PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia’s Landlord Tenant Office will resume evictions next week with new personnel, procedures and higher fees.
Philly Landlord Tenant-Officer Marisa Shuter agreed to suspend evictions last month after two women in four months were shot during evictions. In an emailed statement through a spokesman, she says her office has now completed training in de-escalation and use of force.
She says they’ll be using new procedures when evictions resume, like using teams of two officers for an eviction, including at least one constable — state officials who conduct evictions in every other jurisdiction in Pennsylvania outside of Philadelphia. Shuter says the constables will be deputized for Philadelphia evictions.
Shuter says she’ll also provide eviction dates in advance through weekly listings in the court docket, require landlords to submit affidavits listing potential problems that could arise during the process, and raise the fees from $145 to $350.
Neither landlord nor tenant advocates are entirely happy with the changes. Councilmember Jaime Gauthier says she appreciates the training but objects, among other things, to the use of constables.
“Constables, elected outside Philadelphia, do not have accountability to Philadelphians,” Gauthier said.
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Councilwoman Kendra Brooks agrees and also notes that listing dates in a court docket is not the same as notifying tenants when they are about to get evicted.
“There’s a lot more work to do to come up with a permanent solution,” she said.
Greg Wertman with HAPCO, formerly Homeowners Association of Philadelphia, says he’s glad evictions are resuming but the higher cost and new affidavit requirement increase the burden on landlords.
“This continues the insult of paying ridiculous fees to evict somebody,“ he said, “but that’s the price you pay when you are a landlord in the City of Philadelphia.”
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