July 14, 2022 — In 2019, our client Tomika Anglin filed complaints against a landlord and property management company with the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, alleging that she had been discriminated against because she uses a housing voucher. Ms. Anglin, the property owners and the property management company released the following statements after reaching […]
Thousands of tenants in Philadelphia live in rental properties with serious and unaddressed housing code violations, putting their health, safety, and housing stability at risk. Renters United Philadelphia / Inquilinxs en la Lucha (RUP) organizes and educate renters to fight for their rights to quality housing in the streets, in the courts, and in City Hall. […]
November 30, 2021–The Law Center recently had a victory in the fight against source of income discrimination, a pervasive obstacle faced by tenants with housing subsidies seeking safe and stable housing. Tenants who use housing subsidies (such as Housing Choice Vouchers backed by the Department of Housing and Urban Renewal (“HUD”), or “Section 8” vouchers) […]
Comments submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development August 24, 2021 – RE: Docket No. FR-6251-P-01, Reinstatement of Discriminatory Effects Standard The Public Interest Law Center appreciates the opportunity to provide comments in strong support of HUD’s Reinstatement of Discriminatory Effects Standard (“Proposed Rule”), which recodifies its previously promulgated Rule titled, “Implementation […]
This piece was first published in the Pennsylvania Capital-Star. By Mary Beth Schluckebier and Shane Taylor December 17, 2020 — For renters, an eviction filing can make it difficult to find safe and healthy housing for years to come—even if they never lose their case in court. When Shane Taylor, a 37-year-old caseworker and single […]
The most marginalized families in Philadelphia will face long-term financial and social hardships through no fault of their own. It is imperative that this body act to protect its constituents and ensure housing stability to preserve the health and economic well-being of Philadelphia tenants.
If you are a leader of a legal services or tenant organization in Philadelphia who would like to add your organization as a signatory on this statement, contact George Donnelly at gdonnelly@pubintlaw.org. March 12, 2020 — We fully support the resolution introduced today by Councilmember Gym calling for a moratorium on evictions. While our organizations […]
January 24, 2020 — If affordable housing developments supported by taxpayers are going to effectively serve low-income families, these families must not be forced out when the landlord’s contract with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) ends. Last month, Public Interest Law Center Attorneys, George Donnelly and Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg filed an amicus brief […]
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.
