On November 14, 2019, Philadelphia City Council passed legislation granting a right to counsel for low-income renters in eviction court, becoming the fifth city in the country to do so. Our former client, Curtis Shiver, who faced a retaliatory eviction, testified in favor of the bill.
Proposed rules from the Trump administration’s department of Housing and Urban Development would gut crucial protections against seemingly neutral housing policies and practices that have discriminatory impacts or increase residential segregation. We submitted two public comments in opposition to this proposed rule change.
On July 9, 2019, the Public Interest Law Center submitted comments to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) about its proposed rule changes regarding “verification of eligible status,” which would deny public housing assistance to tens of thousands of eligible children and their families – including those in the Philadelphia area. This proposed […]
Brenda Harrison, Pelham Court LP, and Rushmore Management are pleased to announce the amicable resolution of the federal Fair Housing Act litigation between the parties, styled as Harrison v. Pelham Court, et al, No. 18-3431. As part of that settlement, Pelham Court and Rushmore Management have adopted written policies regarding compliance with applicable federal, state […]
GEORGE DONNELLY’S PREPARED TESTIMONY BEFORE CITY COUNCIL NOVEMBER 28, 2018 – Good morning councilmembers, it is a privilege to testify here today. My name is George Donnelly and I am an attorney at the Public Interest Law Center. In my practice, I represent tenants fighting to assert their legal rights to safe, habitable housing. I’m […]
On May 8, a group of civil rights and fair housing groups sued the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and its secretary Ben Carson, alleging that the department had illegally suspended a 2015 rule requiring cities to affirmatively further fair housing (AFFH) in their housing plans. The AFFH rule requires local governments […]
George Donnelly testified on the lack of a retaliatory eviction law in Pennsylvania.
The Law Center and a group of non-profit organizations concerned with low-income housing and tenants filed an amicus (friend of the court) brief in support of an appeal to petition for a rehearing and seeks a reversal of a District Court judgment involving housing for tenants with enhanced vouchers. At stake are the rights of low-income people nationwide who hold enhanced vouchers to remain in their homes absent good cause to terminate them.
In July 2017 we signed onto comments to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) in response to its Request for Input on Improving Language Access in Mortgage Lending and Servicing. Submitted by Americans for Financial Reform (AFR)’s Language Access Task Force, the comments focus on the need to improve language access in the mortgage marketplace […]
In partnership with our landlord-tenant clients, we are proud to have been part of the advocacy movement that successfully secured a $500,000 investment from the City of Philadelphia for lawyers for low-income renters.
