We must make sure every resident of our city has a safe, stable home.

A city where everybody has safe, secure housing is a city that’s safer and more prosperous for everybody. 

 

When Amanda was in middle school, her family was evicted from their home in Fishtown after a landlord raised their rent during early neighborhood gentrification. After that they bounced around from house to house and endured poor living conditions. If Philadelphia had protections for renters that prevented huge raises in rent, like rent control, Amanda’s family would’ve been able to stay in their home. 

 

Amanda and her family’s experience of housing insecurity is not unique. Philadelphia is in the throes of gentrification. We’re seeing rents doubled and tripled while our incomes don’t go up. Senior homeowners are being coerced into selling their properties for pennies on the dollar because real estate taxes are increasing every year; their incomes are fixed & their homes are essentially being stolen by big developers. Most Philadelphians are left with no choice but to accept rising rents and unsafe housing conditions. Buying a home is increasingly unaffordable and out of reach.  As a Councilmember, Amanda will fight for homeownership and housing stability to be for everyone, not just the wealthy or lucky. She’ll work to ensure protections for renters and homeowners alike and build upon our wins with the Whole Home Repair Act to invest in home maintenance so our families can stay in our homes.

 

In the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Philadelphia embarked on an experiment that many had once thought unimaginable: a near-total ban on evictions. Then Philadelphia implemented protections like the eviction diversion program and rental assistance. We can have a better system, that lessens the harm of evictions which are disproportionately filed against Black and Brown Philadelphians, and keeps people housed.  We need  policies that protect renters, make it easier to buy a home, maintain our homes and stay in our homes, policies that fight back and prevent displacement caused by developers.

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As City Councilmember, Amanda will fight for:

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• A cap on rent and limits on rent increases also known as rent control, 

• Tenants’ rights to organize at their properties by dedicating resources to supporting tenants’ unions and allow tenants to sue slumlords for damages and legal fees who leave their properties unfit for human habitation

• Increase funding for the Department of License and Inspection, so that it can proactively inspect rental units, new construction and rehabs to ensure all units are livable and safe

• Expand Right to Counsel to the whole city (it currently only covers ZIP codes 19139 and 19121),

• Establish a fee on the practice of “flipping houses,” with funds raised going toward preserving and expanding affordable, accessible houses and green space in gentrifying neighborhoods.