PALawHelp.org

Housing Issues

Legal Information

• Housing Rights of Domestic Violence Survivors

  This classroom offers information from several sources on the housing rights of domestic violence survivors. Read More

• How to Prepare for Landlord-Tenant Court if You are Facing Eviction (Video)

  Video from Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, in conjunction with the Philadelphia Eviction Prevention Project, providing a description of your rights when being evicted and about how the eviction process works. Specific information is included about the eviction process that is followed in Philadelphia, along with some resources for people facing eviction in Philadelphia. Read More

  By:

  Community Legal Services of Philadelphia

  Read this in:

  Spanish / Español

• Tenants! Being Evicted?

  Information from Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc. on the rights of tenants who are being evicted. Read More

  By:

  Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc.

  Read this in:

  Spanish / Español

  Russian / Pусский

  Vietnamese / Tiếng Việt

• Eviction Process in Pennsylvania (Video)

  Video from the Allegheny County Department of Human Services explaining the eviction process in Pennsylvania. Read More

  By:

  Allegheny County Department of Human Service

• Housing Navigator Unit (Allegheny County)

  The Allegheny County Department of Human Services Housing Navigator Unit was established in 2018 to help homeless persons served by DHS find and maintain safe, affordable housing in the private market. The Housing Navigator Unit works toward this goal by recruiting and supporting landlords in the private market who rent to DHS tenants. The unit also works with the agencies charged with providing support services to the tenants. This public/private partnership aims to speed up access to private rental properties, improve communication and trust, resolve concerns and complaints, and increase accountability among all parties - the landlords, the service providers and the tenants. Content Detail

  By:

  Allegheny County Department of Human Service

• Housing Resourses for Victims of Crime from PASafeLaw.org

  Victims of crime often have a hard time finding or keeping housing. The following resources are intended to assist you in obtaining housing and avoiding an improper eviction. Content Detail

  By:

  PASafeLaw

• Self-Help Handbook for Tenants

  This handbook from North Penn Legal Services provides useful information about renting an apartment and some of the basics of landlord-tenant law. For those looking for rental housing, the handbook has practical suggestions about what to look for while inspecting the rental unit and what questions to ask the landlord. For those who are already renting, the handbook discusses common problems such as nonpayment of rent or complaints about repairs. [PDF] Read More

  By:

  North Penn Legal Services

  Read this in:

  Spanish / Español

• PAHousingSearch.com

  The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency provides this simple-to-use housing locator Web site that lets you define what you want in your next living space, and then it does all the research – presenting you with the relevant housing vacancies that best fit your parameters in the community where you want to live. Content Detail

  By:

  Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency

• The Dangers of Rent-to-Own Agreements (Video)

  This video from Community Legal Services of Philadelphia explains some potential problems that may present themselves in a Rent-to-Own arrangement to purchase a house, whereby you live in the house as a tenant, pay rent each month, and have the rent count toward the purchase of the property. Read More

  By:

  Community Legal Services of Philadelphia

• Deceptive Home Improvement Contractors Complaints

  Information for home owners with HUD insured loans on avoiding deceptive home improvement contractors. Content Detail

  By:

  U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

  Read this in:

  Spanish / Español

• Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act

  Informational booklet on the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act that creates safeguards for consumers who hire contractors for home remodeling projects. [PDF] Content Detail

  By:

  Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General

  Read this in:

  Spanish / Español

• Victim Service Programs

  If you are a victim of crime or have been affected by a crime, you may receive help from an advocate from a Victim Service Program. The following link provides information on local programs that offer help. Read More

  By:

  Pennsylvania Office of Victim Services

• Additional Resources on Housing and Shelter from PALawHelp.org

  Full listing of resources on Housing and Shelter appearing on PALawHelp.org Content Detail

  By:

  PALawHELP.org

• Criminal Justice Advocacy & Support Directory - Guide to Services for Pennsylvania Inmates, Victims of Crime & Their Families

  The purpose of this directory is to provide a comprehensive listing of agencies in Pennsylvania, and to some extent nationally, which serves the needs of inmates, ex-offenders, victims of crimes and their families, criminal justice professionals, volunteers and support persons. Content Detail

  By:

  CentrePeace and Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project

• Evicted? Doubled up? Your Child Has the Right to Stay in School!

  This toolkit is about students’ rights under a federal law known as the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Students have these rights whether they are homeless alone (in which case they are an unaccompanied youth) or with their families. Content Detail

  By:

  National Law Center for Homelessness & Poverty