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BillENACTED

Bill 240245

Amending Chapter 9-800 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “Landlord and Tenant,” to modify requirements and authorizations related to the City’s residential eviction diversion program, including associated changes to the landlord and tenant relationship, and to make certain technical changes, all under certain terms and conditions.

Introduced Apr 4, 2024Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development and The HomelessOfficial record: City of Philadelphia via Legistar

Introduced by

Councilmember BrooksCouncilmember BrooksCouncilmember GauthierCouncilmember GauthierCouncilmember O'RourkeCouncilmember O'RourkeCouncilmember LandauCouncilmember LandauCouncilmember ThomasCouncilmember ThomasCouncilmember AhmadCouncilmember AhmadCouncilmember JonesCouncilmember JonesCouncilmember LozadaCouncilmember LozadaCouncilmember HarrityCouncilmember HarrityCouncilmember DriscollCouncilmember DriscollCouncilmember SquillaCouncilmember SquillaCouncilmember BassCouncilmember Bass

How members voted

  1. Vote on May 30, 2024 · CITY COUNCIL

    Aye (16)

    Councilmember BassCouncilmember BrooksCouncilmember DriscollCouncilmember GauthierCouncilmember Gilmore RichardsonCouncilmember HarrityCouncilmember JonesCouncilmember LozadaCouncilmember PhillipsCouncilmember SquillaCouncilmember ThomasCouncilmember AhmadCouncilmember LandauCouncilmember O'RourkeCouncilmember YoungCouncil President Johnson

    Nay (1)

    Councilmember O'Neill

From the floor

Passages in the official transcripts that cite this file number. Every quote links to its exact place in the record.

  1. “Sue Wasserkrug. Good morning, City Council and thank you for the opportunity to speak in support of Bill 240245, which would make the Eviction Diversion Program permanent. My name is Sue Wasserkrug and I'm the Director of Mediation at CORA Services, a nonprofit resource center that has served the Philadelphia community for over 50 years. We have an entire department that is dedicated to partnering with the City and o…”

    Ms. Wasserkrug · Stated Meeting, May 30, 2024 · May 30, 2024 · official transcript, this passage

  2. “Hello, and thank you Councilmembers for the opportunity to speak in support of Bill 240245, to make the Eviction Diversion Program or EDP permanent. My name is Sabrina Geary. My pronouns are she/her and I'm a paralegal at Community Legal Services. For the past two and a half years, I've had the unique experience working hands-on with tenants going through EDP as well as with EDP partners. The success of EDP is undeni…”

    Ms. Geary · Stated Meeting, May 30, 2024 · May 30, 2024 · official transcript, this passage

  3. “Bill 240245 tries to tackle displacement by eviction in our community. I want to talk a little bit about how violent it is to be kicked out of your home. But first, I want to share -- I have 16 handwritten letters from our community members calling on the Council to pass a permanent ceasefire resolution. They're addressed to the entire Council, but there's one just for you, Councilmember Young. Where can I put these…”

    Ms. Perez · Stated Meeting, May 30, 2024 · May 30, 2024 · official transcript, this passage

  4. “No, it's for the entire Council. These are for all of you. I also attached a ceasefire resolution draft from the Council of American and Islamic Relations. That draft is from December so you're going to have to update the death toll from 17 to 45,000. And if you think some of your constituents might not like the wording, I'm sure you have their numbers and you can figure it out together. A petition for Philadelphia C…”

    Ms. Perez · Stated Meeting, May 30, 2024 · May 30, 2024 · official transcript, this passage

  5. “Aye. The ayes are 17. The nays are 0. A majority of all members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. Will the Clerk please read the title of Bill No. 240245.”

    Council President Johnson · Stated Meeting, May 30, 2024 · May 30, 2024 · official transcript, this passage

  6. “The Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development and the Homeless to which was referred Bill No. 240245, entitled Amending Chapter 9-800 of Stated Meeting 85 05/23/2024 Code, entitled "Landlord and Tenant," to modify requirements and authorizations related to the City's Residential Eviction Diversion Program, including associated changes to the landlord and tenant relationship and to make certain technical changes,…”

    Chief Clerk · Stated Meeting, May 23, 2024 · May 23, 2024 · official transcript, this passage

Status timeline

  1. Apr 4, 2024Introduced and Referred · CITY COUNCIL
  2. May 22, 2024HEARING NOTICES SENT · Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development and The Homeless
  3. May 22, 2024HEARING HELD · Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development and The Homeless
  4. May 22, 2024REPORTED FAVORABLY, RULE SUSPENSION REQUESTED · Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development and The Homeless
  5. May 22, 2024AMENDED · Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development and The Homeless
  6. May 23, 2024SUSPEND THE RULES OF THE COUNCIL · CITY COUNCIL
  7. May 23, 2024ORDERED PLACED ON THIS DAY`S FIRST READING CALENDAR · CITY COUNCIL
  8. May 23, 2024READ AND ORDERED PLACED ON NEXT WEEK'S SECOND READING CALENDAR · CITY COUNCIL
  9. May 30, 2024READ AND PASSED · CITY COUNCIL
  10. Jun 12, 2024SIGNED · MAYOR

Official documents

Documents open on the City of Philadelphia’s legislative site.

Full text

Read the full text as published

..Title Amending Chapter 9-800 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Landlord and Tenant," to modify requirements and authorizations related to the City's residential eviction diversion program, including associated changes to the landlord and tenant relationship, and to make certain technical changes, all under certain terms and conditions. ..Body THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA HEREBY ORDAINS: SECTION 1. Chapter 9-800 of The Philadelphia Code is hereby amended to read as follows: CHAPTER 9-800. LANDLORD AND TENANT * * * � 9-811. Eviction Diversion Program. (1) Authorization and Program Structure. The Department of Planning and Development, or such other City department or office as the Mayor may designate, is authorized to continue operating a pre-filing residential eviction diversion program to facilitate dispute resolution between landlords and tenants or acquisition of rental assistance, if available. Landlords shall enroll in the eviction diversion program by completing an application or in such other manner as directed by the Department. It is not Council's expectation that the diversion program will continue (a) if there is insufficient funding available to operate the program; or (b) if a post-filing diversion program is established that allows a meaningful opportunity to resolve landlord and tenant disputes without an eviction filing against a tenant becoming known to third parties, provided that a pre-filing diversion program may continue to be offered on a voluntary basis. (2) So long as the City is running a mandatory pre-filing eviction diversion program consistent with subsection (1), above, no landlord shall have a lawful basis to evict a tenant unless the landlord has complied with the following requirements: (a) The landlord has enrolled with the eviction diversion program consistent with subsection (1), and provided a notice of diversion rights to the tenant consistent with subsection (5); and (b) The landlord participates in the eviction diversion program in reasonable good faith, as defined by the City, for no less than thirty (30) days. (3) Exceptions. Subsection (2) shall not apply if eviction is necessary to cease or prevent an imminent threat of harm by the person being evicted, including physical harm or harassment. (4) Lawful Basis to Evict Required. * * * (5) Notice, Forms, and Regulation. (a) Required Notice. The notice a landlord is required to provide a tenant under this Section 9-811 shall be provided in writing, by hand delivery or mail with proof of mailing, and must provide notice of the tenant's right to engage in diversion under this Section 9-811, as well as clear information on how the tenant may exercise such rights, including such specific text or such other language that may be included in a form created by the City pursuant to subsection (5)(b), "Forms and Regulations" (below). * * * (6) Defenses. * * * [(7) Effective Dates. This Section 9-811 shall expire June 30, 2024.] ..End