Celebrating the launch of the Philadelphia Fair Lease on the City of Philadelphia's Landlord Gateway.

Celebrating the launch of the Philadelphia Fair Lease on the City of Philadelphia’s Landlord Gateway. WHEREAS, The Office of Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke has partnered with the Office of Homeless Services and the Division of Housing and Community Development to add a new resource, the Philadelphia Fair Lease, to its online Landlord Gateway. The Philadelphia Fair Lease, developed by University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School Professor David Hoffman, provides model lease language that is short, free, legal, and fair for landlords and tenants alike; and WHEREAS, In 2023, the City launched the Philadelphia Landlord Gateway to centralize information for property owners seeking to rent their properties, including guidance on obtaining a valid rental license, addressing repair issues in the property, and providing affordable housing; and WHEREAS, Unnecessarily long and complicated leases make it hard for tenants, and even landlords, to know the exact impact of the lease terms before signing. Tenants searching for housing are rarely able to scrutinize and negotiate leases; and WHEREAS, In the largest ever study of residential leases, Professor Hoffman’s research showed that over the last twenty years, the number of rental leases in Philadelphia that include illegal and unenforceable provisions has increased significantly. Oppressive terms, such as requirements that tenants pay landlords’ attorney’s fees in eviction proceedings, have also become increasingly common in Philadelphia …