A Germantown renter faced eviction after organizing fellow tenants. She just won a rare landlord retaliation case

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A Germantown renter facing eviction has won the right to remain in her home following a protracted battle with her corporate landlord.

Philadelphia’s Fair Housing Commission, in a first-of-its-kind decision, ruled Tuesday that RAM Partners violated city law when it refused to renew Kadi Ashby’s lease at Alden Park Luxury Apartments, where the 37-year-old press operator has lived since June 2023.

The ruling followed a pair of hearings rooted in the city’s rental code, which bars landlords from terminating a lease in retaliation for “the joining of any lawful organization, or any other exercise of a legal right.” In this case, the right to form a tenants association at Alden Park.

Ashby is part of the association’s leadership, and she alleged that she was targeted by management as a result. Tenants formed the association last February in response to the living conditions at the sprawling apartment complex on Wissahickon Avenue, which city inspectors deemed unsafe.

“I joined the Alden Park Tenant Association to fight for safer living conditions for myself and my neighbors, but instead of addressing the serious problems in our building, my landlord tried to push me out,” Ashby said in a statement. “This ruling makes clear that tenants have the right to organize and speak up for safe housing without fear of retaliation, no matter what a landlord says or does.”

RAM can appeal the ruling. A company spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

‘Retaliation is explicit’

Fair housing advocates hope Tuesday’s decision empowers more tenants to speak out in a city where fears of retaliation run deep, particularly among low-income renters worried about finding safe and affordable housing amid an ongoing housing crisis.

In addition, advocates say it exemplifies the need for a series of renter protections signed into law last week.

The legislation, which will take effect in November, expressly bars landlords from ending or modifying a tenant’s lease solely because that tenant is cooperating with a city investigation, has discussed their living conditions with a council member or news reporter, or joined a tenant organization.

The package also expands “good cause” protections to all tenants, regardless of the term of their lease. Currently, the law only applies to renters who have leases that are month-to-month and leases that run for less than a year. For these tenants, landlords must provide written notice stating why they want to terminate or not renew their lease.

Advocates say the rare exemption has provided cover for unscrupulous landlords to use this form of eviction to retaliate against tenants with longer leases, because they aren’t required to justify their decisions or even give renters advance notice.

In Ashby’s case, RAM did not provide her with a reason for not renewing her lease but the company’s motivation would soon come to light.

“This is a rare case where the retaliation is explicit and it’s out there in the open,” said Madison Gray, Ashby’s attorney.

Fallout from a text message

During a hearing in January, Gray pointed to an email thread from September as evidence that RAM had retaliated against her client. In the thread, the owners of Alden Park are told Ashby’s “non-renewal will be sent in the coming weeks.”

“Thanks, Jake. We should focus on the 2-3 ringleaders,” Chaim Kiffel, president of L3C Capital Partners, tells attorney Jacob Segal within the message.

The following day, a letter was slipped under Ashby’s door stating that her lease would not be renewed. At the time, she was up to date on her rent, which remains the case now.

Ashby landed on her landlord’s radar after a security guard at Alden Park raised concerns about a message she had posted in a group chat for tenants. The security guard, who also lived at Alden Park, testified that he took issue with Ashby posting a public link with the address of one of the owners’ homes.

That prompted the security guard to reach out to property manager Theodore Berry.

Berry, who also lives at Alden Park, said he suggested the non-renewal in response to Ashby’s message, which was deemed a violation of her lease agreement.

“We felt it raised a harm to the client, which we didn’t feel was appropriate,” Berry said during a second hearing in April.

Ann Schildhammer, attorney for Alden Park, argued the message constituted a “nuisance” under the law, enabling her client to not renew Ashby’s lease despite the open code violations.

Schildhammer said Ashby posted the personal address of an owner to “incite the community and instill fear.” Ashby testified that it was posted to demonstrate the disparity in living conditions between ownership and Alden Park tenants.

The fair housing commission said Ashby’s message “served as a convenient excuse” for RAM to terminate her lease.