Rep. Fiedler, Democratic colleagues, urge Supreme Court to protect residents from evictions and foreclosure during the COVID-19 pandemic

HARRISBURG, May 13 – Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, D-Phila., today with dozens of House and Senate colleagues, sent a letter to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to urge an order to stay evictions and foreclosures for 90 days after a county is moved from the “red” to the “yellow” phase by Gov. Tom Wolf and his administration. Currently, an executive order from the governor extends a stay on foreclosures and evictions through July 10.

"While we welcome the governor’s order to prevent evictions and foreclosures for the next two months, we know that many counties will still be struggling in a few weeks. We need to support  families and small businesses every step of the way, and that includes making sure they have confidence they won’t be targeted for an eviction or a foreclosure while we are still very much in this  global pandemic that has affected our state significantly," Fiedler said. "It’s crucial we take every measure we can to ensure our neighbors have a place to call home."

With the support of many other lawmakers in both chambers, the letter highlights a shared concern that COVID-19 could continue to cause serious challenges for many Pennsylvanians whose counties were among the first to shut down and will remain in the red phase for a longer period of time. The order would cover commercial properties also to ensure that businesses do not close due to inability to afford the spaces during the COVID-19 emergency.

The full text of the letter to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court can be found here.