How to Get a Philadelphia Rental License and Run Rental Property as a Business

If you own a building in Philadelphia that has rental units, you need an L&I Rental License from the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections before you rent to anyone. The rental license is the center of the process, but it is not the only piece. You also need your tax and business accounts in place, lead paperwork for older buildings, and a Certificate of Rental Suitability for every tenant. This guide covers the Philadelphia rental license requirements, what the license costs, the steps to get it, and how to run rental property as a business in Pennsylvania.

This article is informational, not legal or tax advice. Philadelphia rental rules, fees and processes can change, and requirements can differ from building to building. Talk with a qualified Pennsylvania attorney and a CPA before you buy, convert or rent out a property, especially if you own several buildings or plan to use a short-term rental platform.

What the Philadelphia Rental License Covers

Every building with rental dwelling units needs its own L&I Rental License. The license is issued per building, not per unit, so a building with four rental apartments needs one license. It renews every year.

Pennsylvania has no state general business license and no county business licenses. The Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations at the Pennsylvania Department of State does not issue activity licenses either. The Philadelphia rental license is a city requirement, so L&I is the agency you deal with for it.

Materials and Information to Gather First

Collect these before you open the application. A missing document is the most common reason a filing stalls.

• Proof of ownership of the building, such as the deed, or the entity's vesting record if an LLC or corporation owns it.
• The property address and the total number of dwelling units.
• A unit-by-unit list showing which units are owner-occupied and which are rented.
• Your Certificate of Organization and entity name, if you use an LLC, exactly as it appears on file with the Department of State.
• Your Commercial Activity License number, or the plan to obtain one.
• Your BIRT (Business Income and Receipts Tax) account information, or the plan to open one.
• Your Pennsylvania state tax registration, completed through myPATH.
• Records showing current city taxes and any city fines, so you can confirm your balances before you apply.
• Lead-safe or lead-free certification for any building built before March 1978, or an exemption filing for a newer building.
• Your lease template, because every new or renewing tenant needs a Certificate of Rental Suitability.

Philadelphia Rental License Requirements

The requirements fall into three groups: prerequisites you must already have in place, lead paperwork for older buildings, and tenant paperwork you provide for each lease.

Prerequisites for the License

• A Commercial Activity License.
• A BIRT account and an active business tax account with the city.
• Current city taxes and fines, with no balance owed.
• No open L&I violations on the property.

Owner-occupants with 3 or fewer rental units use an Activity License Number instead of the Commercial Activity License, BIRT and business tax account. Confirm with L&I that your building fits this path before you skip those registrations.

Lead Certification for Older Buildings

A building constructed before March 1978 must be certified lead-safe or lead-free under the Lead and Healthy Homes Program before a lease is issued or a license is issued or renewed. A copy of the certification goes to the tenant. Newer buildings file an exemption instead. Because certification has to come first, do not sign a new lease for an older unit and plan to certify later.

Certificate of Rental Suitability

Give each new or renewing tenant a free Certificate of Rental Suitability from eCLIPSE before move-in. You cannot get one while the property has outstanding violations, so keeping the violation check clean matters for every lease.

Philadelphia Rental License Cost

The rental license fee is $69 per rental unit, with a maximum of $27,830 per building. Owner-occupied units carry no fee. Because the license renews annually, budget for the fee every year, not just at the first filing. A building with 404 or more rental units reaches the $27,830 maximum.

Example building	Units charged	Annual rental license fee
2 rental units and 1 owner-occupied unit	2	$138
6 rental units, none owner-occupied	6	$414
12 rental units, none owner-occupied	12	$828
404 or more rental units	Any	$27,830 (maximum)

These figures are arithmetic from the per-unit rate, not a quote. The verified figures for this guide do not include the fees for the Commercial Activity License, BIRT registration or the lead certification process. Confirm those with the agencies before you budget for them.

Step-by-Step: Getting the Philadelphia Rental License

Work through these steps in order. Several depend on the one before, so skipping ahead usually means a rejected or delayed application.

Step 1: Count Your Rental and Owner-Occupied Units

Walk the building unit by unit and record which units you occupy yourself and which are rented to tenants. The count drives your fee. Owner-occupied units are not charged, so a wrong count means either overpaying or filing an application that does not match the building.

Step 2: Clear Taxes, Fines and Violations

Check that city taxes and fines are current and that the property has no open L&I violations. Pay down balances first. An open violation blocks the rental license and the Certificate of Rental Suitability, so this step controls the rest of your timeline.

Step 3: Set Up Your Business Tax Accounts

Confirm or open your Commercial Activity License, your BIRT account and your business tax account with the city. If you qualify as an owner-occupant with 3 or fewer rental units, an Activity License Number may replace those registrations. Then register your state tax accounts through myPATH at pa.gov, Register My Business for Taxes. The PA-100 was retired in 2022, so do not look for that form.

Step 4: Certify Lead Status

If the building was built before March 1978, have it certified lead-safe or lead-free through the Lead and Healthy Homes Program. Keep a copy, because a copy goes to the tenant. If the building is newer, file an exemption instead. Finish this before you sign a lease or apply for the license.

Step 5: Submit the Application and Pay the Fee

Submit the L&I Rental License application with your verified unit count and pay the fee. Filing methods, processing times and payment options can change, so confirm the current process on the L&I pages at phila.gov before you file. Plan for a gap between filing and the date you need the license, and do not promise a tenant a move-in date until the license is issued.

Step 6: Issue a Certificate of Rental Suitability for Each Tenant

For each new or renewing tenant, get a free Certificate of Rental Suitability from eCLIPSE before the tenant moves in. This depends on Step 2 staying true, because outstanding violations block the certificate.

Step 7: File BIRT and Renew Every Year

Landlords file BIRT on rents. Calendar the BIRT filing, the annual rental license renewal and the lead paperwork, which must be in place again when a lease is issued or the license renews. Keep copies of every certificate in the property file.

Running Rental Property as a Business

Form the Right Entity

Many landlords hold each building or group of buildings in its own LLC, which keeps property records and liability separate from personal assets. This is a choice, not a requirement, and it belongs in the conversation with your attorney and CPA.

To form a Pennsylvania LLC, file the Certificate of Organization (Form DSCB:15-8821) with a Docketing Statement (DSCB:15-134A) through Business Filing Services at file.dos.pa.gov. The filing fee is $125. The Bureau asks filers to allow about 15 business days for processing. Expedited service is available for an added fee, online or in person only. Check that your name is available at the business search.

The name must contain company, limited, limited liability company, or an abbreviation of one of those terms. It cannot contain words that imply a business corporation, such as corporation or incorporated. Pennsylvania LLCs have no publication requirement. Use the exact entity name on your rental license application, BIRT account and leases so the records match.

Pennsylvania does not use registered agents. Every LLC must list a registered office with a street and number, and a post office box alone is not accepted. If you have no Pennsylvania address, you may contract with a Commercial Registered Office Provider (CROP) and list its name and county of venue. Listing a CROP without a contract can carry civil and criminal penalties.

LLCs must also file an annual report from January 1 through September 30 each year, online at file.dos.pa.gov, with a $7 fee. This requirement began January 1, 2025.

Understand the Tax Picture

A standard LLC has no Pennsylvania LLC franchise tax and no separate annual LLC tax. It is taxed the same way as its federal classification. Pass-through rental income is taxed to the owners at the flat 3.07 percent Personal Income Tax rate. An LLC taxed as a corporation pays the Corporate Net Income Tax, which is 7.49 percent for tax years beginning in 2026. Separately, BIRT applies to rents at the city level. Confirm your federal classification and your tax treatment with a CPA.

Short-Term Rentals

If you rent a unit that is not your primary residence on a short-term basis, the rental license Hotels category applies, and that use falls under Visitor Accommodations zoning. This is separate from the Limited Lodging Operator License, so one does not replace the other. Read the city's Airbnb guidance before you list a unit.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Looking for a Pennsylvania state or county business license. Neither exists for this purpose. The Philadelphia rental license is the city step.
• Filing one license per unit. The license is per building.
• Miscounting owner-occupied units, which gets the fee wrong.
• Signing a lease in a building built before March 1978 before lead certification is complete.
• Letting a city tax balance, a fine or an open L&I violation sit, which blocks both the license and the suitability certificate.
• Looking for the PA-100. It was retired in 2022, and registration is on myPATH.
• Listing a post office box as the registered office, or naming a CROP without a signed contract.
• Assuming a rental license covers short-term use. Short-term rentals of non-primary-residence units fall under the Hotels category.
• Promising a move-in date before the license is issued.

Expected Results

A complete, current file may help a landlord keep each building under a valid rental license, document lead status and give each tenant the required suitability certificate. Results depend on the building, the unit count and whether taxes and violations are current when you file. Landlords who finish the steps in order and calendar renewals often find the annual process becomes routine after the first filing, which usually takes the longest.

Searching for a Housing Inspection License?

Many landlords search for a Philadelphia housing inspection license when they mean this rental license. The rental license is the L&I document this guide covers. If you want to know whether any separate inspection applies to your property, ask L&I directly. This guide does not treat any separate inspection license as established.

When to Talk to a Professional

Talk with an attorney about entity formation, lease language, multi-building portfolios and short-term rental use. Talk with a CPA about your tax classification, BIRT and the rental income treatment. For license-specific questions, go to L&I directly, because the agency's current rules control.

Start with the unit count and the violation check, since those two items determine the rest of your timeline.