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Philly Council Members Hope To Fast-Track Affordable Housing And Cap Rental Application Fees

Affordable housing is a top priority for the Philadelphia City Council this year.

That’s why two lawmakers  Council Member Rue Landau and Council Member Jamie Gauthier  introduced bills that would make units more attainable for working-class renters on Thursday.

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Council Member Jamie Gauthier has proposed a legislative package that would fast-track affordable housing projects and make it easier to build accessory dwelling units.

One of Gauthier’s bills is aimed at fast-tracking projects that would create housing for low-income residents.

“At the current pace, it will take more than 200 years to build enough affordable housing to meet Philadelphia’s need,” she said in a press release. “To quickly get families into safe, stable, and affordable housing, the City needs to cut red tape.”

Gauthier is proposing an expedited five-day turnaround for the review of affordable housing zoning permit applications at the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections.

She is also pushing for a faster 10-day turnaround for affordable building permit applications being reviewed by the department. That expedited timeline is already available, but developers have to request it, and L&I is only obligated to follow through if it has the capacity to do so.

The lawmaker acknowledged that more L&I employees would be needed to make this happen smoothly.

“It’s true we would need to add more people to review these applications, but we just happen to be heading into the city budget process, so it’s a good time to look at L&I’s capacity,” she told The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Gauthier has proposed axing fees affordable housing developers would need to get an expedited hearing date from the city’s Zoning Board of Approvals.

She also wants to expand the city’s definition of affordable housing to “capture all projects that receive government financing or land or are protected via deed restricted or regulatory agreement,” the release says.

Landau’s two-bill legislative package seeks to minimize costs for renters moving into a new unit.

One piece of legislation would cap application fees at either $20 or the cost of a background check, whichever is lower. Those costs currently range from $50 to $200, according to a press release from Landau.

The other would allow tenants to pay their security deposit in up to four separate monthly installments, which would make the expense more manageable for low-income renters.

“The high costs associated with securing a rental unit are simply too much for many Philadelphians, especially those with limited income or complex rental histories,” Landau said in a statement.

“These bills will help reduce the burden of upfront costs by regulating junk applications fees and allowing tenants to pay security deposits in installments, making it easier for individuals and families to secure housing and stay in their homes.”

Gauthier also introduced a bill that would make it easier to construct accessory dwelling units on single-family properties in many parts of Philly.

The bill would make them legal in any neighborhood that hasn’t explicitly banned ADUs. ADUs are illegal in two districts in the Northeast and are only allowed in historic structures in four other districts, the Inquirer reported.

Philadelphia is the 33rd most expensive rental market in the nation, according to a report from Zumper. The median one-bedroom rent of $1,530 is up 2% year-over-year.

The city is still working through a glut of new apartments after developers expedited multifamily projects to capitalize on a tax abatement program that expired in 2021. But demand for apartments in the city is strong, which could lead to some rent growth in 2025, Zumper Associate Director of Communications Crystal Chen told Bisnow earlier this month.

Despite that demand, more units are expected to come online later this year, which should prevent drastic rent increases in the near future.

“I don’t expect the annual rates to get into the double digits or anything,” Chen said.