Philadelphia Code Title 4, Section PM 102.0 et. seq. [formerly 7-500]
Philadelphia has enacted ordinances that require owners of rental property to register with the City, and obtain a license to do business in the jurisdiction. The purpose of these ordinances is to provide a means of locating property owners for purposes of code enforcement and to ensure that a tenant can contact the landlord for repairs and emergencies. The ordinances require that the owner list an agent within the municipality who is authorized to accept service of legal notices from the local code-enforcement agency. The Philadelphia Code, Title 4, Section PM 102.0 et. Seq., [formerly: 7-500] sets forth specific requirements for dates of licensing, annual payment of fees, and the content of the license forms themselves.
The failure to comply with licensing requirements may give rise to certain penalties. Philadelphia Code, Title 4, Section PM 102.0 et. Seq., [formerly: 7-500] precludes a landlord from collecting rent from leased premises during any time for which there has been non-compliance with the license ordinance. The same provision precludes Philadelphia Municipal Court from hearing an action in which a landlord claims rent or possession for any property not in compliance with the licensing ordinance. Beside these express penalties for non-compliance, the tenant may argue that the landlord's claims should not be enforced on the basis of the well settled principle that courts should not lend their aid to a party seeking to enforce a contract that operates in open violation of statutory policy. F.F. Bollinger Co. v. Widmann Brewing Corp., 339 Pa. 289, 14 A.2d 81 (1940). Wilkins v. Heebner, 331 Pa. Super. 491, 480 A.2d 1141 (1984); Bauman and Vogel, C.P.A. v. Del Vecchio, 423 F Supp. 1041 (E.D. Pa. 1976).
The Courts do not have discretion to ignore the provisions of the ordinance. In addition, regulatory laws in force when the lease contract is entered into become part of the landlord's obligations with the same effect as if expressly incorporated in the terms of the lease. DePaul v. Kauffman, 441 Pa. 386, 272 Pa. 500, 506 (1971).