How it works
Four things happen to everything you add.
You add a document or note down something that happened. From there it's automatic.
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1
We read it
A computer reads your document and pulls out the facts that matter — how much deposit you paid, when the lease started, what you were handed when you signed. It only writes down what the document actually says. It doesn't decide whether anything is allowed.
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2
We check it against the law
Those facts get compared to the rental rules for Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. This part isn't guesswork — it's a fixed list of rules, and each one either matches your situation or it doesn't. Anything we tell you comes with the rule it came from.
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3
We start the clock
Some things in the law have deadlines. Tell us you moved out and gave your landlord a forwarding address in writing, and we'll show you the date they have to return your deposit by — before you'd have thought to ask.
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4
You can ask questions
Ask anything about your own records in plain English. Answers only come from your documents and the rules — never from general knowledge. If neither can answer your question, we say so and give you a phone number instead of guessing.
Adding your lease
A lease is usually not one file. Ours arrived as 25 separate PDFs — the lease itself plus two dozen extra forms. You can select all of them at once, and they'll be filed together as a single entry rather than clogging up your timeline.
We read the ones that actually contain your terms. City handbooks and safety leaflets are stored, but not read — they're the same for every renter in Philadelphia and say nothing about you. We always tell you which files were read and which weren't.
What you'll see
Your records page splits everything into three groups, so you're not just staring at a list of problems:
- Found a problem — something doesn't match the law, with the rule that says so.
- Looks fine — we checked and found no issue. A clean lease is a useful answer, and it's worth being able to show it.
- Need more from you — we can't say either way yet, and here's what would settle it.
An example of that last one: whether your landlord has a current rental licence is one of the most useful things to know in Philadelphia — but no lease ever says. We'll tell you where to look it up.
Sharing it
You can send your landlord (or your tenant) a read-only link. They can see the record but can't change anything in it, and one click on their end records the date and time they saw it. There's also a printable summary you can take to a hearing or a mediator.
Keeping your records
When you start, you get a private link. That link is your access — keep it somewhere safe and you'll always be able to get back in. There's no password and nothing to reset. You can sign in if you'd rather not keep track of links, but it's optional and changes nothing about who can see your records.