City Council’s Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development and the Homeless unanimously advanced the two remaining bills of the Safe Healthy Homes Act on March 4, moving to a final Council vote expected on March 19.

The “Right to Repairs Ordinance” and “Right to Safety Ordinance” were introduced by Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke as a part of the Safe Healthy Homes Act.

“Low-income tenants who see the taxable value of the place they live in reflected in their ever-rising rent are the most burdened by property taxes in the city due to decades of policy choices,” O’Rourke said at the hearing. “Today, we’re fighting for the right to safety for protections against those select bad landlords who retaliate against tenants trying to speak up or organize when they’re mistreated.”

O’Rourke spoke about some of the concerns HAPCO Philadelphia, an organization representing landlords, has raised.

“We’ve engaged with these primary organizations representing landlords and developers on over 20 separate instances, in person, by email, in one-on-ones and in group settings, we’ve gone above,” O’Rourke said.

Paul Cohen, general counsel at HAPCO, spoke at the hearing, urging committee members to hold off on advancing the bills.

“We have two bills that are being introduced, and I can say, stepping back, the concepts are good. We are not opposed to the concepts of safe and healthy homes,” Cohen said. “The problem is, this law should be done correctly from the beginning, and it’s not. That’s not what’s happening now.”

City Councilwoman Cindy Bass thanked O’Rourke for his work on the bills and voted to advance them out of committee.

“This is a very comprehensive bill, and so looking at it sort of holistically, the whole of it all, we wanted to make sure that this bill actually does what is intended,” Bass said at the hearing. “Some of the concerns that were brought to us from the landlord community were adequately addressed in my opinion.”

She added, referring to O’Rourke, “I know both sides of the issue, and I’m glad to know both sides, and I’m glad to be able to have a colleague who is willing to hear and listen and work with everyone.”

After the vote, many in attendance cheered, including several members of OnePA Renters United, a group that advocated for the bill. Attendees opposed to the bill reacted negatively, with one man shouting at City Council members for several minutes after the vote.

Kadi Ashby, president of the Alden Park Tenants Association, told the Local, “When the committee cast their vote the mood was explosive. The chamber was filled with people who worked tirelessly to create, revise and champion this legislation and we were both relieved and overjoyed that their work paid off. The mood was shortly dampened when some of the [bills’ opponents] became aggressive toward Councilman O’Rourke and the housing committee, but once they were removed the joy continued.”

The bills

The first of the remaining bills would authorize the Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) to establish a proactive inspection program; require landlords, before eviction, to provide an updated Certificate of Rental Suitability, which requires a valid rental license and no outstanding violations; and require posting of licenses, violations, appeals and suspensions on the property.

At the hearing, Bridget Collins-Greenwald, leader of L&I’s Quality of Life Division, said, “We’ve reviewed and provided feedback to the most recent version of the amendment, which were worked on as recently as yesterday, and at this time, we believe the administration’s concerns have all been addressed and that the bill as amended can be successfully implemented.”

The “Right to Safety Ordinance” aims to provide greater protection for tenants against retaliation and their right to organize.

One aspect aims to clarify what is considered retaliation against tenants. Under the bill, retaliation would include changing a term or condition of a lease arrangement, or refusing to lease units to prospective tenants engaged in a protected activity such as reporting an alleged violation to L&I. The ordinance would also prohibit landlords from withholding access to common areas or amenities as a form of retaliation.

The bill also seeks to extend the “good cause” requirements for lease non-renewals to all leases.

Currently, landlords are not required to provide good cause for lease non-renewals on leases one year or longer. This means that a tenant, who has never missed a payment or received a violation, could be denied a lease renewal.

City Council unanimously passed the third part of the act, the “Right to Relocation” bill, in December, which creates an Anti-Displacement Fund through L&I to aid tenants when they are evacuated from unsafe housing.

Local tenants

At the hearing, tenants from Upsal Gardens in Mt. Airy and Alden Park in East Falls testified, urging the committee to advance the bill.

Ashby testified before the committee saying, “This legislation is all too personal, both to myself and my neighbors at Alden Park.”

Ashby detailed her experience with black mold in her apartment at Alden Park, forcing her to hire a lawyer after months of maintenance requests did not resolve the issue.

After forming the tenants’ association, Ashby was denied a lease renewal. At the time, Alden’s management did not have to provide a “good cause” reason because her lease was longer than a year. When she reached out to clarify the reason for the denial, management responded by saying they did not have to provide one.

The Fair Housing Commission (FHC) is currently in the process of hearing Ashby’s case as potential tenant retaliation.

Months later, at a hearing in January, the lawyers representing Alden Park and their management team pointed to a post Ashby made in a chat used by residents as the reason for her non-renewal.

In the chat, Ashby posted realtor.com and zillow.com listings for homes belonging to executives at the company that owns Alden Park and wrote, “I wanted to see where our money was going, the presidents of [L3C Capital Partners], the company that owns Alden, and their multi–million dollar houses.”

Ashby said she came across the links by Googling the names of the executives.

“I’m lucky enough to know my rights and to have friends in the city who have provided me with more help than I can describe. But most Philadelphians don’t have that luxury. So without this legislation, where are they in my situation?” Ashby said at the March 4 committee hearing. “For too long, we’ve allowed negligent, absentee corporate landlords to use Philadelphians as a stepping stone to increase their already substantial personal profits.”

Cincere Wilson, a tenant at Upsal Gardens, also spoke at the hearing. In October, tenants filed a lawsuit against Upsal Garden property owners, alleging that the landlord unlawfully collected rent from tenants after L&I declared the building an “unsafe structure.” The plaintiffs requested that it be certified as a class action.

“All Philadelphians deserve to live in homes that are safe, secure, and well-maintained, no matter our neighborhoods, our income, or who we are. I support this legislation because I’ve lived it,” Wilson said at the hearing. “Last year, my wife and I noticed a large crack in our living room ceiling early one Saturday morning … I went down to the on-site office to report it less than 12 hours later … We were awakened by a loud crash, and we got up to find that our entire living room ceiling collapsed.”

After the collapse, Wilson said he and his wife had to stay in a hotel paid for by insurance, but returned to find an overdue rent notice on his door during a time when his apartment was unsafe. (Tommy Tucker is a tenant at Upsal Gardens and did not interview Wilson for this article. Wilson’s quote was taken from a public hearing.)

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