Title
Calling on the United States Congress and the Pennsylvania General Assembly to take immediate action to provide municipalities a comprehensive relief package to stabilize the local rental housing market and support property owners.
Body
WHEREAS, The emergence of COVID-19 has caused significant financial instability for renters, landlords, homeowners, and business owners across the City of Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Forty-six percent of all licensed units in Philadelphia are owned by small landlords, and therefore especially may experience financial strain as a result of COVID-19. Many of these small landlords are responsible for providing acutely-needed affordable rental units; and
WHEREAS, A robust and comprehensive response to this looming housing crisis must ensure that landlords can afford fluctuations in rent and that homeowners and business owners can avoid default and foreclosure, with the goal of stabilizing the City's rental housing markets and protecting an important source of local, state, and federal revenue; and
WHEREAS, Without intervention, a crisis in our rental housing markets could lead to significant displacement of families, human suffering on the part of both renters and property owners, and the widespread destabilization of neighborhoods as properties become vacant or are subject to speculative trading; and
WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia's ability to stabilize its housing markets and preserve recent economic and revenue growth will hinge on substantial assistance from the United States government and Pennsylvania General Assembly. Programs from the federal and state governments that provide tax assistance, offer universal mortgage relief, and expand low-interest or forgivable loan programs will enable the City of Philadelphia to support landlords and homeowners while preserving local funding that is necessary to maintain other essential services; and
WHEREAS, The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES A...
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