PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Philadelphia City Council committee gave preliminary approval to extending the city's highly-regarded Eviction Diversion Program through the end of next year.
The program has saved thousands of tenants from losing their homes.
COVID-19 had the potential to become not just a health emergency but a housing crisis, as thousands of people lost their jobs during the shutdown and couldn’t pay rent.
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Advocates feared wholesale evictions when the moratorium on the process ended.
Instead in Philadelphia, evictions dropped by 75%, from 19,000 in 2019 to 6,000 last year and an expected 4,000 this year.
"We took the calamity of the pandemic and built something that we can all work collaboratively towards to help our city’s renters and landlords," said Rachel Garland of Community Legal Services, one of the partners helping owners and tenants come to agreements that avoid evictions.
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The program’s success has been highly dependent on federal rental assistance which is diminishing, and the program was set to end this month.
But Councilmember Helen Gym, the bill's sponsor, said more assistance is pending so the program should get another year as the city figures out how it can evolve.
"Our hope is that we will continue to work with our courts, our city, and our multiple agencies on a long-term sustainable program," said Gym.
Her colleagues agreed. The bill now goes to the full Council.
