Krajewski calls some
property practices ‘outrageous’

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

With the help of residents and local community groups, City Councilwoman Joan Krajewski recently took one more step toward correcting illegal rental practices in her district.
On March 1, Krajewski (D-6th dist.) introduced an ordinance requiring property owners to post housing inspection license numbers on any advertisement related to their rental properties.
Krajewski, who in 2005 implemented a community task force to investigate the rise in rental properties in Mayfair, Holmesburg and other areas, hopes the bill will weed out rule-breaking property owners.
"It’s outrageous what’s happening to our neighborhoods," Krajewski told the Times last week.
The ordinance amends the Philadelphia Building Construction and Occupancy Code and is currently under review by Council’s Licenses and Inspections Committee.
Under the ordinance, property owners would be required to post the housing inspection number of their property in newspaper and electronic advertisements and on rental signs. Non-complying property-owners would be charged a fine of $75 per day.
To legally operate a property, owners must obtain both business privilege and rental licenses. But Krajewski thinks some of the property owners in her district have neither, which is why the ordinance could help nab them.
In the last year, her office, along with the Community Life Improvement Program (CLIP), has investigated more than 700 complaints from constituents about potentially unlicensed rental properties in her district. The quality-of-life concerns that residents expressed included blight, noise pollution, sanitary issues, unlicensed construction work and illegal conversion of single-family homes to multi-unit dwellings.
State Rep. Michael McGeehan (D-173rd dist.) started a pilot program last fall to address the matter of illegal conversions.
The initiative, run through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, provides grant money to property owners looking to return multi-unit dwellings to single-family occupancy.
A legislative aide at McGeehan’s office said that the office has received calls of interest but no official applications for the program.
Another state entity, the Department of Banking, is conducting its own investigation of local property owners who may have lied on their mortgage applications to reduce their interest rates, Krajewski said. Through the scam, property owners say they will live in the house they’re financing, but then they rent it out instead.
"They’re landlords that don’t live here. Some of them have New York addresses. We have problems with it," Krajewski said.
During previous calls to the banking department, a spokeswoman said the agency does not discuss details of investigations until they have been completed.
Another component of Krajewski’s plan to curb rental property abuse includes establishing a Philadelphia Housing Court in the Northeast. Residents and community groups could go to the court to testify against problematic properties in their neighborhoods.
"We want to bring in the civics, the Town Watches, to talk about what their quality of life has been living with it. Everyone has to make a joint issue on this," said Krajewski, who tentatively plans to install the court at the 8th Police District headquarters at Red Lion and Academy roads.
Krajewski also attracted the attention of the Apartment Association of Greater Philadelphia, a group representing about 50,000 rental units in the city.
Christine Young-Gertz, government affairs spokeswoman for the group, said opening a dialogue with City Council will help to keep law-abiding property owners from being stereotyped. She also touts creating educational programs for both tenants and property owners.
"We realize there’s a problem with smaller-scale absentee landlords," Young-Gertz said. "We really want to be a part of that solution. We’d like to be at the table. We need to be part of the conversation of this and future legislation." ••
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com