How Much Is a Rental License in Philadelphia?

A rental license in Philadelphia costs $69 per year for each unit you rent out, with the total capped at $27,830 per property no matter how many units it contains. Owner-occupied units are exempt, so you pay nothing for a unit you or a family member lives in. Beyond the license itself, most landlords also pay for a lead inspection on any property built before March 1978, which typically runs $95 to $216 per unit depending on size.

What the $69 Covers

The fee is charged per rental unit, whether the building is a single-family home, a duplex, or a large apartment complex. A single license can cover an entire multi-unit property, but it has to list every unit it governs. The $27,830 cap means even a 400-unit building pays the same maximum.

Owner-occupied units are fully exempt. If you live in one side of a duplex and rent the other, you license only the rented side. Units occupied by a family member are also exempt, though the city may ask for an Affidavit of Non-Rental. Short-term rentals aren’t covered here at all; those operate under a separate Limited Lodging Operator License.

Renewal Cost and Late Fees

Renewal is the same $69 per unit each year, with the same cap. If you let the license lapse more than 60 days past its due date, you owe a late fee of 1.5% of the license fee for each month it’s been expired. On a 10-unit building that’s $690 in license fees a year, and four months late adds roughly $41 in penalty. The bigger risk isn’t the late fee itself but what happens when you try to enforce a lease without a current license.

Free Prerequisites You Still Have To Get

Before the city will issue the license, you need two other registrations. One is an active Philadelphia Tax Account Number, commonly called a BIRT account. The other is a Commercial Activity License. Both are free to obtain, though the BIRT account carries an ongoing tax on net business income once you’re operating.

Lead Inspection: The Main Variable Cost

Any rental property built before March 1978 has to have a valid Lead Safe or Lead Free Certificate on file with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. A certified lead inspector runs an XRF test on painted surfaces, and you submit the certificate through the city’s online portal.

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Pricing depends on unit size and which inspector you hire. One established Philadelphia testing company charges roughly:

Studio or one-bedroom: around $95
Two-bedroom: around $123
Three-bedroom: around $151
Four-bedroom: around $188
Five-bedroom: around $216

Landlords with multiple units can often get bulk pricing that brings the per-unit cost down to $80–$100. Rates vary by company, so getting more than one quote is worthwhile. Properties built after February 1978 and college dormitories are the only exemptions.

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Certificate of Rental Suitability

Philadelphia requires landlords to give every new tenant a Certificate of Rental Suitability at lease signing, along with the city’s Partners for Good Housing handbook. The certificate itself is free. It applies to new leases, not renewals, so there’s no ongoing cost tied to it.

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Total First-Year Cost for a Typical Landlord

For a landlord licensing a single pre-1978 unit for the first time, the all-in numbers look like this:

Rental license: $69
Commercial Activity License: $0
BIRT registration: $0 (BIRT tax applies later on net income)
Lead inspection for a one-bedroom: roughly $95–$150 depending on provider
Certificate of Rental Suitability: $0

Upfront licensing and certification for one unit generally lands between $165 and $220. Multi-unit buildings scale up on the $69-per-unit side but hit the $27,830 ceiling, and the lead inspection is what climbs fastest across a large portfolio before bulk pricing kicks in. After the first year, the recurring cost drops to just the $69-per-unit renewal.

Why the $69 Is Cheap Compared to Skipping It

Philadelphia Code prohibits collecting rent on any property that’s required to have a rental license unless one has been issued. Courts have enforced that language by denying unlicensed landlords the right to recover possession or collect rent for the entire period of noncompliance. If you try to evict for nonpayment while your license has lapsed, the tenant can point to the code and stop the eviction, even after months of unpaid rent.

The city can also impose fines of up to $300 per day for each day a property is rented without the required license, which works out to more than $109,000 over a full year. Set against those numbers, the annual $69 and the one-time inspection cost look like the cheapest part of running a rental in Philadelphia.

1
City of Philadelphia. Get a Rental License
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American Legal Publishing Code Library. Philadelphia Code 9-3902 – Rental Licenses
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City of Philadelphia. Get a Commercial Activity License
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Lead and Healthy Homes Program. Lead and Healthy Homes Program – Frequently Asked Questions
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Philadelphia City Council. Lead Certification Law for Rental Properties
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City of Philadelphia. Rental Suitability