When a tenant is evicted and removed from an apartment (by a constable) does he/she have the right to remove their belongings from the premises? And if so, is there a time limit that the tenant has to do this? And who determines how much time the tenant has? Are there any laws here in Pennsylvania governing this?

Hello jd:

When a tenant is removed, that is the time he should take his property, or it should have been put on the street. If the landlord has it and won't give it back, sue him in small claims court.

excon

A tenant would be have been given eviction notice by the landlord. Then if they still did not move the landlord goes to housing court and the tenant would be served notice to appear in court. At the hearing, if the tenant shows up, they have a right to present evidence that they should not be evicted. The court will give notice to the tenant to move, and if they still don't move, yes the constable comes over and the landlord will move all of the property to the curb.

By the time a PA Constable comes to evict you (called an Order of Possession), you have had plenty of time to move out. So the Constable only has to give "reasonable" time for you to leave. This constitutes enough time for you to get dressed, grab any medications you may need, and any other items that are reasonably required (wallet, purse, car keys) and then you have to get out. The constable does not have to wait for you to move your furniture unless directed by the court to specifically do so.