Legislators from Philadelphia will consider a few bills aimed at reducing costs in advance for tenants in the city, which happened when the prices of apartments are rising and ahead of the boost in income.
One piece of legislation, which will be introduced on Thursday by a member of the City Council of Rue Landau, will limit the fees for submitting applications by $ 20. The limit may significantly reduce the costs of removal for tenants, some of which, as Landau said, to pay to USD 200 per unit in which they apply.
The second bill would require the owners from Philadelphia to allow tenants to pay security deposits in four installments within four months, not one gigantic amount of the lump sum before entering.
Landau, a democrat who represents the city largely and who is a housing lawyer by profession, said in an interview that the goal is to make moving less exorbitant, especially in the case of low -income people, seniors and people who leave homelessness.
“In Philadelphia we have a crisis in the field of home accessibility and this is a problem that I am working on holistically, but there is no immediate fast repair,” she said. “What we can quickly repair is a reduction in costs in advance and facilitating moving to the apartment.”
But the proposed changes in politics – especially demanding owners allow for payment plans for security deposits – they will probably have to face the resistance of the owners and property managers who claim that this may harm their most essential.
“I understand where it comes from, but the problem is that there are too many bad actors,” said Greg Wertman, president of Hapco Philadelphia, the largest association of the city owner. “Every time they come up with these things, they raise costs for owners of mothers and POP who have the cheapest apartment in the city.”
Landau’s legislation appears when apartments have a central place in the town hall this year. Mayor of CHELELLE L. PARKER said that her housing plan, which includes the construction or rehabilitation of 30,000 pieces in the city, will be the foundation stone of the program of its administration this year, and her budget proposal will be disclosed in March, she will probably look for financing this plan .
Several other members of the Council are expected to float in the spring of this spring. President of the Council Kenyatta Johnson said he wants to take care of homelessness, especially among the city’s youth, this session. And the member of the Jamie Gauthier council, who represents the parts of West Philadelphia, plans to continue the emphasis, which she started last year to deal with low -income resettlement in gentry districts.
»Read more: Philly is one of the least inexpensive main meters for his tenants
Residential in Philadelphia has long been considered affordable compared to other gigantic cities, but a relatively high city poverty indicator means that there is a high percentage of residents who cannot find apartments at a price that they can manage. Study 2020 conducted by Pew Charitable Trusts It was found that more than half of the tenants from Philadelphia are charged with costs, which means that they spend over 30% of their income on the apartment.
Landau said that reducing costs in advance would make shopping in the apartment and transfer to one easier and faster. Application fees allegedly cover the costs of conducting education and credit control of potential tenants, but Landau said that fees so high up to USD 200 often exceed the actual costs of screening.
Her legislation would forbid owners to charge applications with a value of over USD 20 per unit – the same legislators in New York established in similar regulations in 2019. The Landau Act would also allow potential tenants to provide their own education and credit control, provided that they were carried out by an accredited agency in the last 30 days, potentially compensating for the costs of screening.
The second account requires the owners to allow tenants to include a four -month payment plan to cover the costs of security deposits, which are usually equivalent to the rent of one or two months. Most tenants are asked to move the security deposit, as well as the first and last month of rent, before moving.
The Hapco vertman said that the organization intends to repel the bill for securing the deposit, saying that the owners would lose, if the tenant is introducing, then he will not pay the security deposit. And he said that the owners could see it as a red flag, if a potential tenant asks for a payment plan at the beginning of the rental contract.
“Put yourself in the place of the owner. If this person cannot pay a security deposit, do you think he is an important candidate as a tenant? “Said Wertman. “Each owner will be skeptical of every person who will have to belong to this category.”
But Landau said that deposits can be based on costs, which enabling tenants to pay in installments can make it easier for them to make a monthly payment of rent during their leasing.
“The owners will receive a security deposit,” she said. “They can simply get it in the way tenants can pay for it.”
