Landlord & Tenant: Shorting the Escrow

Posted By Cliff Tuttle | October 11, 2014

No. 1,110

When a low income tenant appeals from the magistrate, the Department of Court Records gives him/her a pack of papers.  One of them is intended for Section 8 tenants who only pay a portion of the rent.  But other tenants fill in the blanks and sometimes get away with paying only part of the required escrow.

For example, suppose that the Magistrate found that the rent was $600.00.  But the tenant reads the form, which asks what percentage of the rent is  her share.  She thinks: “Well, my boyfriend pays half, so my share is $300.00.”

And then, “per affidavit” Court Records lets her pay escrow based on a $300 share.  This seems to be happening with increasing frequency.

So, what does a landlord do to set the record straight?  Don’t bother arguing with the people at the Department of Court Records.  Instead, it is necessary to file a motion to correct the escrow.  In Allegheny County, such a motion goes to Judge Wettick.  And if you haven’t done so already, its probably a good time to lawyer up.

CLT

Welcome

CLIFF TUTTLE has been a Pennsylvania lawyer for over 45 years and (inter alia) is a real estate litigator and legal writer. The posts in this blog are intended to provide general information about legal topics of interest to lawyers and consumers with a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania focus. However, this information does not constitute legal advice and there is no lawyer-client relationship created when you read this blog. You are encouraged to leave comments but be aware that posted comments can be read by others. If you wish to contact me in privacy, please use the Contact Form located immediately below this message. I will reply promptly and in strict confidence.

Subscribe to our feed