PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia City Council is expected to vote at this week’s session to remove the sunset provision from its hugely successful Eviction Diversion Program, making it permanent.
City Councilmember Kendra Brooks was one of the original sponsors of the bill, which was cobbled together during the pandemic to keep families in their homes.
“Not many policies grow in popularity, but our eviction prevention program sure has,” she said.
At a hearing last week on making the program permanent, the accolades flowed, even from landlords, who initially balked at the requirement that they participate in mediation with tenants behind in rent 30 days before initiating an eviction. The city said 70% of those mediations result in an agreement, and about 45% of tenants are able to stay in their homes.
Pre-pandemic, 20,000 households a year faced eviction, giving Philadelphia one of the highest rates among big cities. Councilmember Jaime Gauthier — also an original sponsor — said while evictions spiked in other cities after the pandemic, Philadelphia’s went down by 10,000.
“That’s 10,000 families who would otherwise undergo one of the most traumatic and destabilizing experiences possible,” she said.
The pilot program was set to expire next month, but Gauthier warned that progress could be lost if it goes away. “We cannot stand by and let the eviction floodgates reopen,” she added.
Gauthier and others warned, though, that targeted financial assistance to help tenants catch up on rent is essential to the success of the program. The city has budgeted $50 million to fund the program through 2025.