On March 9, 2006, Mayor John Street signed into law an ordinance that creates the requirement that a prospective landlord provide the tenant with a City certification stating that the rental unit does not have health and safety defects. This makes it more difficult for landlords to rent substandard properties or to evict complaining tenants to replace them with new ones.

The Rental Suitability Certificate is required each time a property is rented and is in addition to the annual Housing Inspection License currently required of all landlords. This Certificate is issued online by the Department of Licenses and Inspections to the property owner desiring to rent and will confirm that: 1) there are no uncorrected code violations on record with the Department; 2)the owner has certified that there are no health or safety defects; and 3)the legal occupants of the rental property will be given notice of their rights to inspections and repairs

On April 17, 2008, Judge Greenspan of Common Pleas Court approved a stipulation between the City of Philadelphia and the landlord lobby suspending enforcement of the law for 90 days. During that time the parties are to try to resolve landlord concerns regarding implementation of the Certificate process. Since then the City and the landlord lobby have failed to reinstate the law leaving tenants without its protection.

Click on links below to find out more:

Daily News Article of 4-29-08

See Judge Greenspan's order

Order a Certificate Online

See the language of the ordinance

Read the opinion piece by TURN in support of the bill