*PHILADELPHIA (KYW) — Philadelphia Municipal Court is resuming evictions as early as Monday, saying landlord-tenant officers have now received training on the use of force and de-escalation tactics.
This follows the court suspending all evictions in July after multiple tenants were shot during evictions over the past several months. In one incident in March, a plainclothes landlord-tenant officer shot a woman in the head. In another incident in July, police said a woman was shot in the leg.
A spokesperson for the court’s Landlord and Tenant Office said evictions will now be conducted in teams of two officers who have all received Pennsylvania Constable training.
Other changes to the eviction process include a requirement to submit an affidavit and address issues in a “reasonable manner” before a lockout can be scheduled. And the dates and times of evictions will be shared with tenants and action groups upon request and placed on the court docket.
The LTO is funded by service fees from landlords and not taxpayer money. Fees to landlords will increase from $145 to $350 to cover the additional staff, training and insurance costs.
In a statement on the change, Councilmembers Kendra Brooks and Jamie Gauthier called for more oversight over the evictions process and for “meaningful reforms that will bring full accountability for our system of evictions.”
They were also critical of the decision to make lockout dates and times available only on request, saying that “does not address widespread, grave concerns about tenants being surprised at their door by armed private contractors. … Surprise lockouts increase the likelihood of conflict and threaten the lives and safety of everyone involved in the eviction process, especially elderly tenants and tenants with disabilities and complex medical needs.”
The city has an eviction diversion program in place.
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