Renting license needed in Philadelphia?

[Hussain Raza]

Will I need a license to rent in Philadelphia? I was asked by the tenants I told them I will give them a lease. Should I go get a license?

[Danielle Zamarelli]

Hello Hussain,
It is my understanding that unless you live in the property yourself, a rental license is required in the city of Philadelphia. First, you will need to obtain a commercial activity license (CAL) and get a business tax ID number (BIRT). This can be done through the Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) on a website called eclipse. This will allow you to apply for the rental license through L&I through the same website, eclipse. You'll need to get the property inspected for lead by a certified lead inspector if it was built before 1978. The lead inspector will take samples, send them to a lab, and then provide you with the results within 7-10 days. You will have to upload the results to the Philadelphia DOH website. Once those results are sent in and you have applied for the rental license (you'll need to upload the deed or a settlement sheet for proof of ownership), they'll grant you the license. Once that is done, you can generate a certificate a rental suitability through eclipse which you are required to give to the tenants within 60 days of lease signing. You'll also want to provide them with information about partners in good housing, lead, and beg bugs.

This is a link to a website that has all the information for how to rent your property, what to provide to the tenants to be compliant, etc:
https://www.phila.gov/services...