To remove someone from your property in Pennsylvania when no lease exists, you file an ejectment action in the Court of Common Pleas in the county where the property sits. The ejectment process in PA is a full civil lawsuit, not a quick landlord-tenant proceeding, and it ends with a sheriff physically removing the occupant under a court-issued writ. Expect it to take several months, and expect to prove your title every step of the way.
Ejectment Is Not Eviction
Eviction under Pennsylvania’s Landlord and Tenant Act only works when a landlord-tenant relationship exists. A magisterial district judge hears those cases, and they move quickly. No lease means no jurisdiction there, and no eviction.
Ejectment is the alternative. It is filed in the Court of Common Pleas, the trial-level civil court, and it decides who holds the superior right to possess the land. That means formal pleadings, possible discovery, and possibly a trial. Slower and more expensive than eviction, but it is the only lawful route when no rental agreement connects you to the person occupying your property.
When Ejectment Is the Right Action
The most common trigger is a property bought at a tax sale or foreclosure auction where the former owner refuses to leave. You never had a lease with that person, so landlord-tenant court is closed to you. Ejectment is the only option.1The Philadelphia Courts. Ejectment Complaint Packet
Squatters are the other clear case. Someone who moved onto the property without permission has no legal claim, but you still need a court order to get them out. The same is true of a guest, a partner, or a family member who was invited in and now refuses to leave. Once someone will not go and no lease governs the arrangement, ejectment is your remedy.
Do Not Try to Handle It Yourself
Changing the locks, cutting off utilities, tossing the occupant’s belongings, or confronting them physically is illegal in Pennsylvania, even when you hold clear title. The courts require a judgment and a court-issued writ before anyone can be removed, and only the county sheriff can carry that removal out.
Self-help creates real liability. The occupant can sue you, and judges tend not to sympathize with owners who bypassed the process. However obvious your ownership feels, you still have to prove it in court first.
What to Gather Before You File
Having your documents in order before you go to the courthouse keeps your complaint from getting kicked back for missing information.
- A certified copy of your deed from the county Recorder of Deeds. This is the single most important document in the case.
- The legal description of the property, taken from the deed or county records. A street address alone will not do. Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 1054 requires the plaintiff to describe the land and set forth an abstract of title.2Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. 231 Pennsylvania Code Rule 1054 – Specific Averments, Abstract of Title
- An abstract of title, summarizing the chain of ownership. Both plaintiff and defendant must include an abstract in their filings.
- The full legal name of every person you want removed. If you do not know their names, you can file against “Unknown Occupants,” but naming them strengthens the case.
- A written notice to vacate. Not always legally required, but a documented demand shows the court you tried to resolve the situation first. Keep proof of delivery.
Filing and Serving the Complaint
The Complaint in Ejectment is filed with the Prothonotary’s office at the Court of Common Pleas in the county where the property is located.3Bucks County. Complaint in Ejectment Package Along with the complaint, you will typically submit a civil cover sheet, a Notice to Defend, a signed verification of facts, and the legal description of the property.1The Philadelphia Courts. Ejectment Complaint Packet Many counties accept electronic filing.
The complaint has to state clearly that you hold superior title and that the occupant has no legal right to remain. It should identify the property, explain how you acquired ownership, summarize your chain of title, and ask the court to award you possession.
After the Prothonotary accepts the filing, the complaint has to be formally served on the occupant. Acceptable methods include the county sheriff, a certified process server, or a competent adult who is not a party to the case.1The Philadelphia Courts. Ejectment Complaint Packet Get service right. If the court decides the occupant was not properly notified, the whole case can be thrown out.
What Happens After the Occupant Is Served
Once served, the occupant has 20 days to file a written response.4Cornell Law School. 231 Pennsylvania Code Rule 1026 – Time for Filing, Notice to Plead What happens next depends on whether they answer.
No Response
If the 20-day window passes with no answer, you can ask the court for a default judgment. This is the fastest way to get possession because you win without a trial. The court enters judgment in your favor, and you move straight to enforcement. A significant share of ejectment cases end this way because the occupant has no real defense.
Contested Answer
A contested case looks like any other civil lawsuit. The defendant’s answer may raise affirmative defenses or a counterclaim. Discovery follows, with both sides exchanging evidence. Either side can move for summary judgment. If it does not settle, it goes to trial, and a judge decides who has the superior right to possession.
Defenses You Should Expect
A fighting occupant will typically attack your title or assert some independent right to stay. The common ones:
- Defective title. The occupant argues your deed is flawed, the chain of title has gaps, or the sale that gave you the property was procedurally deficient. Common in tax sale and foreclosure disputes.
- Equitable interest. The occupant claims a financial stake, such as having paid toward the purchase or made substantial improvements under an oral agreement. Pennsylvania courts sometimes recognize these interests without a written contract.
- Adverse possession. If the occupant has openly and continuously occupied the property for at least 21 years without the owner’s permission, they may claim ownership. Rare in practice given the length of the period, but it does come up with long-abandoned properties.5Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Title 42 Section 5530 – Twenty-One Year Limitation
- License or permission. The occupant claims they had consent to stay, effectively pushing the matter back toward a landlord-tenant framing.
Any of these, raised credibly, can add months. A defective-title defense in particular can require extensive document review and expert testimony about the property’s history.
Getting the Occupant Out
Winning does not automatically put you back in the property. You still need the court’s enforcement machinery.
After the court enters judgment for you, you request an Order of Possession, which formally declares your right to immediate possession. From there, you obtain a Writ of Possession directing the county sheriff to remove the occupant and deliver the property to you.1The Philadelphia Courts. Ejectment Complaint Packet
You deliver the writ to the sheriff’s office, which schedules the lockout. On the scheduled date, a deputy arrives at the property, removes any remaining occupants, and supervises securing the premises. Have a locksmith ready while the deputy is there. Once the sheriff finishes, you have legal possession.
Money Damages for Unlawful Occupation
Possession is not the only thing you can recover. Pennsylvania’s ejectment rules let you seek monetary damages tied to the defendant’s occupation of the land.6Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. 231 Pennsylvania Code Subchapter C – Action in Ejectment These are sometimes called mesne profits and generally track the fair rental value of the property for the time the occupant was there without permission.
You can also seek compensation for physical damage caused during the unlawful occupation. If the occupant trashed the place, stripped fixtures, or let it deteriorate, those losses are recoverable. Including the damages claim in your original complaint is much more efficient than filing a separate lawsuit later, so raise it from the start if you have any basis for it.
Costs and Timeline
Ejectment is not cheap. Filing fees vary by county. In Philadelphia, the first filing fee for a non-jury civil action is $349.23, plus $21.00 for each defendant named.7The Philadelphia Courts. Office of Judicial Records Fee Schedule Other counties set their own schedules, but expect a few hundred dollars in filing costs. On top of that, you pay for service through the sheriff or a private server, and trial pushes costs up quickly.
Most owners hire an attorney because ejectment is a full civil lawsuit in a trial court, not a form filed at a local magistrate’s office. Attorney fees are usually the largest expense and range from a few thousand dollars for an uncontested case to significantly more when the occupant fights.
Timing depends on whether the occupant responds. An uncontested case where the defendant never answers can wrap up in roughly three to four months from filing to sheriff lockout. A contested case with an active defense can stretch to six months or well beyond a year if it goes to trial. Court backlogs in larger counties like Philadelphia and Allegheny add more delay. Careful preparation at the filing stage pays off, because errors in the complaint or service can reset the clock entirely.