City of Philadelphia - File #: 180765

• File #: 180765
• Version: 0
• Type: Resolution
• Status: ADOPTED
• File created: 9/13/2018
• In control: CITY COUNCIL
• Final action: 9/13/2018
• Title: Authorizing the City Council Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development, and the Homeless to hold public hearings to examine sheriff sale trends throughout the City since the existence of Philadelphia's Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program, and further examine the impact of sheriff sales on the City's affordable housing market.
• Sponsors: Councilmember Jones, Councilmember Green, Councilmember Parker, Councilmember Blackwell, Councilmember Taubenberger, Councilmember Johnson, Councilmember Squilla, Councilmember Quiñones Sánchez, Councilmember Henon, Councilmember Gym, Councilmember Reynolds Brown, Councilmember Greenlee

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result	Tally
9/13/2018	0	CITY COUNCIL	Introduced and Ordered Placed on This Week's Final Passage Calendar	Pass
9/13/2018	0	CITY COUNCIL	ADOPTED

Title
Authorizing the City Council Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development, and the Homeless to hold public hearings to examine sheriff sale trends throughout the City since the existence of Philadelphia's Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program, and further examine the impact of sheriff sales on the City's affordable housing market.

Body
WHEREAS, In March of 2008, Philadelphia City Council passed Resolution No. 080331, which called on then Sheriff John Green and then President Judge C. Darnell Jones to impose a moratorium on residential foreclosure sales in Philadelphia. At that time, Philadelphia was facing a mortgage foreclosure crisis, with nearly 200 homes a month being auctioned by the Philadelphia Sherriff's Office; and

WHEREAS, As a result of City Council's call for action, the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia announced the Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Pilot Program in May of 2008; and

WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program serves as a national model for the prevention of residential foreclosures, bringing together homeowners and lenders, along with housing counselors and experts, in a concerted effort to help Philadelphians remain in their homes; and

WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program operates every Thursday in Courtroom 676 of City Hall. It has been reported that, to date, the program has helped to save over 11,000 homes; and

WHEREAS, Even with the success of the Philadelphia Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program, thousands of homes throughout the City continue to be sold at actions. This is because the only applies to owner-occupied residential properties experiencing a mortgage foreclosure. Other types of foreclosures, such as tax foreclosures, are not eligible for the program, and non-payment may result in sheriff sales of these properties; and

WHEREAS, In 2016, 5,935 properties were sold at sheriff sale auctions. These numbers dec...