What we check
The rules we check your documents against.
This is the whole list — loaded from the live site as you read it, so it's exactly what your records are checked against. Every answer CasaVault gives you traces back to one of these.
We only use rules we've checked against the law itself or against a legal-aid or City source. If we're not yet certain of a rule's exact citation, it stays switched off and never appears in your results — even when it would have matched.
Your security deposit
Pennsylvania caps how much a landlord can hold, and sets what happens when you move out.
Philadelphia licensing
These are the rules most renters have never heard of, and they carry real weight: a landlord who hasn't met them can be barred from collecting rent or evicting you for that period.
Free legal help
Philadelphia's Right to Counsel programme gives some renters a free lawyer in eviction court, but only in certain zip codes. That's why we ask for yours when you start. If you're covered, we point you at the Philly Tenant Hotline on (267) 443-2500. If you're not, we point you at PhillyTenant.org, because most renters fall outside the programme.
Where these come from
Each rule above was checked against a primary source. The main ones:
- Pennsylvania's Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951 — the deposit rules (68 P.S. § 250.511a, § 250.511b, § 250.512)
- The Philadelphia Code — rental licences and the Certificate of Rental Suitability (§ 9-3902, § 9-3903, § 9-3901)
- Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, on security deposits
- The Philadelphia Fair Housing Commission, on rental suitability
- Philly VIP's landlord–tenant defences checklist