HB 24 — An Act providing for off-campus student housing rights.

PRINTER'S NO.   5

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 24
                                               Session of
                                                 2025

     INTRODUCED BY CIRESI, KHAN, SANCHEZ, GIRAL, HILL-EVANS,
        SCHLOSSBERG, FRANKEL, HOHENSTEIN, FREEMAN, KENYATTA, CEPEDA-
        FREYTIZ, GALLAGHER AND OTTEN, JANUARY 8, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT,
        JANUARY 8, 2025


                                    AN ACT
 1   Providing for off-campus student housing rights.
 2      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 3   hereby enacts as follows:
 4   Section 1.   Short title.
 5      This act shall be known and may be cited as the Off-Campus
 6   Student Housing Tenant Rights Act.
 7   Section 2.   Definitions.
 8      The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
 9   have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
10   context clearly indicates otherwise:
11      "Bill of rights."    The student bill of rights provided for
12   under section 3.
13      "Department."    The Department of Education of the
14   Commonwealth.
15      "Institution of higher education."    A public or private two-
16   year or four-year or postsecondary institution of higher
 1   education in this Commonwealth that has been accredited at the
 2   college level by an accrediting agency recognized by the United
 3   States Secretary of Education.
 4   Section 3.     Student bill of rights.
 5      (a)   Creation.--The department shall create and distribute a
 6   bill of rights to institutions of higher education in this
 7   Commonwealth. The bill of rights shall include information about
 8   renting, including harassment and discrimination, and include
 9   the following rights:
10            (1)   To live in a habitable dwelling.
11            (2)   To residential privacy.
12            (3)   To a hearing prior to eviction.
13            (4)   To receive a writ of possession prior to eviction.
14            (5)   For an individual with disabilities to request
15      reasonable accommodations.
16            (6)   To visitors.
17            (7)   To utility access.
18      (b)   Notice.--An institution of higher education shall
19   distribute a bill of rights to each student who is enrolled at
20   the institution of higher education, and each newly enrolled
21   student thereafter. The institution of higher education shall
22   provide to each student enrolled, along with the bill of rights,
23   a list of the most recent contact information for the municipal
24   code enforcement office where the institution of higher
25   education is located and for all municipal code enforcement
26   offices in adjacent municipalities.
27   Section 4.     Off-campus student certification course.
28      (a)   Course creation.--The department shall create an online
29   course to educate new students of their rights as tenants.
30      (b)   Course requirements.--The following criteria shall apply

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 1   to the online course under subsection (a):
 2          (1)     The online course shall be one instructional session
 3      which can be viewed via a secure Internet website.
 4          (2)     The online course shall provide:
 5                (i)    Tenant rights provided under Federal, State or
 6          local law, ordinance or court precedent.
 7                (ii)    The actions students may take when experiencing
 8          unsafe housing.
 9                (iii)   Other relevant information the department
10          deems appropriate for inclusion in the online course.
11          (3)     All students of the institution of higher education
12      enrolled after the effective date of this paragraph shall be
13      required to view the online course. Documentation of the
14      successful completion of the online course by each student
15      shall be maintained by the institution of higher education.
16      An institution of higher education may charge a fee of not
17      more than $50 to a student who fails to view the online
18      course under this section by the end of the student's first
19      semester.
20          (4)     An institution of higher education may create and
21      administer the institution's own off-campus student
22      certification online course. Written notification and all
23      electronic files, documents and a completed copy of the
24      online course must be provided to the department.
25   Section 5.   Effective date.
26      This act shall take effect January 1, 2026, or immediately,
27   whichever is later.




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