In a welcome move, the Pittsburgh City Council unanimously agreed to a citywide eviction moratorium that could remain in effect until the local health emergency order is lifted.
The ordinance will ban landlords from evicting tenants except for good cause, including unpaid rent unrelated to the pandemic, immediate threats to health and safety, and certain serious lease violations.
RHLS Staff Attorney Bob Damewood made important contributions to this City Council bill that will help many Pittsburgh renters who are in danger of losing their housing.
Councilwoman Deb Gross is the prime sponsor of the bill. Bob worked with her office to strengthen the bill; specifically, amendments to the original bill that will make this moratorium effective at stopping all but the most serious evictions from going forward.
According to Carnegie Mellon University CREATE Lab’s Eviction Rapid Response team, over 200 Pittsburgh households are in various stages of the eviction process since November, even with the ongoing CDC order that temporarily halted evictions.
The bill would prohibit landlords from taking any action to cause an eviction without good cause. That should include giving an eviction notice, filing an eviction complaint, requesting a writ of possession, or using any self-help methods.
Ms. Gross’ version charges the Commission on Human Relations — the city’s civil rights enforcement body — with carrying out the mandate, including fielding exemption requests from landlords. Exemptions are available for non-payment of rent that isn’t related to COVID hardship, conduct that presents an imminent threat to the health and safety of others, and certain other violations of the lease.
The order will sunset upon the city lifting its COVID-19 emergency declaration, or by a council vote to terminate the measure.
The bill was signed by Mayor Peduto on March 5. You can read more in this article.