Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Pennsylvania

The short answer is probably yes.

Death of a tenant does not terminate a lease or the duty to pay rent. And the landlord cannot re-rent the property until your father's things are removed from the premises.

I don't do landlord tenant law very much and while I checked the statutes (there is nothing there) there may be something in the caselaw which would shed light on this. I suggest that the personal representative of your father's estate talk this over with a probate attorney for the estate.

When would the lease be at an end? Is the landlord willing to forego the rest of the rent under the lease? Or will the landlord allow the lease to terminate and accept 1-2 months' rent as damages? If so, then the agreement needs to be in writing.

If not, then the personal representative should get your father's possessions out of the unit as quickly as possible. Clean the unit and take pictures before the keys are surrendered to the landlord. Do a move out inspection and note any problems or lack of same on the move out sheet and get a copy. An estate generally should be probated if your father had probate assets. Notice to any creditors, including the landlord, would then be given. The landlord and any other creditors would then have the opportunity to file a claim for any unpaid rent or damages. If none is filed, then there is no money owed.

Does the landlord have a security deposit? The deposit is for any damage to the property. If there is no damage (which is why you do a move out inspection after you clean the property and fix any damage) and there is no unpaid rent, the landlord will return the security deposit. In this case the funds would be paid to the personal representative and distributed as part of the estate.

If there are no assets that would justify probate here, and if the property will be left in otherwise good condition, maybe the landlord will agree to keep the security deposit in lieu of any rent payments for January. Again, I would get this all in writing.