Councilmember Rue Landau’s housing affordability bill was amended after rare public opposition from her colleagues

A seemingly routine vote on Philadelphia City Councilmember Rue Landau’s legislation to allow tenants to pay their security deposits in installments went south Thursday when several of her fellow lawmakers abruptly began questioning the bill.

The tense public debate in the Democratic-dominated chamber resulted in Landau stopping the vote and placing the bill on hold early Thursday afternoon. Council then adopted an amendment to the legislation Thursday evening, and the bill will be up for final passage next week.

Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore Richardson, who led the surprise interrogation of Landau’s bill, said Thursday afternoon she expects it will move forward if it is not applied to the city’s smallest landlords.

“The cutoff could be if they had one or two properties they wouldn’t need to deal with the auspices of this legislation,” said Gilmore Richardson. “I’m committed to working with my colleague. I think she’s done a stellar job on this, and I want to make sure we get this to the finish line.”

Gilmore Richardson appeared to get her wish Thursday evening when Council, amid budget negotiations, adopted an amendment that excludes landlords with two or fewer rental units from the security deposits bill.

The drama began earlier Thursday when Council President Kenyatta Johnson called the roll for the first of two bills in Landau’s Move-in Affordability Plan, which would cap application fees at $50 and require landlords to allow tenants to pay their security deposits in four installments. The bill on application fees was successfully passed by Council.

But Gilmore Richardson, who officially abstained from the vote on the security deposit bill, said she was concerned about the impact that the legislation would have on small landlords and requested an exemption for such property owners.

After Gilmore Richardson expressed her concerns, a domino effect of chatter cascaded through Council chambers as other members began questioning the bill in the middle of the vote.

Landau, a housing attorney by trade, said she is “very, very well aware of not only the amount of small landlords we have in the city, and what a great influence they have. They are essential. My bill does not do anything egregious or outrageous.”

The bill allows landlords to accept security deposit installments from tenants in four installments if a deposit for the first year of tenancy exceeds the price of one month’s rent, according to the bill. Tenants have the option to either pay the security deposit in one lump sum or in installments with one month’s rent as a lump sum and the remaining funds paid in three equal installments payments over subsequent months.

The total amount of the deposit cannot change regardless of whether the security deposit is paid all at once or in installments.

Landau’s office said the Move-in Affordability Plan marks “the first major shifts in this specific area of rental and housing law in Philadelphia in recent history.”

Housing policy is a dominant policy issue in City Hall right now, with Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s request for the issuance of $800 million in city bonds for her signature housing initiative the subject of intense debate.

Progressives have been advancing their own bills with varying degrees of success. Councilmember Jamie Gauthier’s legislation speeding affordable housing through the approval process have passed easily, while the Working Families Party’s Nicolas O’Rourke failed to get several other renter protection bills through committee earlier this week.

Before Landau’s bill was held, she sought to mount a defense of her initiative and preserve its chances of passage.

“I want to pass this bill as is today,” Landau said, noting that she did not receive requests from landlord advocacy groups to exempt small landlords. “Let’s watch how it goes. If there is a problem that has caused this, I am fully open to amending it.”

Gilmore Richardson responded that she sent Landau feedback from a “number of groups” that the majority leader heard from: “While you may not have heard from the advocacy organizations, you did hear from me. I sent you an email, after we verbally spoke, on Saturday, May 31 at 4:39 a.m.”

Commotion followed Gilmore Richardson’s statement. Councilmember Anthony Phillips, who minutes prior voted to support the bill, tried changing his vote to abstain, but once he was notified that he was unable to, switched his vote to no and claimed that he “always had lingering concerns” about the bill and is “excited” that it’s being held.

Soon enough, Council members began to circulate within the chamber to discuss the controversy with their colleagues.

Landau met with Johnson at the bottom of the dais in chambers and several moments later, lawmakers reconvened and Landau said she would hold the bill until the fall, out of respect for Gilmore Richardson.

But after huddling with the majority leader following the council session (which resulted in a hug), Landau told reporters it’s “possible” that lawmakers will agree on “a different resolution to the security deposit bill.”

Landau was not without allies in the dust-up.

Gauthier, who chairs the housing committee, came to the defense of Landau and the legislation.

“I think this is a good and common sense legislation that ultimately get landlords what they need while giving tenants just a little more breathing room,” said Gauthier.

Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr. said he was just “proud” of Council for the lively discussion.

“Because if all of us agreed on everything, 16 of us aren’t necessary,” he said.

Staff Writer Michaelle Bond contributed to the reporting of this story.