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City Council wants to double the staff at Philadelphia’s Fair Housing Commission, a budget request aimed at clearing a backlog of cases and keeping pace with new ones as its purview expands.
The commission, which polices many of the city’s renter protections, currently has four dedicated employees. To that, lawmakers want to add three investigators and a deputy director, a new position proposed in Mayor Cherelle Parker’s $6.9 billion spending plan.
If approved, the commission’s budget would jump more than 50% next fiscal year to roughly $1.2 million.
“Over the years, City Council has taken important steps to bolster our great civil rights and housing enforcement laws. And with those strong additions comes an obligation to fund the agencies at a level so they can properly administer justice,” said Councilmember Rue Landau, vice chair of the housing committee.
The commission has a long history of being understaffed, and its caseload is expected to increase again after July 1, partly because of new renter protections enacted by Council.
The agency is projected to process more than 700 cases next fiscal year. During the current fiscal year, that total has surpassed 600. Before that, it eclipsed 500 cases.
Landau, who oversaw the commission for more than a decade, said additional staffing would enable employees to prepare more cases for administrative hearings, which would position commissioners to make more rulings.
Their decisions, which are legally binding, stem from a wide range of unfair rental practices. Commissioners frequently hear cases centered on security deposits, rent increases and lease agreements. They also consider a variety of complaints involving tenants facing an eviction they suspect is rooted in retaliation.
“This is the place where tenants in Philadelphia get to play offense. They get to affirmatively file a complaint because of allegations that their landlords have committed an unfair rental practice. That’s a really heavy load to carry, and it’s a very important function of our city government,” Landau said.