Is Asking for 1st Month's Rent & Last Month's Rent Plus Security Illegal in PA?

[Moon Molson]

PA Landlords,

Someone just told me that it's illegal to ask for first month's rent, last month's rent, and one month's security deposit in PA?

I understand that...

"Pennsylvania law limits the amount of security deposit a landlord can demand. During the first year of the lease, the security deposit cannot be more than two months’ rent. A landlord might ask the tenant to pay a security deposit plus “the last month”. Regardless of what the landlord may call it, this “last month’s rent” payment is still part of the two-month maximum security deposit for the first year."
--Housing Equity Center

This person maintains that I can't ask for "3 months of rent" up front. But there seems to be a semantic issue here that doesn't quite make sense to me. The first month's rent has to be paid before move-in regardless, so am I really asking for "three months of rent," or am I asking for the "first month's rent and "two months of security" (including "security deposit" and " last month's rent") to move in?

And how does it work if I need a "double deposit" for a risky tenant? Does this mean I can't then ask for "last month's rent"? What about even asking for "first month's rent plus double security deposit"?

What are other PA landlords doing?