The Philadelphia City Council Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development, and Homelessness heard testimony on Bill No. 240823, which would “add prohibitions and penalties related to anti-competitive rental practices.”
Introduced by Councilmember Nicholas O’Rourke and spurred by the practices of RealPage Incorporated, the legislation would ban price-fixing by landlords. Currently, companies like RealPage can collect and share rental rates amongst landlords, thereby creating a landlord “cartel,” minimizing competition while keeping rates as high as possible.
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Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, chair of the committee, said Philadelphians pay about $900 million more on rent than they can afford.
“And it’s only going to get higher if we don’t put an end to the anti-competitive, anti-American practice of large, national corporate landlords using software to artificially inflate rental prices at the expense of tenants and Mom and Pop landlords,” Gauthier said.
Explaining how RealPage’s system works, LiJia Gong, Policy and Legal Director at Local Progress, testified that “one of the main drivers of higher rents, increased vacancy rates, and evictions is consolidation and financial action in the housing market,” and that 1 in 6 apartments in the US were controlled by one of the nation’s 50 largest property managers.
“Landlords across local markets share private data regarding their rental properties with RealPage, including current rates, available square foot able, and vacancy levels,” Gong said. “RealPage uses that data and publicly-available data sets to estimate supply and demand for rental housing specific to particular geographic areas and unit types. RealPage then recommend rent and occupancy levels that maximize not just the landlord’s revenue, but revenue across all of RealPage’s clients in the market.”
The legislation was advanced out of committee and will be heard for first reading at the next session of council. After the hearing, Councilmember O’Rourke released the following statement:
“Too many Big Tech firms are all about scaling up and then sometimes — if we’re lucky — learning as they go along,” said Councilmember O’Rourke. “Today’s housing crisis is too serious to dance that same old dance. City Council must be proactive in responding to rapidly increasing rents and the growing concerns of tenants.”
Gun Violence Resolution
Council President Kenyatta Johnson introduced a resolution “authorizing the creation of a “Special Committee on Gun Violence Prevention” to address Philadelphia’s enduring plague of gun violence by facilitating coordination among stakeholders and formulating a comprehensive gun violence prevention strategy.”
Continuing efforts Johnson began before his elevation to Council President, the committee will be tasked with “holding public hearings, identifying local and national best practices, engaging community leaders, increasing capacity for data collection and analysis, developing metrics to measure progress toward strategic goals, reviewing the allocation of City resources to ensure optimization of results, and soliciting public input.”
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Despite the decrease in shooting deaths in the city this year, there have still been 183 fatal shootings and 700 nonfatal shootings. According to the resolution, each shooting hospitalization curs nearly $500,000 in direct courts, and each murder accounts for $6 million in negative economic impact.
Voting Resolution
Councilmember Isaiah Thomas introduced a resolution “calling on Philadelphia residents to register to vote before the upcoming Election deadline of Monday, October 21st.”
With the monumental 2024 election a mere two weeks away and Pennsylvania playing a significant role in the outcome of the all-important presidential race, it is imperative that Philadelphia’s 1 million registered voters exercise their franchise on Tuesday, November 5th.
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However, despite a strong registration rate, turnout will be critical. Furthermore, nearly 500,000 Philadelphians are not registered. Voter registration closes on Monday, October 21st.
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