Sources, coverage and limitations

Start with the right property

You choose a canonical address and its nine-digit Philadelphia OPA account, even when only one match appears. The advertised count is your statement; it remains separate from City observations.

The check supports one residential building advertised as two, three or four long-term rental units. Condominiums, mixed-use properties, multiple buildings and short-term rentals are outside this scope. Philadelphia’s rental-license FAQ explains why buildings sharing an OPA account and individual condominium units need separate licensing.

Three sources, three meanings

Property assessment · Office of Property Assessment

The property feed identifies the address and assessment classification. Its inspected fields do not provide an explicit dwelling-unit count. Classification, rooms and an address’s unit label are not used to infer one. Property field definitions.

Rental licenses · Licenses and Inspections

The license’s count describes units or subdivisions it covers. Each matching record retains its own status, issue date and expiration. Multiple licenses are not added together or silently reduced to one. License field definitions.

Building and zoning permits · Licenses and Inspections

The City describes permit unit counts as self-reported and unverified. Each count belongs to that permit’s work and date. A classification or certificate link does not supply a missing count. Permit field definitions.

Read the dates before comparing

Retrieval time tells you when we obtained the evidence. A license’s issue or expiry date, a permit’s date and an assessment’s tax-cycle date describe the record itself. They are displayed separately. If the source’s own as-of date is absent, upstream freshness is unknown.

A recent download can still contain an older record. Permitted cached evidence retains its original retrieval time and is reused for no longer than 24 hours.

A gap is part of the result

A completed query with no matching records differs from a record with no stated count. Both differ from an unavailable source. Incomplete, stale, ambiguous or unreadable evidence cannot establish agreement. You can retry an affected source without discarding completed observations.

Different counts identify a question; matching counts do not certify lawful occupancy or continuing use. The City’s Certificate of Occupancy guidance describes that document’s purpose. Confirm the relevant approvals and current use with the City or a qualified professional.

What is outside this check

No title, lien, utility-balance, special-assessment, physical-inspection or comprehensive zoning search is included. The check is not legal advice, an appraisal, insurance or a recommendation to buy. We are independent of the City of Philadelphia.

For record corrections, contact the responsible City department. For a matching or display error, email reports@informed.properties. The sample uses invented records and documents throughout.