Evictions will resume in Philadelphia with new protocols and training procedures for officers, according to the Landlord-Tenant Office (LTO).
A spokesman for the entity assured that the process will begin on August 21, 2023.
“New protocols and procedures in conducting future evictions have been devised after input from numerous stakeholders,” the spokesperson wrote. “They aim to eliminate violence in the eviction process and increase the safety of tenants, city residents and LTO deputy officers during the execution of court orders.”
This implies the following:
- Evictions will be conducted in teams of two Landlord-Tenant Officers, at least one of whom will have received all required training for Pennsylvania certified agents.
- Deputy Landlord and Tenant Officers with experience performing duties as Pennsylvania police officers shall be sworn to serve in Philadelphia before the Presiding Judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court in accordance with applicable Pennsylvania law.
In the future, schedules showing eviction dates and times for the following week will be shared via email with any tenant action group or other interested party who wishes to receive it, and with all tenants who request information from the office. At the request of tenant advocates, the date and time of the evictions will also be included in the Court’s docket. Tenants can learn the date and time of their particular eviction, therefore, either from their attorney, by reviewing the court file, or by calling the LTO, whose contact information is provided to tenants in conjunction with the LTO service. Possession order giving notice to the tenant. that an eviction is imminent.
Landlords will need to submit information to the LTO office in the form of an affidavit before any future evictions are scheduled. The information will require the disclosure of known issues that might not otherwise come to light until an LTO eviction is in process. All of these issues will need to be reasonably addressed before the eviction is scheduled. Pending applications for alias cars must be updated to include the affidavit before being scheduled.
All deputies will be reminded to cease and desist eviction, as the personal safety of the officers allows, if unexpected issues arise. Postponed evictions will only be rescheduled after the issues raised are resolved.
LTO’s total fees for an eviction will increase from $145 to $350 to cover additional expenses related to hiring additional staff, training and insurance costs, etc.
The City of Philadelphia subcontracts evictions to the Landlord-Tenant Officer, who in turn subcontracts lockouts to private security contractors.
The evictions were halted in July after LTO officers and contractors were involved in multiple shootings during the evictions over a four-month span.
