Reply #22: Do you practice Landlord Tenant law???

[happyslug]

While I do in Pennsylvania. The Courts have NOT held Self-Help evictions as being illegal. The main reason for this is by the time most cases get to court the issue is moot, either the Tenant had broke back into the home or the tenant had found another place to live and no longer want the rental unit. Furthermore since it is NOT criminal to do a self-help evictions, Landlord know they can do it with impunity for all the Tenant can do is sue them for any loss caused by the Wrongful Eviction (Minus any rent that is due).

Thus if you talked to most Judges in Pa you will see they will tell you self-help eviction is illegal, but no Appellant Court case has so held AND IT IS DONE ALL THE TIME. I get a call about 2-3 times a month about a tenant being locked out of their home by their landlord. I advise them to break back in. I have asked the local Courts to Order the the Landlord to leave the Tenant back in (and turn the Utility services back on) and those request generally has been granted. But none of this is the same as a Clear rule that self-help evictions are illegal in Pennsylvania. Nor is any of this the CRIMINAL action it becomes if the Landlord violates the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

As to the PLS pamphlet, it is accurate as far as it goes. If a case ever goes to an appellant court I can see the Appellant court ruling Self-Help Evictions are illegal in Pa, but that HAS NOT HAPPENED. The only cases on the books go back to the 1880s and those cases permit Self-help evictions (I Know I have to look them up every so often). Furthermore none of this really helps most Tenants, for all they can do is sue their landlord under Pennsylvania law.

My point was Self-Help Evictions are done every day in Pennsylvania. Do to the failure of States like Pennsylvania to truly protect low income Tenants is why the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act makes it criminal for a landlord to Exercise self-help evictions.