AP Tenants' Association Newsletter - 07/18/25

Hi everyone,

Our next meeting will be Monday July 21st from 6:30 - 7:30 in the Cambridge Clubroom.

Last meeting in preparation for our July 28th conversation with Cade Underwood, the director of legislation and policy in Councilman Nicolas O’Rourke’s office, we discussed some recent local legislation as well as some possibilities for for future legislation. A wrap-up is below.

Passed in 2024 Councilman O’Rourke’s anti price-fixing bill went into effect in February of 2025. The bill made it illegal for landlords or management companies to aggregate prices across properties in order to determine rental prices.

Federally the Department of Justice also considers algorithmic price-fixing an antitrust violation though there are no explicit laws stating so.

Voted on last month Councilman O’Rourke’s Safe Healthy Homes Act was a three part act containing legislation that would help strengthen tenant rights.

Bill one, the Right to Relocation bill, was the only one advanced at the time. Both the Right to Safety bill and the Right to Repair bill have gone back to committee and will be reworked and voted on during the fall term.

The Right to Relocation bill authorized the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) to create a displacement fund for tenants who are forced to flee unsafe apartments. If L&I deems a property uninhabitable the tenant would receive a one-time payment from the displacement fund to assist their move. Currently many tenants are prevented from leaving unsafe or unhealthy apartments due to an inability to fund an expensive move. This bill would give tenants the ability to prioritize their health.

As currently written the Right to Safety bill adds harassment protections for tenants and outside tenant organizers. It explicitly protects tenants against retaliation and specifies tenant rights regarding lease renewals, repairs, evictions, the implied warrant of habitability and more. Most importantly for our union section § 9-814 explicitly outlines a Tenant Right to Organize.

While tenant organizing is a legally protected act and any form of retaliation against tenants is illegal, the Right to Safety bill makes these protections more explicit. Defining tenant rights clearly gives us even more protection from illegal retaliation.

The current Right to Repairs bill would be one of the most beneficial for tenants at Alden Park. With most residents stating they have recurring issues including pests, leaks in their homes and common areas, non-functioning fire alarms and multitudes of other maintenance issues, this bill would remedy many of our concerns.

It would authorize L&I to create a Proactive Inspection Program. Philadelphia currently does not have any proactive rental inspections. This means that rental properties do not receive any inspections to ensure compliance with fire or building codes unless a tenant lodges a complaint with L&I. This bill would also force landlords to notify residents of violations issued by L&I. Alden Park has had over 30 violations issued so far this year and many if not most residents are completely unaware of them.

Additionally the Right to Repairs bill would give tenants the ability to collect damages for noncompliance. Currently if your landlord rents without a valid rental license you do not have recourse for recouping the money your landlord was not legally allowed to collect in the first place. The Right to Repairs bill would change that. It furthermore places the burden of demonstrating compliance with the landlord instead of the tenant,

Councilmember Rue Landau’s recently passed Move-In Affordably Plan is a two-part package that will benefit renters in a few ways. The first bill Capping Excessive Application Fees does just that. Currently application fees are completely unregulated and can be as high as $200 per apartment application. This bill caps application fees at $20 or the actual cost of a background check. This bill also allows renters to provide their own background check which would allow prospective tenants to pay once and use that background check for multiple applications.

The Reducing Upfront Security Deposit Costs would codify existing Pennsylvania law into Philadelphias housing code. This law states that landlords may not charge more than two months’ rent as a security desposit. After one year any security deposit in excess of one months’ rent must be returned. This bill would also allow renters to pay security deposits in up to four installments, making the cost of move-in much more affordable.

Three possibilities discussed for future legislation in Philadelphia are COPA, TOPA and ROFR.

Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA) gives qualified nonprofit organizations the right of first refusal when a landlord intends to sell their property. This allows rental properties to stay in the community to serve the needs of local renters. A purchasing nonprofit would be required to keep units affordable to existing tenants. COPA laws also often apply to mixed-use buildings. A nonprofit purchased building offers more affordable rent to the businesses they house. Meaning enacting COPA legislation can benefit small local businesses as well as tenants.

Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) functions similarly to COPA with tenants being given the opportunity to purchase their building from a landlord intending to sell. TOPA laws require a landlord to notify tenants upon their intention to sell. Tenants are then given a timeframe in which they can form an association and secure the necessary funding to purchase their building. Tenants can then choose to turn their building into co-ops or condos. TOPA also allows tenants to transfer their rights to other organizations. Washington DC which has the nation’s oldest and most successful TOPA legislation preserved over 16,000 units of affordable housing between 2006 and 2020.

Right of First Refusal (ROFR) can be a part of TOPA or COPA and may also be a part of a lease agreement. When a landlord is ready to sell their property they may list their property for sale but may not accept any offers until the ROFR holder has had the opportunity to make an offer. This allows tenants or qualified organizations the opportunity to match any outside offers.

All three of the above allow the transfer of property from landlords to the community. And all three are possibilities here in Philadelphia if we are willing to put in the work to advocate for ourselves and our neighbors.

As always reach out through email with questions or suggestions regarding this presentation or anything else on your mind.

Thanks, and see you soon!