How to Apply for a Rental License in Philly

If you plan on renting your property out, getting a rental license is imperative. A rental license is legally required in order to collect rent, if you need to evict a tenant, or if a tenant files a complaint against you. Without a rental license, you could be subjected to significant fines and penalties. 

However, getting a rental license will now be less painful with these step by step instructions. 

1. Lead Paint Test

A lead paint test and certificate is required no matter what year your property was built. Since you cannot obtain a rental license without the lead safe or lead free certificate, you should do this step first. With the lab test results taking 10-15 days, this process can take 2 weeks to complete so plan accordingly! 

Note: You can do steps 2-4 simultaneously with the lead test but you will not be able to proceed with step 5 until you have a lead free or lead safe certificate. 

There are two different types of lead paint tests:

Lead dust test: this will test the outer most layer of paint on your window sills and dust on your floor. If you pass, your house will be deemed "Lead Safe". The city requires that you test every 4 years.

XRF lead test: this is a laser test that will test all layers of paint within the drywall or plaster. If you pass this test, your home will be deemed "Lead Free". This certificate is valid indefinitely. No need for retesting.

If your property was built before 1978 and not fully renovated, consider doing a lead dust test as there is a good chance that lead paint is in your home. In this case, you would only want the outer most layer of paint tested. In a lead dust test, only the window wills and floors will be tested. Before the test takes place, make sure to wipe down your window sills and floors with water and a mild detergent or cleaner. Believe it or not, lead dust can still come through your walls even if the last few layers of paint were done after 1978. Cleaning these areas will increase your odds of passing the lead dust test.

If your property was built before 1978 and fully renovated down to the studs, you could consider doing an XRF lead test. Although I have seen properties that appear to be completely renovated and lead paint was still found.

If your property was built in 1978-present, you can get the XRF lead test.

2. Sign up for the Business Income and Receipts Tax (BIRT). You can do this under the Philly Tax center and register as a new taxpayer.

3. Create an account through the Philadelphia Eclipse system.

4. Sign up for a commercial activity license through the Eclipse system.

• Click “Register for a New Activity License”
• Click “Commercial Activity”
• Add your BIRT tax account number & SSN
• Enter your Mailing Address
• Enter your Contact Information
• No documents should be required, click next.
• Click Submit
• Your activity license should come through automatically

5. Apply for a Business License through the Philadelphia Eclipse system.

• Under the business license tab, click “Apply for Business License”
• Under Activity License, click the drop down to find your commercial activity license
• Click on “+ License Type”
• Click on “Address-based” under the Category drop down
• Under name type in “rental” and click search
• Choose the license type that pops up
• Check off “New Business” and type in the property address of your rental property
• Type in your address and click the magnifier icon
• A pop up will appear. Go to the bottom and click on the address (not the PWD account)
• Enter the address where all mail should be sent regarding this property
• Enter your contact info
• Enter additional contact information
• Enter the activity start date
• Answer questions on the next page
• Under use classification, check off Residential Dwellings
• Proof of Ownership and a filled out copy of the Rental License Supplemental Information Form are required
• Be sure to use Google Chrome for this. You may have trouble uploading these documents otherwise.
• For the supplemental information document, you do not need to fill out section 4
• After successfully uploading your documents, click through to officially submit your application
• Reminder, the approval process can take up to 10 business days. You will need to check back into the Eclipse system to see if it’s been approved

6. When you receive your Lead Cert, forward certificate and lab report to the Health Department  at:

https://leadcertification.phila.gov/login

7. Get a certificate of Rental Suitability - follow this link

8. When you send your tenants the lease, be sure to include your rental license, certificate of rental suitability, and partners in good housing brochure

9. Reminder, you will need to renew your rental license annually. This can be done through the eclipse system under the “Business License Renewal” link.