A settlement has been reached in the lawsuit filed by two Hapco members, which Hapco Philadelphia supported. As a result, City Council will not vote on the Safe Healthy Homes bills tomorrow, March 19, 2026.
The case is not over, but this settlement is an important step forward. The settlement also includes an agreement that future hearings will comply with the Sunshine Act, as required by law, which was allegedly violated by the City of Philadelphia Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development, and the Homeless.
These bills, if they are passed, would create significant burdens on housing providers by expanding good-cause eviction protections to all tenancies, imposing automatic rent abatements even for technical violations, shifting certain procedural burdens onto property owners, and requiring additional reporting and notice requirements that go beyond current law.
For small landlords in particular, these requirements could make it extremely difficult to operate and remain in business by adding extensive new compliance obligations and overregulating the rental industry.