City Councilman Seeks New Protections For Renters In Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia city councilman Curtis Jones wants to make it harder to evict long-term tenants, when a new landlord buys their apartment building, and his proposed bill would put new conditions on evictions in around the city.
Vanessa Fields was living happily in a Wynnefield apartment house when the building was sold and she was given five months to move out.
"It was very demoralizing because you have friends in the building," she said. "My daughter lived in the building and so because of that, we no longer live in the same place."
"This is going to happen more," said Councilman Curtis Jones. "Philadelphia is undervalued. Our real estate has been discovered by investors."
Jones's bill says a landlord must have "good cause" to evict, and give adequate notice, regardless of whether a building is being renovated.
"We have to protect our citizens so that they get an option to stay and time to relocate if they must," he said. "We want to create a standard by which people are given notice and given time."