Does a landlord need to disclose asbestos information to a prospective tenant if they ask for it?

There is no law in Pennsylvania requiring a landlord to disclose to the tenant the existence of asbestos in the leased space or elsewhere in the building. If the asbestos is in bad shape and "friable" you should be able notice it yourself - check the basement. Many ceiling tiles are made from asbestos but are not supposed to cause any alarm as long as the substance is not "friable" - meaning flaking off into the air. If a prospective tenant asks the landlord whether there is any asbestos in the house, and the landlord knows there is, if he says "no", then he's probably guilty of fraud. But it's very hard to prove in court what the landlord told you - since he can simply say he said no such thing. It would have been best to get the landlord's written statement that there is no asbestos in the apartment. You could get it in writing by adding into the lease a representation and warranty on the part of Landlord that there exists no asbestos in the entire building/house.