Philadelphia can now create an anti-displacement fund for tenants. Will it happen?

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Philadelphia City Council has approved legislation authorizing the city to create an anti-displacement fund for tenants forced to move because their property has become uninhabitable.

The legislation, however, does not include any dedicated funding, and it’s unclear where those dollars might come from should the city decide to launch the fund.

Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke hopes the administration is willing to use funding allocated through the Housing Opportunities Made Easy, or H.O.M.E., initiative, a $2 billion strategy rooted in creating and preserving 30,000 housing units.

The plan, approved Thursday, will be backed by the sale of $800 million in bonds. That money will be used to support dozens of programs, including FreshStartPHL, which aims to help tenants facing eviction cover moving costs.

O’Rourke is now eyeing that program as a potential solution to funding his legislation.

“The anti-displacement fund my recent legislation authorizes would directly support renters in the wake of personal disaster. We need to see that work robustly supported by H.O.M.E.,” O’Rourke said in a statement.

A mayoral spokesperson declined to comment.

What’s in the legislation?

Under the legislation, tenants would be eligible to receive a one-time payment through the fund if they must move because of a negligent property owner or landlord. Specifically, the property must be the target of a cease operations order from the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections. The order is considered an extreme measure and is issued for properties that pose an “immediate danger to life or property.”

Housing activists on Thursday implored lawmakers to pass O’Rourke’s legislation and find a way to create the anti-displacement fund, including Melissa Monts, a member of OnePA Renters United Philadelphia.

She told lawmakers she suffers from chronic heart and lung conditions as a result of the pneumonia she contracted while living in a pest-infested apartment with sewage issues — issues she said her landlord refused to repair.

“It gives renters like me a way out when landlords fail to meet basic health and safety standards,” Monts said of the anti-displacement fund.

The legislation is part of a broader campaign to protect and empower low-income renters burdened with unsafe living conditions.

The anti-displacement measure is one of three composing the Safe Healthy Homes Act.

The legislative package, drafted in partnership with tenant advocacy groups, is guided by three rights — the right to safety, the right to repairs and the right to relocation — O’Rourke says tenants must have at their disposal, particularly at a time when historically high rents are putting more pressure on cost-burdened renters.

During a committee hearing earlier this month, O’Rourke agreed to hold two bills to allow time for further negotiations with Mayor Parker’s administration, which raised concerns about the legislation.

One of those bills authorizes the city to create a program to conduct proactive inspections of rental properties “on a regular cycle,” a longtime wishlist item for affordable housing advocates pushing to protect tenants against displacement.

The other measure seeks to curtail instances of retaliation by expressly barring landlords from ending or modifying a tenant’s lease simply because that tenant is cooperating with a city investigation, has discussed their living conditions with a council member or reporter, or joined a tenant organization.

O’Rourke hopes to pass the remaining legislation in the fall after lawmakers return from summer recess.