists. Verify the current law for your own situation before relying on it.
Understanding the Holdover Clause
This page is for Philadelphia renters who need to stay a little past the end of their lease, or who found a holdover charge, such as double rent, in the lease they signed. The key point: the rate for extra days comes from your lease paragraph, not from Pennsylvania's Act.
So read that paragraph before your end date, check whether it shortens your notice to quit, and ask your landlord in writing about renewal and what you would owe.
What renters assume
The double rent after expiration in my lease must be a Pennsylvania rule.
What is actually true
The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 contains no double-rent provision, so that multiplier is a lease term. What the Act fixes is a written notice to quit before a holdover eviction (§ 250.501(b)).
Pennsylvania sits on the quiet side of this chart. Miami landlords collect double rent by statute, Phoenix can seek up to two months' rent for a willful holdover, and Chicago chases double the yearly value - Pennsylvania's Act names no figure at all.
Holdover Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Philadelphia, PA
The sample clause below is real lease language - a court quoted it word for word, and then ruled on it. What the judge decided is at the bottom of this block.
Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.
If the Lessee retains possession of the Premises after the term of this lease expires, the Lessor may either accept further rent payments by the Lessee, in which case a month-to-month tenancy shall be created, or sue for possession; and Lessor shall be entitled to recover from Lessee all damages sustained by him as a result of Lessee's failure to vacate the Premises, including but not limited to lost rent, court costs and attorneys fees. In no case shall a holdover tenancy be created. In the event Lessee retains possession without Lessor[']s consent beyond the term of this lease, the monthly rental shall be 150% of the rental for the original term.
Quoted from the published opinion in Roth v. Dillavou, No. 2—04—0840 (Ill. App. Ct., 2d Dist., Sept. 8, 2005). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
What the 4 highlighted phrases mean
“If the Lessee retains possession of the Premises after the term of this lease expires”
Before evicting you, a Pennsylvania landlord must serve a written notice to quit: 15 days for a lease of one year or less or an indeterminate term, 30 days for a longer one (68 P.S. § 250.501(b)). Check which bracket your lease falls in before you check anything else.
“Lessor shall be entitled to recover from Lessee all damages sustained by him”
Pennsylvania words this narrowly and deliberately. A judgment may include possession, unpaid rent, and damages for the unjust detention of the premises - actual damages, not a fixed multiple (68 P.S. § 250.503(a)). A demand for a round multiplied number is a demand the Act does not supply.
“In no case shall a holdover tenancy be created.”
In Philadelphia this runs into something stronger. Phila. Code § 9-804 requires good cause before a landlord may refuse to renew a lease of less than a year, and gives a sitting tenant a first option to renew. A clause denying any continuing tenancy does not override a city ordinance granting one.
“the monthly rental shall be 150% of the rental for the original term”
With no statutory premium in Pennsylvania, this is the landlord's entire basis for charging above rent. And one Philadelphia rule can undercut it entirely: under § 9-3902 an unlicensed landlord cannot recover possession or collect rent - worth checking the licence before conceding any figure.
See the example
The clause was enforced exactly as written. Because the lease itself said no holdover tenancy would arise - only a month-to-month one - the court held the original lease terms carried straight through the post-term period, which kept the tenant's co-signer on the hook for it. One judge dissented, warning that reading it this way exposes a guarantor to open-ended liability.
How this state's law treats this clause
One court, one lease, one state. That answer is not automatically yours, and your lease may be worded to land differently. Use this to know what to look for and what to ask - your state's tenant hotline or a local tenant attorney can answer it for your document.
Pennsylvania Law on Holdover Clause
- The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 contains no double-rent or penalty-rent provision for holding over, so any holdover multiplier comes only from what your lease says.
- Before evicting a holdover tenant the landlord must serve a written notice to quit: 15 days for a lease of one year or less or an indeterminate term, 30 days for a longer lease (68 P.S. § 250.501(b)).
- A judgment against a holdover tenant may include possession, unpaid rent, and "damages, if any, for the unjust detention of the demised premises" - actual damages, not a fixed multiple (68 P.S. § 250.503(a)).
- The notice period may be shortened or waived only if the lease itself so provides (68 P.S. § 250.501(e)), and the Act declares itself "a complete and exclusive system", repealing the older colonial-era landlord statutes (68 P.S. § 250.602).
Sources include 68 P.S. §§ 250.501, 250.503 (Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951) - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Pennsylvania's Act handles staying past your lease through notice and court process. The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 contains no double-rent or penalty-rent provision for holding over, so any multiplier comes only from what your lease says. Four rules shape what happens next:
- Notice to quit first. Before evicting a holdover tenant, the landlord must serve a written notice to quit: 15 days for a lease of one year or less or an indeterminate term, 30 days for a longer lease (68 P.S. § 250.501(b)).
- Your lease can shorten it. The notice period may be shortened or waived only if the lease itself says so (§ 250.501(e)).
- Damages, not a multiple. A judgment may include possession, unpaid rent, and "damages, if any, for the unjust detention" of the unit. That means actual damages, not a fixed multiple (§ 250.503(a)).
- One complete system. The Act calls itself "a complete and exclusive system" and repealed the older colonial-era landlord statutes (§ 250.602).
Read the current text of § 250.501 and § 250.503 before you rely on them.
What's Specific to Philadelphia
Philadelphia adds renewal and licensing rules. Neither city rule we read creates a holdover rent multiplier.
Phila. Code § 9-804 requires good cause before a landlord may refuse to renew a lease of less than one year, and gives sitting tenants a first option to renew.
Under Phila. Code § 9-3902, an unlicensed landlord cannot recover possession or collect rent. Ask for the rental license number before you agree to anything.
Treat it as a lease term. The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 has no double-rent provision for holding over.
§ 250.501(e) lets a lease shorten or waive the 15-day or 30-day notice, so read that line twice.
On a lease under one year, Phila. Code § 9-804 requires good cause to refuse renewal and gives you a first option to renew.
Ask for it. Under Phila. Code § 9-3902, an unlicensed landlord cannot recover possession or collect rent.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- 68 P.S. §§ 250.501, 250.503 (Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951), read on codes.findlaw.com. Pennsylvania publishes the official text at www.palegis.us. FindLaw marks its copy of this section current as of January 1, 2026.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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Double rent presented as Pennsylvania law
Wording that credits a multiplier to the state. The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 contains no double-rent or penalty-rent provision for holding over.
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A waiver of the notice to quit
§ 250.501(e) lets a lease shorten or waive the notice. Signing it away removes the written warning § 250.501(b) would otherwise give you.
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Daily holdover fees that stack
Per-day charges piled on top of rent. A judgment can include unpaid rent and actual damages for unjust detention (§ 250.503(a)). Ask for the running total in writing.
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One extra day becomes a whole new term
A clause that turns a short holdover into a full new lease term. Read it before your end date and get any extra time agreed in writing.
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No renewal terms in the lease
Holdover penalties spelled out, but nothing on renewal. On a lease under one year, Phila. Code § 9-804 requires good cause before a landlord refuses to renew.
Your Rights as a Philadelphia Tenant
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No multiple of your rent in the Act
The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 has no penalty-rent provision for holding over. A judgment can include unpaid rent and actual damages for unjust detention (§ 250.503(a)).
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A written notice to quit
15 days for a lease of a year or less or an indeterminate term, 30 days if longer, unless your lease shortens or waives it (§ 250.501(b), (e)).
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Philadelphia's good-cause renewal rule
Phila. Code § 9-804 requires good cause before a landlord refuses to renew a lease of less than one year, plus a first option to renew.
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Leverage against an unlicensed landlord
Phila. Code § 9-3902 denies an unlicensed landlord the right to recover possession or collect rent. Check the license before you concede anything.
What To Do - Step by Step
Find the holdover paragraph
Write down your lease end date and the rate the paragraph names, in its own words. Check whether the lease shortens or waives the notice to quit.
Ask in writing before your end date
Ask whether renewal is offered, at what rent, and what you would owe for extra days. Keep the reply as proof of what was agreed.
Check the rental license
Confirm the owner holds a current Philadelphia rental license. Under § 9-3902 an unlicensed landlord cannot recover possession or collect rent.
Note when the notice to quit arrives
A holdover eviction starts with written notice, 15 days on a lease of a year or less. Write down the date and keep the envelope.
Keep paying, keep receipts
Pay your ordinary rent on time and keep proof of every payment. A judgment can include unpaid rent (§ 250.503(a)).
Get help before court
Take a disputed holdover charge to a Philadelphia legal aid office or tenant attorney before any hearing date. Check the current text of § 250.501 first.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Holdover rules near Pennsylvania
The same clause in the nearest states we cover.
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