ONE BILL IN THE SAFE HEALTHY HOMES ACT PASSES TO THE FLOOR, HOUSING COMMITTEE BACKS CM O’ROURKE’S L&I BUDGET REQUEST
At the end of a hearing of the Committee on Housing on June 3, 2025, Neighborhood Development, and the Homeless, the committee chose to hold two bills in the Safe Healthy Homes Act (SHH Act), delaying its full advancement.
Two bills in the legislative package — crafted by Councilmember O’Rourke, One PA Renters United Philadelphia, and Philly Thrive — aiming to reform rental license policies and landlord retaliation/harassment ordinances, were held. A bill authorizing the creation of an Anti-Displacement Fund was advanced and will come up for a final vote on June 12th.
As a sign of the Housing Committee’s commitment to the issues the SHH Act addresses, Chair Gauthier announced that the entire Housing Committee backs the $10 million budget request that is part of the Safe Healthy Homes campaign, funding L&I personnel to power a proactive rental inspection program in the city of Philadelphia. The committee decided that funding for L&I is the critical first step to protecting vulnerable tenants and advancing the remaining bills. The consensus of the committee, said Gauthier, was that the other bills need “more time.”
“First and foremost, I want to thank the Philadelphians who organized to support these bills,” said Councilmember O’Rourke, “This legislation is rooted in the urgent needs of our communities and I’m grateful for all of those, including some of my colleagues, who came together to demand safe, dignified housing for all.”
“This is not the end,” O’Rourke continued. “We look forward to passing the Relocation bill and will continue to organize, advocate, and push for the protections our neighbors deserve.”
The SHH Act, as amended and subject to the committee’s negotiations, consists of:
- Right to Repairs (No. 250329): Proactive inspections and clarified licensing requirements, tying problem landlords’ license renewal to a clean L&I record.
- Right to Safety (No. 250330): Protection from retaliation and harassment, updating extant tenants’ rights to align with current conditions and events.
- Right to Relocation (No. 250331): Authorizes L&I to create an Anti-Displacement Fund to aid tenants when they are evacuated from unsafe housing. This is the bill that was advanced out of committee.
The final amendments sent out before the hearing responded to each concern from the administration clearly, but the committee decided that further conversation was necessary.
“This crisis is too urgent for renters to wait. There were hundreds of renters in the room today who are tired of hearing bad excuses for why we live in slum conditions and why our children are losing their lives in unsafe housing,” said Theresa Howell, a member-organizer with One PA Renters United Philadelphia. “Today, the handful of corporate landlords and lobbyists in the room showed that they would rather add money to their overflowing bank accounts than address the misery we are facing. We need our city leaders to choose to protect renters over corporate greed, and we will be back in the fall to make sure they make that choice.”
The primary opponents of this legislation — which only impacts landlords who harass or retaliate against their tenants or own rental property deemed “unsafe, unfit, or imminently dangerous,” as defined by the Home Rule Charter — were the Pennsylvania Apartment Association and Homeowners Association of Philadelphia.
Their primary concern was that the legislation would impact landlords broadly, which was not substantiated by any data or relevant body of experience.
At a time of a housing crisis spurred by a lack of production and lack of preservation, when less than 10% of local rentals are inspected in a given year, and when no inspections are required for landlords to receive a rental license, these organizations worked hard to insist that the status quo ought to persist, and will receive a momentary reprieve.
“Today, hundreds of people across Philadelphia showed up and clearly demonstrated that we will no longer accept deplorable, inhumane conditions in our city’s housing. Council had an opportunity to address the housing safety crisis and the public health crisis in our City. Council had an opportunity to stand on the side of 300,000 renters, nearly half of which are in unsafe conditions. And they chose to wait,” said Steve Paul, Executive Director of One PA. “There are moral and political consequences for inaction. Tenants deserve the full package, and we look forward to Council following up on their commitment to pass these bills in the fall.
Bills establishing a Right to Safety and Right to Repairs will be held in committee until the fall, when they will be brought back to the Housing Committee for passage.
