Rental housing court
comes to the Northeast

In October, the Northeast will have its very own rental housing court to handle nuisance properties and absentee landlords. Proceedings will be held at the 8th Police District headquarters at Academy and Red Lion roads.
The court came at the urging of Councilwoman Joan Krajewski (D-6th dist.), who began working to establish the court in the winter. The politician had also previously helped facilitate a rental unit task force to handle complaints from constituents about rentals.
Under the new court process, City Council aides will check complaints about rentals. If founded, information will be forwarded to the Department of Licenses and Inspections, which will investigate the issue and cite the property owner if necessary.
Landlords who receive citations will be notified to appear before a Municipal Court judge in Center City. If the landlords do not address the complaint in a timely manner, they will appear at the rental housing court.
Part of the housing court process will involve local community groups and civic organizations, who deal firsthand with problem rental properties. ••