Rule 503. Form of Complaint.
A. The complaint shall be made in writing on a form prescribed by the State Court Administrator.
B. The complaint shall set forth:
(1) The names and addresses of the parties.
(2) The location and the address, if any, of the real property possession of which is sought to be recovered.
(3) That the landlord of that property is the plaintiff in the action.
(4) That the landlord leased or rented the property to the tenant or to some other person under whom the tenant claims.
(5) That notice to remove was given to the tenant in accordance with law, or that no notice was required under the terms of the lease.
(6) That—
(a) the term for which the property was leased or rented is fully ended, or
(b) a forfeiture has resulted by reason of a breach of the conditions of the lease, or
(c) rent reserved and due has, upon demand, remained unsatisfied.
(7) That the tenant retains the real property and refuses to give up possession of the property.
(8) The amount of rent, if any, that remains due and unpaid on the date the complaint is filed and whatever additional rent shall remain due and unpaid at the date of the hearing, and the amount of damages, if any, claimed for injury to or unjust detention of the real property.
C. The complaint shall be signed by the landlord or landlord’s agent and verified as follows:
The facts set forth in this complaint are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information and belief. This statement is made subject to the penalties of 18 Pa.C.S. § 4904 relating to unsworn falsification to authorities.
SignatureD. For every individual tenant, the landlord or landlord’s agent shall attach an affidavit to the complaint indicating that the tenant is in the military service, that the tenant is not in the service, or that the landlord is unable to determine whether or not the tenant is in the service.
Official Note
As in the other rules of civil procedure for magisterial district judges, the complaint will be on a printed form. The filings required by this rule are subject to the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. See Rule 217. As to notice to remove, the form will simply state that such a notice, when required, was given to the tenant in accordance with law. See § 501 of the Landlord and Tenant Act, 68 P.S. § 250.501, as amended by § 2(a) of the Judiciary Act Repealer Act, Act of April 28, 1978, P.L. 202, No. 53, 42 P.S. § 20002(a).
In subdivision B(8) the landlord is permitted to claim, in addition to the specific amount of rent due and unpaid at the date of filing, whatever unspecified amount of rent will remain due and unpaid at the date of the hearing. As to claiming damages for injury to property, compare Pa.R.C.P. No. 1055.
Subdivision D requires the landlord to affirm if the tenant is or is not in the military service, or if the tenant’s military service status is unknown. This information is required to ensure that an eligible tenant receives the protections afforded by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. § § 3901 et seq. The affidavit shall be made in writing on a form prescribed by the State Court Administrator.
See Act of January 24, 1966, P.L. (1965) 1534, § 1, as amended by Act of August 11, 1967, P.L. 204, No. 68, § 1, Act of June 11, 1968, P.L. 159, No. 89, § 2, 35 P.S. § 1700-1, which states that ‘‘[n]o tenant shall be evicted for any reason whatsoever while rent is deposited in escrow’’ because the dwelling in question has been certified as unfit for human habitation by the appropriate city or county agency. It seems appropriate to leave the matter of evidencing or pleading such a certification or lack thereof to local court of common pleas rules.
Explanatory Note The amendment to subdivision c(6)(c) of Rule 503 and the note to the rule deletes the former requirement of pleading, when the action is based on failure to pay rent, that there is not on the premises property subject to distress adequate to satisfy rent in arrears. See also the amendment to Rule 582(1).
Source The provisions of this Rule 503 amended through December 16, 1983, effective December 1, 1983, 13 Pa.B. 3875; amended June 1, 2018, effective July 1, 2018, 48 Pa.B. 3581; amended April 17, 2020, effective September 1, 2020, 50 Pa.B. 2252; amended August 19, 2020, effective January 1, 2021, 50 Pa.B. 4491. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (401706) to (401707).
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