Seasonal RV site agreements in Pennsylvania

What Pennsylvania law says about seasonal and annual RV guests, sub-metered electricity, sales tax and online signatures — and the clauses your agreement should carry because of it. Written for park owners, not lawyers.

Guest or tenant?Pennsylvania has no campground- or RV-park-specific tenancy or removal statute, and the Landlord and Tenant Act has no transient-occupancy exemption or day threshold.

Metered electricPennsylvania has no campground-specific sub-metering rule.

Sales / lodging taxThe 6% state hotel occupancy tax applies to rooms in hotels, motels and similar lodging; bare campsite charges are reported by tax practitioners as not subject to Pennsylvania tax, and the tax in any case does not apply to 'permanent residents' (occupancy of 30 or more consecutive days).

Signing onlinePennsylvania Electronic Transactions Act (PA's UETA enactment) (73 P.S. §§ 2260.101 et seq. (Act 69 of 1999))

Short version. Details, citations and sources are below.

Is a seasonal guest a tenant in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania has no campground- or RV-park-specific tenancy or removal statute, and the Landlord and Tenant Act has no transient-occupancy exemption or day threshold. A seasonal camper with a written site agreement is generally treated like any other lessee of real property, so removal goes through a notice to quit and a magisterial district court eviction rather than self-help. The Manufactured Home Community Rights Act (68 P.S. § 398.1 et seq.) covers manufactured homes in communities, not RVs.

What that means for notices and removal

68 P.S. § 250.501: 10 days' written notice to quit for nonpayment; 15 days for end of term or breach if the lease is one year or less, 30 days if longer (a written lease may waive notice). Then file for possession with the magisterial district judge.

Cite: 68 P.S. §§ 250.101 et seq.; notice to quit at 68 P.S. § 250.501

Sub-metering electricity to RV sites in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has no campground-specific sub-metering rule. The Public Utility Code's definition of 'public utility' has been read to exempt a building or facility owner who furnishes electricity to its own occupants from PUC regulation, and no statute imposes an explicit no-markup rule on such owners; utility tariffs, however, commonly restrict resale. Billing seasonals at your metered cost and confirming with your electric distribution company is the conservative approach (statutory text not independently verified).

Cite: 66 Pa.C.S. § 102 (definition of 'public utility')

Sales and lodging tax on seasonal sites in Pennsylvania

The 6% state hotel occupancy tax applies to rooms in hotels, motels and similar lodging; bare campsite charges are reported by tax practitioners as not subject to Pennsylvania tax, and the tax in any case does not apply to 'permanent residents' (occupancy of 30 or more consecutive days). Confirm with the PA Department of Revenue, and check county hotel taxes and whether rented cabins/park models are treated differently.

Cite: 72 P.S. § 7210; 61 Pa. Code §§ 38.1, 38.3

Signing agreements online in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Electronic Transactions Act (PA's UETA enactment). Electronic signatures are valid for seasonal site agreements when the guest agrees to sign electronically, intends to sign, and the record is kept in a form that can be reproduced and shown not to have changed. Seasonal Sites records the signer’s typed name, email, time, IP address and a SHA-256 fingerprint of the exact text signed, and stores the signed PDF.

Cite: 73 P.S. §§ 2260.101 et seq. (Act 69 of 1999)

Clauses to include in a Pennsylvania seasonal agreement

These are added on top of the eleven sections in the free template. Adjust the bracketed parts and have a local attorney read the result.

Recreational use, not a residence"The Site is licensed for recreational use only. The Guest maintains a permanent residence elsewhere at the address above, and the Site is not the Guest’s primary residence. Nothing in this agreement creates a residential tenancy." In this state the line between a recreational guest and a residential tenant is what decides which removal process applies, so say it plainly and keep the guest’s home address on file.

Notice periodMatch the notice periods in your termination section to the ones the state uses (10-day notice appears in the rules summarized above) rather than inventing shorter ones; a shorter contractual notice is not enforceable where the statute sets a floor.

Metered electricityBill metered electricity at your actual utility cost and say so in the agreement; where a state or utility tariff speaks to resale, at-cost pass-through is the safe harbor everywhere we looked.

Electronic signature consent"The Guest consents to sign this agreement electronically and to receive invoices, receipts and notices by email at the address above." Keep the signer name, email, date/time, IP address and a fingerprint of the signed text.

Your state association is a good second opinion on all of this: Pennsylvania Campground Owners Association (PCOA).

Get the free seasonal site agreement template

Eleven plain-English sections, Word and PDF, with bracketed fields to fill in. Then paste the Pennsylvania clauses above into it.

Or skip the paperwork entirely

Seasonal Sites takes this same agreement, fills in each guest’s name, site, rate and dates, emails them a link to sign on their phone, puts the installments on autopay, bills metered electric from your readings, and keeps the signed PDF with the audit record. Renewals for the whole park go out in one click. It works beside whatever reservation system you already use.

Start a free 14-day trial Look at the demo park

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Sources

This page summarizes public sources as of September 2026 for park owners and is not legal or tax advice. Statutes, tariffs and tax rules change; confirm anything you rely on with the agency or an attorney licensed in Pennsylvania. Found an error? Email hello@seasonalsites.com.