The city will not issue or renew a Rental License with open L&I violations or without lead certification on a building from before March 1978. Multi-family buildings without full sprinklers need hard-wired smoke alarms and, in most cases, a fire alarm system tested every year. Tall buildings and fire escapes need periodic engineer’s reports. And the Schuylkill showed in 2021 how high it can go.
What underwriters ask about a Philadelphia apartment building
- Rental LicenseRequired to rent out any dwelling unit, issued by the Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) and renewed annually. One license can cover multiple units in a building under common ownership.
- Lead certificationAny rental property built before March 1978 must be certified lead-free or lead-safe.
- Fire protectionSprinklered or not, the type of smoke alarms in the units, the fire alarm system and its last annual certification.
- Structure and attachmentsParty walls shared with neighbors, the facade if the building is six or more stories, and any fire escapes.
- WaterWhether the building sits in the floodplain of the Schuylkill, the Delaware or one of the creeks, and what is in the basement.
The coverage parts are the same as anywhere (how apartment programs are put together). A two- or three-unit building may fit a landlord policy instead; the city’s paperwork applies either way.
Rental License and Certificate of Rental Suitability
To get or renew a Rental License the owner has to be current on city taxes and fines, hold a Commercial Activity License when not living in the building, have no outstanding L&I violations, and show the property is legally occupied, normally with a Certificate of Occupancy.
- Certificate of Rental Suitability. The city says owners must give tenants one before they move in, and get a new one each time they rent to a new tenant or renew a lease. The city’s landlord handbook adds that it must be issued no more than sixty days before the tenancy starts.
- What you certify. That fire alarm and smoke detection systems are in working order and up to code. L&I will not issue the certificate with outstanding violation notices, other than ones under appeal.
- Partners in Good Housing. The city’s handbook goes to each new tenant with the certificate.
Why I ask for these: a missing license or certificate is the first thing a tenant’s lawyer looks for after an injury or a fire, and a certification that the alarms worked is a statement you may have to stand behind. Keep copies by unit and by lease date.
Lead-safe and lead-free certification
Philadelphia’s Lead Paint Disclosure and Certification Law is section 6-800 of the Philadelphia Code. It used to apply only where a child six or under lived in the unit. Starting October 1, 2020 it was extended, ZIP code by ZIP code, to rentals regardless of children, and the city’s Rental License page now states the rule without qualification for any property built before March 1978.
- Lead-safe certificateBased on a visual inspection and dust wipe samples. The Department of Public Health’s guide says it is valid for four years.
- Lead-free certificateDoes not expire, according to the department’s FAQ.
- Who can certifyA Pennsylvania-licensed lead inspector or risk assessor, or an EPA-certified lead dust sampling technician. The certificate goes to the tenant and to the Department of Public Health.
- ExemptionsProperty built after February 1978, and college or other educational housing that is exclusively for students.
- If you do not complyThe department says the owner cannot renew the Rental License, may face violations and fines, and may be prohibited from evicting the tenant while the matter is pending.
On the insurance side, many habitational liability forms exclude or limit lead claims. Underwriters who will consider lead want the certificates and their dates for every unit, so send the full set.
Smoke alarms, fire alarm systems and high-rises
The city’s 2025 edition of Partners in Good Housing summarizes what the Philadelphia Fire Code requires of existing multi-family buildings:
- Smoke alarms in the units. Required in the dwelling units of buildings that are not sprinklered throughout, and battery-powered units are not accepted for the required alarms in multi-family buildings.
- A fire alarm system. Required in existing buildings with three or more apartments unless the building is protected by sprinklers or meets a Fire Code exception, and in mixed-use buildings unless the non-residential space is sprinklered.
- Annual certification. All fire protection equipment, including the fire alarm system, must be inspected, tested and certified each year by a qualified contractor or inspector, with the certifications kept on site for three years.
- Exits. In a building with only one required exit, apartment doors must be self-closing and one-hour fire-rated or solid-core wood of a set thickness.
- High-rises. A building with a floor 75 feet or more above fire department vehicle access also needs a High-Rise License, and L&I performs annual fire safety inspections of those buildings.
Fire underwriters ask for the same items: the last alarm certification, sprinkler coverage, and door and exit conditions. In an attached building they also ask about the party walls and what the neighbors are, since a fire next door is your exposure too. If there is a storefront downstairs, see how mixed-use buildings are insured.
Facade and fire escape inspections
L&I requires specialized periodic inspections of certain structures, and the reports follow the building:
- FacadesBuildings six or more stories tall, or with any appurtenance more than 60 feet high. Inspected by a licensed structural engineer or a registered architect experienced with facades.
- Fire escapes and fire escape balconiesListed separately from facades, inspected by a licensed structural engineer, with a dated tag posted on the fire escape.
- CycleWithin ten years after the structure is finished, then every five years.
- ResultSafe, safe with a repair and maintenance program, or unsafe. Fire escape repairs must be finished within six months of the inspection.
- If unsafeThe owner must protect the public within 24 hours of being notified, apply for permits within three days and begin corrective work within ten days.
Falling masonry and a failed fire escape are liability claims of the most serious kind. Send the latest summary inspection form and proof that any repair program was completed, and carry a commercial umbrella over the primary liability limit. Facade and structural repairs on an older building can also trigger current code; ordinance or law coverage addresses that after a covered loss.
River and storm flooding
When the remnants of Hurricane Ida passed through at the start of September 2021, the city reported historic flooding on the Schuylkill River and other waterways. Its disaster recovery plan later recorded that the Schuylkill and Pennypack Creek gauges both went above major flood stage, after rain that overwhelmed stormwater systems across the city.
Standard commercial property policies generally exclude flood, and basements full of boilers, meters and laundry equipment are where apartment buildings take the damage. The city’s Flood Management Program points owners to its Atlas map tool to see whether a property is in the floodplain. If yours is, or it flooded in 2021, price flood insurance separately and ask how sewer backup is treated on the property policy. More in the Pennsylvania flood guide.
When the standard market says no: the Pennsylvania FAIR Plan
The Insurance Placement Facility of Pennsylvania, the state’s FAIR Plan, has operated since 1968 for owners who cannot get basic property insurance in the voluntary market. For an apartment building it is a floor, with limits:
- Form. One-to-four-family dwellings go on its dwelling forms; other buildings are written on a commercial Standard Property Policy. The coverage is fire, with extended coverage perils and vandalism available. Liability is not among the coverages it lists, so that is placed elsewhere.
- Limit. Its rules manual caps all insurable property at one location at one million seven hundred fifty thousand dollars, with lower building maximums that depend on construction type and fire protection.
- Eligibility. The manual excludes property with current fire safety, health or building code violations, and buildings where at least 65 percent of the rental units are unoccupied without an approved rehabilitation plan.
Those eligibility rules are one more reason to clear open violations before the renewal.
What to send me
- Address, year built, stories and unit count, construction type, and whether the building is attached on one or both sides.
- Rental License number and the latest Certificates of Rental Suitability.
- Lead-safe or lead-free certificates for each unit, with dates.
- Fire protection: sprinkler coverage, smoke alarm type, and the last annual fire alarm certification.
- Facade and fire escape reports, if they apply, with proof of completed repairs.
- System updates with years: roof, wiring, plumbing and heating.
- The current rent roll, a recent operating statement, and current declarations pages.
- Five years of loss runs, including any 2021 flood damage and what was done afterward.
Common questions
Who insures apartment buildings in Philadelphia?
Standard and specialty insurers write them when the Rental License, lead certificates, fire alarm certification and loss history are in order. If the voluntary market declines, the Pennsylvania FAIR Plan offers basic property coverage up to its per-location limit, without liability.
Do I need a lead certificate to rent an apartment in Philadelphia?
Yes, for nearly every older building. The city requires any rental property built before March 1978 to be certified lead-free or lead-safe in order to get or renew a Rental License or sign a new or renewed lease.
Does apartment building insurance in Philadelphia cover lead paint claims?
Often not. Many habitational liability forms exclude or limit lead, so check the wording and give the underwriter current lead-safe or lead-free certificates for every unit.
Which Philadelphia buildings need a facade inspection?
Buildings six or more stories tall, or with any appurtenance more than 60 feet high. The first report is due within ten years after the structure is finished and then every five years; fire escapes and fire escape balconies are on the same five-year cycle.
What is a Certificate of Rental Suitability?
A certificate from L&I that the owner must give a tenant before move-in and again at each renewal. To get it, the owner certifies that fire alarm and smoke detection systems are working and up to code, and cannot have outstanding violation notices.
Do I need flood insurance on a Philadelphia apartment building?
Standard commercial property policies generally exclude flood, so a building near the Schuylkill, the Delaware or a creek should be priced for separate flood coverage. A lender may require it in a mapped flood zone.
Why did my Philadelphia apartment insurance renewal get harder?
Common reasons are open L&I violations, missing lead or fire alarm certifications, an overdue facade or fire escape report, older wiring or roofs, and water or flood losses. Fixing the paperwork before renewal gives underwriters less to decline on.
General information about insuring rental apartment buildings in the City of Philadelphia as of November 2026, not legal advice. Rental licensing, lead certification, Fire Code and periodic inspection rules, and FAIR Plan limits change; confirm your building’s obligations with the Department of Licenses and Inspections, the Department of Public Health and counsel. Coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.