Legality/Liability in reported hazardous condition.

[Charles McCabe]

Hypothetical:  Pennsylvania tenant reports a hazardous condition in their unit (missing floorboard, arcing light switch, something like that).  What are the landlord's obligations?  Are there specific timeframes established for repair?  Are there times when the tenant has to be told to vacate for their safety?  Are there regulatory bodies that have to be notified?  And are there any pre-determined guidelines around liability?  For instance, if the tenant reports the condition and then gets hurt 10 minutes later, am I any less liable than if I failed to repair it for a month and then they get hurt?  Does it make any difference if the tenant and problem were both inherited with the purchase of the property?

[Mike McCarthy]

In general, picture yourself explaining what happened to a judge.

Loose receptacle or leaky faucet, a few days or week with instructions to not use it or temporary fix (bucket) is probably fine.

Broken staircase that someone could fall down, I’d probably want it fixed in a day or so.

Reported gas leak, vacate the house and get someone in within an hour or so.

So it really depends. Legally, unless you’re into habitability (heat, water), most cities won’t have specific rules about it.