Notice

PSAB Urges Pennsylvania Supreme Court to Uphold Municipal Authority in Rental Safety Inspections

PSAB Urges Pennsylvania Supreme Court to Uphold Municipal Authority in Rental Safety Inspections

Harrisburg, PA — The Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs (PSAB) and Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors announced today the filing of an amicus curiae brief in Rivera v. Borough of Pottstown, urging the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to reverse the Commonwealth Court’s decision and reaffirm municipalities’ ability to conduct proactive rental safety inspections using administrative warrants, support municipalities’ ability to conduct reasonable, uniform inspections of rental properties to protect the health, safety, and welfare of residents.

In the amicus brief, PSAB and PSATS argue that the lower court’s ruling would severely restrict local governments’ ability to protect residents from unsafe housing conditions. The brief emphasizes that administrative warrants, long recognized as constitutional tools for code enforcement, do not require individualized or particularized suspicion under Article I, Section 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

“When rental inspection ordinances provide reasonable and objective grounds for inspection, probable cause is derived from the lack of inspection itself,” the brief explains. It further notes that administrative warrants already include safeguards ensuring inspections are limited to physical, mechanical, and operational conditions of the property.

The brief stresses that rental inspection ordinances apply uniformly to all rental units, preventing arbitrary enforcement and ensuring that both landlords and tenants meet basic safety obligations. Scheduled inspections, authorized by administrative warrants when consent is withheld, are essential to maintaining safe housing across Pennsylvania.

Local governments cannot reliably determine, from the street, whether there are ordinance or code violations. Without administrative warrants, municipalities would be forced into a complaint driven system that leaves tenants vulnerable and undermines public safety.

Both PSAB and PSATS respectfully urge the Court to uphold the authority of a municipality to conduct reasonable rental inspections consistent with Article I, Section 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution to protect the public safety and welfare in their communities.