Roommate Clause
in Your Lease
How this page is sourced
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
- Our record of the 1951 Landlord and Tenant Act finds no roommate provision or deadline; your lease controls.
- Philadelphia's Zoning Code bars more than three unrelated adults in one dwelling, even with landlord approval.
- The Property Maintenance Code sets minimum room sizes and a three-occupant limit for efficiency units.
- Roommates on the same lease are jointly and severally liable, so each can be pursued for the entire rent.
- Refusing a roommate over a protected trait is illegal under 43 P.S. § 955(h) and the federal Fair Housing Act.
Copy and send: Before the new person moves in, once you have read your lease's roommate paragraph
Ask to add a roommate
Fill in the brackets and keep a copy of what you send.
How Pennsylvania compares
Deadline to notify the landlord of a new roommate, state by state
30 daysNo figureGuide coming soonYou are here
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 Roommate Clause
This page is for Philadelphia renters who want to add a roommate, or already have one, and need to know what to tell the landlord and when. The Pennsylvania law on this page leaves approval and timing to your lease.
The city then limits who can live together, by headcount and by room size. A landlord's yes answers the lease but does not lift the city limits, and fair housing law still bars a refusal based on a protected trait.
What renters assume
Pennsylvania gives renters a set number of days after a partner or friend moves in to tell the landlord.
What is actually true
Our record of the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 finds no such window, no right to add an occupant and no duty for the landlord to be reasonable. Your lease sets the terms.
Pennsylvania sits with the no statute states, and the gap is wide. A New York tenant can move someone in and just notify the landlord within 30 days; a Seattle renter can't be refused immediate family at all.
In Philadelphia the only thing standing between you and a no is whatever your lease happens to say.
Roommate 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.
Below is how the reimbursement paragraph of an apartment form lease begins; the opinion prints more of it than appears here.
REIMBURSEMENT. You must promptly reimburse us for loss, damage, or cost of repairs or service caused anywhere in the apartment community by your or any guest's or occupant's improper use or negligence. […]
Quoted from the published opinion in Churchill Forge, Inc. v. Brown, 61 S.W.3d 368 (Tex. 2001). 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
“reimburse us for loss, damage”
The obligation, and in Pennsylvania a purely contractual one. Roommates who sign the same lease are jointly and severally liable under contract and common law rather than by statute, so each of you can be pursued for the entire rent and all the damages. Our Pennsylvania record has no statutory apportionment to fall back on. Whatever split exists is in the document you signed.
“or service caused anywhere”
The perimeter is the property, and Philadelphia's own rules answer the other end of the question - not where a loss may be charged from, but who may live in the unit. The Zoning Code's definition of family bars more than three unrelated adults in one dwelling, and the Property Maintenance Code sets minimum room sizes and a three-occupant limit for efficiency units. Those cap the household. They do nothing about this sentence.
See the example
“by your”
This is the point where the paragraph becomes personal to you, and Pennsylvania gives you nothing to soften it with. Our Pennsylvania record finds no roommate or added-occupant provision in the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951, so there is no state deadline for a landlord to answer a request to add somebody and no duty on the landlord to be reasonable about it. That is the contrast with New York, where the roommate law creates the right outright.
See the example
“guest's or occupant's improper use or negligence”
The fault hook, reaching people who signed nothing - and the point at which the one real limit on a Philadelphia landlord's discretion becomes relevant. A refusal to accept a roommate is illegal where it rests on race, color, religious creed, ancestry, age, sex, familial status, national origin or disability, under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, 43 P.S. § 955(h) and the federal Fair Housing Act. A landlord may say no for their own reasons. They may not say no for those.
See the example
The co-signer's defence failed. JoAnn Brown signed an apartment lease as a cotenant with her adult son. He was alleged to have started a fire that damaged the complex, the landlord sued only her, and she argued she could not be charged for damage she had not caused. The Texas Supreme Court disagreed, reversed the summary judgment she had won and held this sentence enforceable against a cotenant who was not herself negligent. The route ran through two sections. Tex. Prop. Code § 92.052(b) gives a landlord no duty to repair damage caused by the tenant, an occupant or a guest, so § 92.006(e) had no repair duty to stop the parties contracting over; and the fair-notice doctrine did not apply, because the sentence does not shift the landlord's own negligence onto the tenant. The court added that neither statute, common law nor the Restatement bars “requiring a tenant to reimburse the landlord for damages negligently caused by the tenant or one occupying the premises with the tenant's consent.” A dissent would have held the sentence unenforceable outright because it was not underlined or conspicuous, as § 92.006(e)(4) requires. This is 2001 Texas law, decided on the Texas Property Code - state-specific, and not a national rule.
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 Roommate Clause
- The Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 has no roommate or added-occupant provision, so the Act gives a landlord no deadline for answering a request to add someone.
- Unlike New York's roommate law, the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 creates no right to an additional occupant and no duty for the landlord to be reasonable, so check what the lease says about consent.
- Roommates who sign the same lease are jointly and severally liable under the contract and common law, not by statute, so each one can be pursued for the entire rent and all damages.
- A refusal is still illegal if it is based on race, color, religious creed, ancestry, age, sex, familial status, national origin, or disability under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, 43 P.S. § 955(h), and the federal Fair Housing Act.
Verify the current text in your state's landlord-tenant statutes.
The Pennsylvania rules closest to a roommate rule:
- No roommate provision. Our record of the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 finds no section on adding an occupant, so the Act gives a landlord no deadline for answering your request and no standard the decision must meet.
- No right to add someone. Unlike New York's roommate law, the Act creates no right to an additional occupant and no duty for the landlord to be reasonable. Check what your lease says about consent.
- Shared liability. Roommates who sign the same lease are jointly and severally liable under the contract and common law, not by statute. Each one can be pursued for the entire rent and all damages.
- Fair housing. A refusal based on race, color, religious creed, ancestry, age, sex, familial status, national origin or disability is illegal under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, 43 P.S. § 955(h), and the federal Fair Housing Act.
What's Specific to Philadelphia
Philadelphia adds no response deadline, but it does limit who can move in. The Zoning Code's definition of family bars more than three unrelated adults sharing one dwelling.
The Property Maintenance Code sets minimum room sizes and a three-occupant limit for efficiency units. Once a would-be roommate formally applies as a tenant, the Renters' Access Act and the pre-1978 lead-certification rules apply.
City codes get amended, so check the current text before you rely on it.
Our record of the Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 supplies neither. A written process with a timeline gives you steps to point to.
Co-signers are jointly and severally liable. Wording that limits your share, or a release process, is worth asking for before you sign.
The Zoning Code stops at three unrelated adults per dwelling, and a landlord's approval does not change that.
The Property Maintenance Code limits efficiency units to three occupants and sets minimum room sizes. Check both before anyone moves in.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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Approval required with no reply window
The clause needs your landlord's consent but gives no date for an answer. No section we read sets one, so ask for a reply window in writing.
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A roommate fee with no amount
Our record of the Act has no roommate provision, so it names no fee. Get the exact fee, and any rent change, in writing before you promise anyone a room.
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Guest becomes an unauthorized occupant
Some clauses turn a visitor into an occupant after a set number of nights. Find the exact night count in your lease and plan around it.
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A lease that allows four unrelated adults
A lease term or landlord approval does not override the Zoning Code limit of three unrelated adults in one dwelling.
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A spoken release for a departing roommate
A co-signer who moves out stays jointly and severally liable under the lease. Get a signed amendment, not a verbal promise.
Your Rights as a Philadelphia Tenant
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Discriminatory refusal is illegal
Turning down a roommate over race, familial status, disability or another protected trait violates 43 P.S. § 955(h) and the federal Fair Housing Act.
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A roommate term you can negotiate
With the lease as the rulebook, ask before you sign for a reply deadline or a line that approval will not be unreasonably withheld.
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Screening and lead rules once they apply
When a would-be roommate formally applies as a tenant, the Renters' Access Act and the pre-1978 lead-certification rules apply.
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Changes on paper
You can ask for a signed amendment that adds a co-tenant or releases one who leaves, naming who owes what from a specific date.
What To Do - Step by Step
Read the roommate paragraph word for word
Check whether approval is needed, what it costs, what counts as a guest, and whether a deadline is stated. Our record of the Act sets none.
Count the unrelated adults
The Zoning Code stops at three unrelated adults per dwelling, and an efficiency unit at three occupants. Settle this before anyone gives notice elsewhere.
Ask in writing, with name and date
Email the person's full name and planned move-in date. Our record of the Act sets no deadline, so your dated email shows when you asked.
Send a complete application
Include income, references and ID in one package, so the landlord has what is needed to decide.
Get liability changed on paper
A departing co-signer stays liable until the landlord signs. Ask for an amendment naming who owes what from a specific date.
Get help if the refusal looks discriminatory
A denial tied to a protected trait can go to the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations or the PHRC. Legal aid can also advise you.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Roommate rules near Pennsylvania
The same clause in the nearest states we cover.
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