Council committee advances bill requiring verifiable contact information, local agents for nonresident landlords
Summary
The Licenses and Inspections committee advanced an amendment to Bill 250980 to require nonresident property owners to provide verifiable contact information and designate local agents; the Department of Licenses and Inspections supported the goal but raised legal and operational concerns and recommended consulting the Law Department.
The Philadelphia City Council Licenses and Inspections Committee on Thursday reported Bill 250980, with amendments, that would require nonresident property owners to provide a verifiable physical address and designate a local agent in the city authorized to receive legal notices and emergency communications.
Basil Miranda, commissioner for the Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) inspections, safety, and compliance division, told the committee the administration supports the legislation's goal of improving landlord responsiveness but identified several legal, technical and operational issues in the bill's current draft. Miranda said some of the proposal's tenant-remedy timelines, publication of contact information (including email), and accelerated enforcement steps raise separation-of-powers and due-process questions and recommended consulting the Law Department for revisions. He noted that L&I already collects owner and agent information through the rental-license application and can verify ownership via an in-house research team.
Community witnesses strongly backed the measure. Reverend Nicholas Christian described long-standing neighborhood harms from absentee owners and said the bill would provide accountability that "ensures that when problems arise, there is someone who must answer, someone who must act." Garrett O'Dwyer, policy director at the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations, urged the committee to consider whether a broader geographic exemption for nearby owners is appropriate, warning that mandated local agents could impose costs on small landlords.
Several council members gave local enforcement examples and pressed L&I on capacity and timelines; Commissioner Miranda acknowledged L&I's existing processes but asked for time to work with the sponsor on clarifications and legal alignment. During public comment, William Scott (Logan Civic Association) described using private-sector research and civic resources to locate absentee owners and expressed support for the bill; Robert Gray, a licensed real-estate agent, opposed the tobacco bill earlier and criticized city enforcement practices more generally.
The committee adopted an amendment and voted to report Bill 250980 as amended with a favorable recommendation and to suspend the rules for first reading at the next council session. Councilmember Anthony Phillips moved the amendment and the subsequent motion to report; Councilmember Curtis Jones seconded both motions. The committee carried the motions by voice vote.
Next procedural steps: the bill will appear for first reading at the full Council; L&I and the Law Department were asked to work with the sponsor on edits to address the implementation and legal concerns raised in testimony.
