Attorney general advocates on behalf of tenants who can’t pay rent due to pandemic
State Attorney General Josh Shapiro and the chief of the Pennsylvania Apartment Association have sent letters to landlords asking that they put off evictions for nonpayment of rent until at least mid-July.
On Tuesday, the state Supreme Court extended the deadline for legal proceedings related to nonpayment, set to expire Thursday, to May 11.
Shapiro and Marlynn Orlando, chief executive officer of the apartment association, want landlords to wait until July 15.
They are also requesting landlords to extend grace periods for late payments and waive late fees for residents who provide documentation of financial hardship or unemployment related to the novel coronavirus.
Shapiro and Orlando are also seeking the creation of written payment plans for residents, including those who previously had outstanding eviction balances, and help for residents to find resources through government or community programs.
In the letter to landlords and tenants, Shapiro and Orlando wrote, “the economic consequences of this emergency … have put too many Pennsylvanians at risk of not being able to make timely rent payments to protect their most important asset right now: their homes.
“As courts begin to reopen, we want to provide guidance for landlords and tenants alike during this uncertain period. It must be stressed that all tenants are responsible to pay their rent, unless they have made new arrangements with their landlords.
“The Supreme Court’s order did not change anything about existing leases, so by default all unpaid rent still needs to be repaid.”
More than a million and a half Pennsylvanians have lost jobs and wages during the pandemic.
The letter acknowledges landlords retain the right to file an eviction for a material non-payment default under the lease, such as disrupting the peace or violating the law.