Housing advocates don\u2019t buy Cohen\u2019s logic. Gray said the city\u2019s \u201cgood cause\u201d requirement is intentionally flexible, meaning landlords have considerable latitude when it comes to explaining why they want to stop renting to someone.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t think of a situation that\u2019s not already provided in the statute. But it\u2019s not exhaustive for that reason,\u201d Gray said.\n<\/p>\n
And while a tenant can file an appeal, a landlord can ask a judge to reject it if they believe the argument to be in \u201cbad faith.\u201d Regardless of the outcome, a landlord could still move forward with an eviction filing after going through the city\u2019s diversion program, a requirement before the matter can proceed to court.\n<\/p>\n
It can now take up to eight months for the Philadelphia Sheriff\u2019s Office to perform a lockout<\/a>, said Cohen.\n <\/p>\n Passing the Safe Healthy Homes Act<\/p>\n The debate over \u201cgood cause\u201d evictions is part of a broader legislative effort by O\u2019Rourke to better protect renters in Philadelphia, particularly low-income tenants who often fear retaliation for speaking up about their living conditions.\n<\/p>\n This session, the council member hopes to pass two bills introduced in April through the Safe Healthy Homes Act<\/a>. The legislative package is guided by three rights the lawmaker says must be preserved for tenants \u2014 the right to safety, the right to repairs and the right to relocation \u2014 especially at a time when historically high rents continue to put pressure on cost-burdened renters.\n<\/p>\n The federal government defines \u201ccost-burdened\u201d as spending more than 30% of household income on housing. In Philadelphia, more than half<\/a> of all renters fit that description.\n<\/p>\n Last summer, Council passed a measure authorizing the city to create an antidisplacement fund<\/a> for tenants forced to move because their property has become uninhabitable. Dollars for the fund, which will provide one-time payments to tenants, were added to the first budget<\/a> for the mayor\u2019s Housing Opportunities Made Easy<\/a>, or H.O.M.E., initiative.\n<\/p>\n Following a public hearing last year, O\u2019Rourke agreed to hold two of the three measures comprising the package. Now he\u2019s pushing to get them passed.\n<\/p>\n \u201cEven affordability isn\u2019t enough if your home is not safe. You should not have to be submitted and subjected to living in accommodations that are unhealthy for you,\u201d said O\u2019Rourke at a Thursday news conference.\n<\/p>\n