Philly’s for-profit evictions can resume Tuesday with updated safety guidelines

Philadelphia’s landlord-tenant office has scheduled a string of tenant lockouts to resume on Tuesday, ending a monthlong hiatus of the city’s for-profit eviction system following several evictions in which tenants were shot.

Court officials had ordered the city’s landlord-tenant officer, Marisa Shuter, to pause evictions in late July after one of her officers shot Kensington resident Latese Bethea in the leg during an attempted lockout. It was the second time in four months that a tenant was shot by one of Shuter’s officers, who are private contractors typically drawn from the ranks of retired police, as opposed to sworn members of law enforcement.

As calls from housing advocates grew to reform the office — or eliminate it entirely — the landlord-tenant office announced last week that it had introduced new guidelines for lockouts that would “address use-of-force and de-escalation” tactics to eliminate violence.

A spokesperson for Philadelphia’s Municipal Court, which oversees the office, confirmed that its president judge had approved Shuter’s revamped lockout guidelines.

On Monday, court docket entries showed around a dozen landlord-tenant complaints with evictions scheduled for the next day.

In meetings with an advisory group, Shuter has promised more transparency about the dates and times of its planned lockouts, pledging to make information available upon request to tenants or advocates, and enter scheduled evictions into the court record.

Additionally, lockouts will now be conducted by teams of two officers, at least one of whom is a constable, who are sworn law enforcement officers elected to municipal posts outside Philadelphia.

Landlords filing to evict a tenant will also be asked to fill out a safety affidavit beforehand, and include details about the tenant’s home life, including information about children, pets, and firearms on the property, and whether the tenant has a known mental or physical disability.

» READ MORE: Second tenant shot during Philly eviction sues, as landlord-tenant officer moves to resume lockouts

The questions spring from the circumstances surrounding several landlord-tenant officer shootings this year, including a June incident where an officer fired at a tenant’s dog.

Tensions between tenant advocates and the LTO roiled in July, when a contractor shot 33-year-old Bethea in the leg. She has since filed a lawsuit against Shuter, accusing her office of negligence. That suit followed one filed on behalf of 35-year-old Angel Davis after she was shot in the head by a contractor this spring.

In all three shootings, Shuter’s office has maintained its officers were acting in self-defense, claiming tenants had been wielding knives.

Per the new guidelines, landlord fees for the LTO to conduct lockouts will more than double, from $145 to $350, to accommodate staffing, training, and insurance costs, according to the office. That puts fees on par with what the Philadelphia sheriff’s department charges for similar services.

Landlords have hailed the resumption of Shuter’s operation — which is generally viewed as a cheaper and more expedient alternative to the sheriff’s office. Others, like Philadelphia City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, expressed dismay that the monthlong advisory process had not resulted in more changes.

“Outsourcing the responsibility for evictions to out-of-county constables acting as private contractors does not make the system accountable to Philadelphians,” she said last week in a joint statement with Councilmember Kendra Brooks. “While constables are elected officials, they are not elected by or beholden to Philadelphians. Oversight and accountability for this public responsibility must reside within Philadelphia and be led by Philadelphians.”