19 Sep What Repairs Are You Legally Required to Make After a Home Inspection in Pennsylvania?

You just got the inspection report back, and it’s four pages of things you didn’t know were wrong with your house. Your buyer’s agent sends over a list of requested repairs, and your first thought is probably: wait, do I actually have to fix all of this?

Here’s the honest answer, and it might surprise you: Pennsylvania law does not require you to make a single repair after a home inspection. Not one. There’s no state law that says “if an inspector finds it, the seller must fix it.” What happens next comes down entirely to what you and the buyer negotiate, and what’s written into your Agreement of Sale.

So why does it feel like you have to fix everything?

The confusion usually comes from how the process works, not from any actual legal requirement. Most Pennsylvania purchase agreements include an inspection contingency. It gives the buyer a window of time to inspect the home, then request repairs, a credit, or a price reduction based on what the inspection finds. If you don’t reach an agreement, the buyer typically has the right to walk away and get their deposit back.

That’s a powerful position for a buyer to negotiate from, but it’s still a negotiation. You can agree to every request, negotiate down to a handful of items, or offer a credit instead of doing the work yourself. You can also decline the requests entirely and see if the buyer still wants to move forward. All of those are legitimate responses. What you can’t do is ignore the request. Silence won’t keep the deal together on its original terms.

The one category that works differently

There’s an important exception, and it’s the one that actually carries legal weight: your Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement. Pennsylvania law requires you to disclose known material defects you were aware of before the inspection ever happened. Think of things like a past water infiltration issue, a known septic problem, or foundation movement you’ve already dealt with.

If an inspection uncovers something you already knew about and didn’t disclose, that’s a different conversation than a standard repair negotiation. It’s worth talking to your agent or an attorney if that situation comes up. But routine inspection findings, the kind that show up as a surprise to everyone, don’t fall under that disclosure requirement. They fall under negotiation.

The one wrinkle: when your buyer’s lender gets involved

There’s a second exception worth knowing about. It’s easy to miss because it lives in the financing section of the contract, not the inspection section. If your buyer is getting a mortgage, their lender (or an insurer the lender requires) can sometimes demand specific repairs before approving the loan. Once that happens, you must tell the buyer, within a set number of days, whether you’ll make those particular repairs at your own expense. If you decline, the buyer decides whether to make the repairs themselves and move forward, or walk away from the deal.

This is a narrower situation than the everyday inspection negotiation, and it doesn’t come up on every sale. But it does mean “no repairs are ever required” isn’t quite the full picture. It’s more accurate to say this: repairs the buyer asks for after their own inspection are entirely negotiable. Repairs a lender requires as a condition of financing follow a stricter, faster clock.

Where this comes up most

The distinction matters most on older homes, or homes with a known issue like an aging roof or an outdated electrical panel. Lenders are more likely to flag something like that before closing.

What we actually see happen in York and Lancaster County

In our market, the response to inspection findings often depends on two things: how you priced the house, and how much competition the buyer faced to get under contract in the first place. If a Lancaster County home in a tight school district drew multiple offers, buyers there tend to keep repair requests modest. They’ll often ask for just safety items, like an active roof leak or an electrical panel that isn’t up to code. They know pushing too hard could send the seller looking at backup offers.

In slower-moving segments of the York County market, we’ve seen buyers come back with a longer list. There’s less urgency on the seller’s side to hold firm. Neither approach is wrong. It’s a reflection of leverage, not a rulebook, and that leverage can shift from one listing to the next.

What we’d actually tell you to do

If you get a repair request that feels like a lot, take a breath before you respond. Separate the list into three piles. First, safety and function issues that most buyers would ask about regardless of who they are. Second, cosmetic items that are really about preference. Third, anything that seems like a stretch.

A credit toward closing costs is often a cleaner solution than doing the repair yourself. It avoids the back-and-forth of picking a contractor and getting the work approved before settlement. And if a request seems unreasonable, it’s fine to say so. Buyers expect a counter, not silent compliance.

When to get a second opinion

If your home inspector or the buyer’s inspector flags something structural or safety-related, get a second opinion from a licensed contractor before you agree to anything. This matters most when someone without hands-on trade experience is the one estimating the repair cost.

Every inspection report is different, and so is every negotiation. If you’re sitting on a repair request right now and aren’t sure how to respond, we’re always happy to talk it through with you. No pressure, no obligation.