Developing an Equity-Centered Approach to Enforcing Housing Laws in Philadelphia, PA©
Policy Brief | 2026
Ruqaiijah Yearby, Debbie Chase, Crystal N. Lewis, Prashasti Bhatnagar, & Kemba Noel-London
Executive Summary
Before a landlord can evict a tenant in Philadelphia, the landlord must first enroll and participate in the Philadelphia eviction diversion program for at least 30 days, unless there is an imminent threat. Yet, there are still gaps in the equitable enforcement of housing laws. In Pennsylvania, we conducted a data scan, policy surveillance of eviction laws, and stakeholder interviews to understand the gaps in the equitable enforcement of eviction laws. Our primary focus was on the county and city of Philadelphia, but we also reviewed the data and laws for the state of Pennsylvania. This policy brief is a discussion of these laws and includes a comparison with the four other jurisdictions we studied: 1) Detroit, Michigan; 2) Jackson, Mississippi; 3) St. Louis, Missouri; and 4) Seattle, Washington.
For a detailed summary of the eviction and illegal lockout laws in Detroit, Michigan; Jackson, Mississippi; St. Louis, Missouri; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Seattle, Washington see Appendix B of the full report.
Key Pennsylvania Policy Brief Figures
Eviction Laws in Other Jurisdictions
As part of the project, “Developing an Equity-Centered Approach to Enforcing Housing Laws,” we summarized the eviction laws, including illegal lockout laws, in four additional jurisdictions. Specifically, we summarized laws from the state, county, and city levels from each jurisdiction, using plain language so all housing stakeholders would be able to understand the law. We also provided citations for the laws for those who want to read the actual text of the law. For a full discussion of the laws, see the project’s “Summary of Laws” report.
