The moratorium on evictions in Pennsylvania is set to expire early next week. Now, some lawmakers are pushing to pass legislation as they warn of mass evictions and foreclosures. But, others don't believe that legislation is needed.
"I really don't think so. Given the numbers we've seen lately at least in Central PA. I don't think there is a need to go beyond the existing law," said David Lanza who represents CARPOA (Capital Area Rental Property Owners Association).
Lanza said one reason he doesn't believe legislation is needed is that actually most people are still paying their rent on time.
"What I have seen and observed from clients from my organization, the landlords are seeing a 95% or more collection rate. I have not seen a case in the last few months that resulted from the pandemic or people being out of work from the pandemic," said Lanza. "What I have seen are cases that arose before, that arose before the pandemic arose, and there were legitimate grounds for eviction before."
The Governor called on the General Assembly to act, as the Governor can no longer legally extend the moratorium. Republicans said acting quickly on legislation will not be easy in this circumstance.
"It is hard for us to legislate this because the constitution prevents us from preparing contracts," said PA Senate Majority Leader, Republican Jake Corman who later added "if the Governor needed us to do this before August 31st he wouldn't have sent a press release out telling us about that less than a week before August 31st."
Democratic State Reps. Elizabeth Fiedler, Summer Lee and Sara Innamorato announced plans to introduce legislation this week. They cited concerns over Monday’s expiration of the foreclosure and eviction moratorium, the lawmakers emphasized urgent action to prevent mass evictions and foreclosures across the state. They said the legislation would provide Pennsylvania’s governor express powers to place a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures in the commonwealth or specific counties during a disaster emergency.
“Everyone deserves a place to call home. This legislation will help keep our communities intact, and make sure our neighbors have more time to apply for financial relief programs, plan for the short- and long-term, and save money. The impact of being pushed out of your home can be traumatic, especially for children, and we need to do everything possible to prevent it from happening, especially during a pandemic.” said Rep. Fiedler, (D) Philadelphia.
Lanza said it's not often discussed but the moratorium also already contained exceptions that would still allow landlords to seek eviction for tenants in cases such as property damage and for leases that contained a 'waiver of notice.'
"So I have seen a few evictions this summer using those exceptions in several counties. So, I really don't think the expiration of the moratorium is going to make that much of a difference as far as evictions are concerned," said Lanza.
As of August 14th more than 16,000 landlords and renters applied for CARES assistance. according to the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.
See a county-by-county breakdown of the numbers here.
A rally was hosted by CASA Wednesday morning, that demanded lawmakers ensure thousands of families aren't left homeless once Governor Wolf's temporary moratorium expires.
"With the pandemic going on, our landlords want to kick us out of our houses," said Jesus Rodriguez of Chester County.