Philly’s Landlord-Tenant Officer will cease operations following pressure from state lawmakers, city council and mayor

House-passed legislation is still critical for putting commonsense rules in place for handling what’s often the worst day in someone’s life.  

Philadelphia House Delegation    July 31, 2024 | 9:59 AM

PHILADELPHIA, July 31 – Members of the Philadelphia House Delegation today lauded the action to cease Landlord-Tenant Officer operations in the city and have the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office process eviction-related actions moving forward.

For more than a year the delegation has called for serious reforms to Philadelphia’s eviction process, escalating in earnest following a series of shootings that occurred during evictions carried out by Philadelphia’s landlord-tenant officers last year. In response to those calls and the creation of basic liability insurance requirements by city council, Philadelphia’s municipal court announced Tuesday that the Landlord-Tenant Officer, Marisa Shuter, will cease operations.

“This shift is an important first step toward a safer eviction process,” said House Philadelphia Delegation Chair Rep. Morgan Cephas. “Eviction agents must be able to meet the training and insurance requirements implemented by our city council and mayor, an important part of ensuring accountability and public safety. The reckless and dangerous for-profit eviction system of the past must never return.”  

In March the House passed legislation (H.B. 287) introduced by Reps. Rick Krajewski, Roni Green and Cephas to overhaul Philadelphia’s eviction system by creating an oversight board, involving behavioral health professionals and banning surprise evictions in which tenants are not given notice of the date and time of evictions. While the city’s move to cease the for-profit operation is welcomed, the lawmakers said their legislation is still critical for putting commonsense rules in place for handling what’s often the worst day in someone’s life.  

“Every other municipality in the state has a publicly run and publicly accountable eviction process,” Krajewski said. “The Landlord-Tenant Officer in Philadelphia has been uniquely unaccountable in Pennsylvania and demonstrated a pattern of corruption and violence. I’m grateful to have been a partner with my colleagues in city council to make our eviction process more publicly accountable and remain committed to continuing the fight for the passage of comprehensive eviction reform in the Senate.”

The Landlord-Tenant Officer operation was responsible for the shooting of two women – Angel Davis and Latese Bethea – during evictions processes last year. 

“Whoever caries out evictions in our city must be transparent in their operations, work alongside social service and behavioral health professionals, be overseen by a community review board and put an end to dangerous, ‘surprise’ evictions,” Cephas said. “Our delegation is committed to seeing it through.”  

According to the lawmakers, the bill is supported by the Philadelphia City Council, the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office and housing advocates across the commonwealth.