{"id":626760,"date":"2026-03-02T11:52:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T11:52:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/626760\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T11:52:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T11:52:23","slug":"philadelphia-tenant-rights-council-weighs-renter-protections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/626760\/","title":{"rendered":"Philadelphia tenant rights: Council weighs renter protections"},"content":{"rendered":"

What landlords don\u2019t like about the legislation<\/p>\n

HAPCO Philadelphia is most troubled by O\u2019Rourke\u2019s push to expand \u201cgood cause\u201d protections to all city renters.<\/p>\n

Paul Cohen, general counsel for the group, argues it would make it even harder for landlords to remove problem tenants, particularly if their conduct doesn\u2019t warrant filing for an eviction or if it would be difficult to demonstrate the need for one.<\/p>\n

Cohen said it is exceedingly difficult to get tenants to testify against other tenants who are creating issues in their building, typically because they\u2019re afraid of the repercussions if their neighbor finds out. This is especially true in cases where a tenant is harassing other tenants.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout their testimony, we can\u2019t win in court,\u201d Cohen said. \u201cSo the landlord\u2019s hands are tied. The landlord can\u2019t terminate the lease with a \u2018good cause\u2019 requirement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cohen\u2019s group argues it could be financially disastrous for a landlord if they\u2019re stuck with a problem tenant who causes other residents to leave the building.<\/p>\n

Housing advocates are skeptical based on how \u201cgood cause\u201d protections have played out in other cities<\/a>. They also argue these laws are beneficial to tenants and landlords because they clearly spell out what is legally permitted for both parties, making it easier to resolve disputes out of court.<\/p>\n

They hope that deters landlords from trying to evict without cause. Zaneri said expanding these protections would also dissuade tenants from fighting to stay \u2014 because they can see if they have violated the law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re able to look at it, evaluate it and say, \u2018This is a valid cause for eviction. I\u2019m going to move out. I don\u2019t want to have to go to court,\u2019\u201d Zaneri said.<\/p>\n

In Albany, New York, tenant organizers say the city\u2019s \u201cgood cause\u201d protections have also reduced instances of landlord retaliation, simply because they require landlords to give a reason for not renewing a tenant\u2019s lease. In the past, it was much easier for landlords to target tenants, especially those leading tenants\u2019 associations.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow tenants know they can\u2019t be kicked out for no reason,\u201d said Canyon Ryan, executive director of United Tenants of Albany.<\/p>\n

He said that has enabled more families to stay together and, anecdotally, forced landlords to make repairs they had tried to avoid by not renewing their tenant\u2019s lease.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings still aren\u2019t good for tenants \u2026 but they are so much better now,\u201d Ryan said.<\/p>\n

In Philadelphia, housing advocates say those outcomes would provide considerable relief to tenants.<\/p>\n

Mary Laughlin, who rents a one-bedroom in Holmesburg, said O\u2019Rourke\u2019s bills would make her less fearful of trying to hold her landlord accountable. In the meantime, the 70-year-old worries her yearlong lease won\u2019t be renewed because she\u2019s been vocal about the conditions at her apartment complex and is working with tenant organizers to improve them.<\/p>\n

Laughlin, a retired postal worker, has the money to move, but she said she doesn\u2019t want to. She\u2019s lived in Northeast Philadelphia for decades and her place is close to family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d sleep a lot better at night knowing that [I was protected],\u201d Laughlin said. \u201cI\u2019m very nervous right now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What landlords don\u2019t like about the legislation HAPCO Philadelphia is most troubled by O\u2019Rourke\u2019s push to expand \u201cgood…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":626761,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5132],"tags":[5229,39815,1448,2830,1311,12771,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-626760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-america","tag-evictions","tag-pa","tag-pennsylvania","tag-philadelphia","tag-planphilly","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116159443806000566","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=626760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/626761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=626760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=626760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=626760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}