Council bill aims to protect tenants from unannounced rent hikes

A BILL introduced in City Council yesterday would require landlords to give tenants advance notice of any anticipated rent increases.

Introduced by Councilman Bill Greenlee, the bill calls for landlords to inform tenants 90 days before a rent increase, and in turn, requires tenants to alert their landlords 60 days before they plan to move. Greenlee said rising real-estate values across gentrifying neighborhoods in Philadelphia have caused property owners to pass the costs onto their tenants. Many times, he said, this is done with little notice, driving tenants from their residences.

The problem became "particularly acute this last year . . . because a lot of properties obviously had significant tax increases," Greenlee said.

"Landlords couldn't partake in some of those programs [to reduce their property tax bills], so, as is natural, they raised the rent to make up for that increase. "Some [renters] got significant increases in a relatively short time period."

Under the bill, Greenlee said, tenants would know 90 days ahead of time whether they have to get up the money to stay or find another place to live.

The bill now goes before a City Council committee for consideration.