Any Attempted Eviction of a Tenant in Pennsylvania is Illegal

By

Anthony J. Fejfar, B.A., J.D., Esq., Coif

Member of the United States Supreme Court Bar

The Pennsylvania Landlord Tenant Act of 1951, which

appears to be in force in Pennsylvania, provides a minimal

procedure and jurisdiction for the Ejectment of a Tenant, at Law,

for an alleged non-payment of rent. Jurisdiction is vested in the

Justice of the Peace court and the Common Pleas Court. There is

no jurisdiction for an Ejectment for an alleged breach of a Lease

Covenent. Also, there is no jurisdiction for bringing an eviction

action. An eviction action and an ejectment action are not the

same. Eviction typically does not involve a jury trial and does not

deal with title to the property. Eviction clearly violates

Substantive and Procedural Due Process, and Magna Charta, and

thus is clearly unconstitutional and the landlord, landlord’s

attorney, and the judge will have civil and criminal liability under

42 United States Code section 1983 and 18 United States Code

section 242. Additionally, the Landlord Tenant Act of 1951 in

Pennsylvania is unconstitutional because it allows for self-help

ejectment prior to an adversarial jury trial and a valid pretrial

procedure. See, the United States Supreme Court Case, Lugar vs.

Edmondson Oil, Corp., 457 U.S. 922 (1982) and In Re Adams, 65

B.R. 646 (1986). Additionally, the Landlord Tenant Act is

constitutionally deficient because it does not provide a fair and

reasonable procedure. Service of Process by posting or Mail is

unconstitutional. Under the Pennsylvania Civil Procedure Rules,

service of process can only be made by Sheriff’s Service. When

service of process is made, the Sheriff must allow the Tenant to

review the Civil Complaint in Ejectment for purposes of filing a

Special Appearance objecting to In Personam Jurisdiction or

Subject Matter Jurisdiction. Additionally, given the Landlord

Tenant Act’s restriction of Jurisdiction to Ejectment for an alleged

non-payment of rent, Ejectment can only be for an alleged non-

payment or rent, and not for the breach of an alleged lease

covenant. Moreover, in alleged right of the Landlord to evict the

Tenant in the lease is unlawful on the part of the Landlord, since

there is only a procedure for Ejectment not eviction. Finally, it

should be noted that in an action for Ejectment by the Landlord,

the Tenant has the right to assert defenses and counterclaims

based on:

1. Landlord Housing Code Violations

2. Landlord Breach of the Implied Warranty of Habitability

3. Landlord Breach of Lease Covenants

4. Landlord violation of the Federal Fair Housing Act

5. Landlord violation of the Federal American’s with

Disabilities Act

6. Landlord violaton of 42 United States Code section

1983, for violating the Tenant’s Civil Rights

7. Violation of the Pennsylvania Consumer Protection Act

Additionally, the Tenant has a right to a have the Landlord file

suit with the Clerk of the Court or Prothonatary where a Docket

and Page number is assigned, and where there is a valid pretrial

procedure, and where there is a Jury Trial where the Rules of

Evidence are applied. Also, a Corporate Landlord must use an

Attorney and cannot represent the Corporation him or herself. Any

such attempted representation would be a criminal act of

Unauthorized Practice of Law.

Given the foregoing, it is absolutely clear that any attempted

eviction of a Tenant by a Landlord is illegal, criminal, and

unconstitutional.