In court-decided eviction outcomes for Lower Burrell, PA, tenants prevail in roughly 27.2% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses, longer calendars, and more required documentation, and landlord-friendliness drops as this rises.
Timeline
68d
filing → judgment
From the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Lower Burrell, PA until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 68 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent and higher carry costs for landlords.
Cost range
$2.9–8.5k
legal + lost rent
A typical eviction in Lower Burrell, PA costs landlords $2,893 to $8,508 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent during the calendar between filing and possession.
Average rent
$911
27% stretched on rent
Average gross rent in Lower Burrell, PA is $911 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey (5-year 2023). 27% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent, the federal cost-burden threshold.
Renters
15.5%
of households
15.5% of occupied housing units in Lower Burrell, PA are renter-occupied (vs owner-occupied). A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings, more turnover, and a more active rental market.
Poverty
7.6%
3.1% unemp.
7.6% of Lower Burrell, PA residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 3.1%. Both feed into the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model because rent payment problems track poverty + joblessness more reliably than any other single signal.
Time machine
Scrub 50 years
197619861996200620162026
2026
● LIVE · today◀ REPLAY · historical
Nine-axis profile
9-axis profile · today
Shape of the risk surface
1 landlord · 10 tenant
Sub-scores · with sparkline
Where the score comes from
1 → 10 scale
Local political climate
GOP margin +28.4% (2024)
6.4
Regional political climate
County-weighted neighbor mix
6.4
State political climate
Pennsylvania legislature & governorship
3.4
Economic stress
7.6% poverty · 3.1% unemp.
4.6
Supply constraint
$911 average · 15.5% renters
4.2
Rent Control risk
27.4% of income on rent
5.3
Eviction process difficulty
68 days filing → judgment
3.3
Tenant organizing strength
15.5% renters
3.6
Housing court bias
County bench composition
4.8
Geographic context
Risk heat across Lower Burrell and the region
Click any city to see its score
How Lower Burrell compares
Risk score vs. peers, county, state, and the U.S.
Rank in Westmoreland County
Moderate
#35of 59 cities
#35 of 59 cities in Westmoreland County for landlord eviction risk.
Rank in Pennsylvania
Low
#1260of 1,952 cities
#1260 of 1,952 cities in Pennsylvania for landlord eviction risk.
vs. county · state · U.S.
Score story
Six-stop tour of the risk profile
3.7
/ 10 · LOW
The verdict
A Low-tier market.
Composite 3.7/10. Mid-range market; standard documentation usually wins. The 50-year curve shows a slow, steady climb.
50-yr trend+1.0 over 50 yr
197620012026
Steady ratchet · no large swings
68d
Typical timeline
The money
What renting (and evicting) looks like.
Rent published at $911/mo. A contested eviction takes 68 days and costs $2,893–$8,508 per case.
50-yr trendCalendar drag rising since '15
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
15.5%
Renters
The renters
Who you'll be renting to.
Out of 11,633 residents, 15.5% rent. 27% are spending 30%+ income on rent, 7.6% below the poverty line.
50-yr trendRenter share rising
197620012026
ACS 1970-present · once the migration overlay is in.
6.4
Local + regional
The politics
Mid-range climate. Not a coastal market.
Local & regional political climate score 6.4 and 6.4 (GOP margin +28.4% (2024)). State climate at 3.4, a mid-range statehouse.
50-yr trendTracks county vote margin
197620012026
Built on 50-yr presidential margins back to 1976.
3.4
State politics
The process
Moderate calendar, moderate friction.
State political climate 3.4/10 sets the legislative ceiling for landlord remedies, and it shows up in the process. Eviction process difficulty reads 3.3, housing court bias 4.8, rent-control risk 5.3. Standard process speed for the state.
50-yr trendProcess difficulty +-1.7 since '00
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
4.6
Economic stress
The stress
Economic pressure is the background risk.
Economic stress: 4.6. Supply constraint: 4.2. The numbers behind those: 7.6% poverty, 3.1% unemployment, 27% of income on rent.
50-yr trendTwo visible dips · '08 + COVID
197620012026
Mirrors BLS unemployment series.
US eviction landscape · timeline × all-in cost
Lower Burrell sits in the slow & expensive quadrant
Bubble size = population · color = risk score
Lower Burrell · 68d · ~$5.7k all-in ($84/day) · score 3.7National average: 58d · $4.6k all-inHover any bubble for stats · click to openColor: 0–4 4–7 7–10
Landlording in Lower Burrell, Pennsylvania, presents a manageable operating environment for documented landlords. The Eviction Risk Score is 3.7/10 (LOW tier), drawn from the nine sub-axes shown above, covering rent-control exposure, eviction-process difficulty, housing-court bias, tenant-organizing strength, supply constraint, economic stress, and local, regional, and state political climate. This is not a quick-fix market: it's a Mid-tier market where lease drafting, screening discipline, and well-documented notices materially change outcomes.
Lower Burrell is a city of 11,633 residents where 15.5% of occupied units are renter-occupied, and the typical renter spends 3.1% of income on rent. At an average rent of $911/month, the typical renter household here spends more than the federal 30% threshold on housing, a leading indicator of payment volatility and a precondition for the kinds of tenant defenses that show up most often in housing court.
01Process
How Lower Burrell eviction process actually works
Eviction process difficulty here reads 3.3/10, a number that combines statutory complexity (notice categories, just-cause rules, mandatory pre-filing disclosures) with operational realities (court calendar length and clerk responsiveness). The typical contested filing in Lower Burrell closes 68 days after the initial notice. For non-payment of rent the first step is a properly-formatted, properly-served pay-or-quit notice; for material lease breaches it's a cure-or-quit; for tenancies under just-cause protection an at-fault grounds notice (or a no-fault notice with statutory relocation assistance) is required.
The slow part of Lower Burrell's timeline is usually the calendar, not the motion practice. Housing court bias scores 4.8/10 here, meaning judges read borderline procedural defects in the tenant's favor more often than the national norm. The practical implication: every notice and every proof of service needs to be airtight before it gets filed.
02Cost
What it costs (and how long it takes)
An all-in eviction in Lower Burrell runs $2,893 to $8,508 per case once you account for filing fees, attorney time, lost rent during pendency, sheriff lockout, and unit turnover. That range is wide because the upper bound assumes a tenant answer plus motion practice, common when housing court bias is high. The lower bound assumes a default judgment after proper service.
For landlords running the numbers on holding costs vs. cash-for-keys: if your projected timeline times your monthly rent already exceeds the high-end cost number, cash-for-keys at 1–2 months' rent is typically the economically rational choice. With 68 days of typical timeline and $911/month in lost rent, that crossover happens fast here.
03Operations
Security deposits, screening, and lease terms
Tenant organizing strength scores 3.6/10 in Lower Burrell, and the city has limited rent control exposure (5.3/10). Operations practice that survives audit in this environment looks like:
Screening discipline. Document income (verified at 2.5 to 3x rent), credit (with a clear minimum), and prior-tenancy reference checks, but do not screen on protected categories or source-of-income where banned. Keep a written, consistent screening criteria document for every applicant.
Lease specificity. Use a state-specific lease that names every term clearly: rent due date, late fees within statutory caps, deposit handling, smoke and CO disclosure, lead paint disclosure (pre-1978 stock), and a clean attorney's-fees clause.
Security deposit handling. Itemize deductions within the statutory window. Photograph move-in/move-out condition. In Pennsylvania, deposit cap and refund window are statute, so exceed them at your own risk.
Mid-tenancy documentation. Keep date-stamped records of every rent receipt, every habitability request, every notice served. The day you need them in court is too late to start.
04Strategy
What an everyday landlord should actually do here
If you own one to four units in Lower Burrell: hire a property manager who knows the local court. The pricing differential between self-managing and hiring out is small relative to the cost of one botched eviction in a LOW tier market. If you own five or more: build relationships with a local landlord-side attorney before you need one, since retainer fees are negligible compared to emergency-rate billing when an eviction is already moving.
The avoidable mistakes here are all upstream of the filing: weak screening, an informal lease, sloppy rent receipts, and notice templates pulled off the internet that don't match Pennsylvania's statutory language. Fix those four, and most cases settle or default. Skip them, and a $8,508 all-in fight is the realistic worst case.
04bPractical traps
Local traps to avoid in Lower Burrell
Trap · 7.6%
Local poverty rate is 7.6%, and the rent-burden distribution skews the eviction-filings curve toward moderate volume in Allegheny County. Rent-control-risk sub-score: 5.3/10. Tenant organizing is most active in the rental concentration corridors.
04Eviction filings
Latest Eviction Filings
Princeton Eviction Lab Tracking System, state-level (no county tracker available). Last update 2026-05-01.
In the most recent month, 8,054 eviction cases were filed across the tracker's coverage area, 0.94× the historical baseline (below baseline). Past 12 months: 108,576 filings. Pandemic-era cumulative: 577,537.2
8,054Past month
108,576Past 12 months
0.94×vs baseline (past mo)
Notice requirement: at least ten days notice (in some cases more). Filing fee: $162 filing fee on average.
Last 36 months of filings2023-05-01 — 2026-04-01
Filings dropped 12% over the past 12 months.
05FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Q1
What if my tenant pays a partial amount after I serve the 10-day notice?
Accepting a partial payment can sometimes waive your right to proceed with the eviction based on that specific notice. If you want to accept a partial payment, make sure you have a written agreement stating that the partial payment does not waive your right to continue the eviction process, or that it's part of a new payment plan that, if violated, will trigger a new notice and eviction process. It's often safer to refuse partial payments if your goal is eviction, or to consult an attorney.
Q2
Can I turn off utilities if my tenant isn't paying rent in Lower Burrell?
Absolutely not. Turning off utilities, changing locks, or removing a tenant's belongings are all illegal self-help eviction tactics in Pennsylvania. These actions can lead to serious penalties, including financial damages owed to the tenant. You must follow the legal eviction process through the courts. It can be frustrating, but the law is clear on this.
Q3
Do I need an attorney for an eviction in Lower Burrell?
While you can represent yourself in Magisterial District Court, it's highly recommended to consult or hire an attorney, especially if the tenant is contesting the eviction or if you're unfamiliar with the process. A lawyer ensures all notices are properly served, filings are correct, and you present the strongest case. Mistakes can be costly in terms of time and money. Consider it an investment to protect your property.
Q4
How long do I have to return a security deposit in Lower Burrell?
Under Pennsylvania law, you must return a tenant's security deposit within 30 days of the tenant vacating the property and returning the keys. If you withhold any amount, you must provide an itemized list of damages and costs. Failing to do so can result in you owing the tenant double the amount wrongfully withheld. Document everything with photos and a move-out checklist.
Q5
Are there any rent control laws in Lower Burrell or Pennsylvania?
No, there are no statewide rent control laws in Pennsylvania, and Lower Burrell does not have any local rent control ordinances. This means you are generally free to set market rent. However, this could change in the future, so it's always wise to stay updated on Pennsylvania rent control rules and local news. While the risk score for rent control is 5.3, this reflects potential, not current, restrictions.
Q6
What should I do with a tenant's abandoned property after an eviction?
Pennsylvania law has specific requirements for handling abandoned property. Generally, you must store the property for a certain period and notify the tenant of its location and how to retrieve it. If the tenant doesn't claim it within the specified timeframe, you may be able to dispose of it or sell it. Do not immediately throw out their belongings; this can lead to legal issues. Consult the Pennsylvania tenant protections guide or an attorney for the exact procedure.
A 3.7/10 places Lower Burrell in the 41st percentile of Pennsylvania cities on the Eviction Risk Score index. The score is the average of the nine sub-axes, all calibrated on a national 1 to 10 scale where 1 is most landlord-friendly and 10 is most tenant-protective. The 50-year reconstruction shows this score has climbed steadily since 1976, a structural drift driven by court-calendar growth, rent-control adoption, and the rise of tenant-side legal aid. The trajectory matters more than the snapshot: the score is the climate, not the weather.
Cities with similar eviction risk to Lower Burrell (3.7/10)
Same risk band nationally · click any city for its full breakdown.
