The need for safe, well-maintained, and affordable housing is
an urgent need for many in Philadelphia. Although Philadelphia is considered relatively affordable compared to other large cities, according to the Pew
Charitable Trusts, 54% of renters and 28% of homeowners are cost-burdened... the situation is particularly acute for renters with incomes below $30,000 per
year; 88% of them are cost-burdened [and] the city has nearly twice as many low-income renters as housing units they can afford.
In September 2020, in
response to the additional cost burdens related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Philadelphia instituted a successful Eviction Diversion Program to help
mediate between landlords and tenants, keeping more residents out of court and connecting them with rental assistance resources. This critical program expired on
November 1st, 2021, but as December 16th the program was re-extended until the end of 2022
While this is a good thing for affordable housing and moves us closer to sustainable program, a permanant solution is still needed.
Thousands of affordable housing subsidies are set to expire in the next 5 years. The goal of our dashboard is not only to bring additional awareness to the
impact the intersection of these two expirations on the Philadelphia community, but also to explore whether there are neighborhoods who may experience the evictions
and subsidy expirations more than others and, thus, need solutions sooner. This information is critical for policy makers seeking to aim limited resources in the
most effective way. It may also be a tool residents can use to advocate for support.
Use the map to the right to find your neighborhood and explore where bad landlords (code violations and complaints) and evictions overlap with susbidies that are expiring wihtin the next five years.
Right now, Strawberry Mansion is the neighborhood with the most violations at 1378 violations. And Strawberry Mansion is also the neighborhood with the most license and inspection complaints, with 248 complaints. While Cobbs Creek has had the most evictions in the past five years, at 2841 evictions. Worryingly, Strawberry Mansion and Cobbs Creek will lose the most affordable housing subsidies at 6 subsidies within the next five years.
The time chart allows you to explore the relationship between eviction counts and the expiration of subsidies per year . Evictions plummeted between 2019 and 2020 after the Eviction Diversion Program was implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The program has reduced evictions in Philadelphia by 75% for two years in a row, it has been reported that the program has a 93% success rate in preventing tenants from being evicted. With the count of expiring subsidies increasing, it is imperative that these programs continue to keep our low-income communities housed.
Affordable housing subsidies allow the federal government to help millions of impoverished and cost-burdened residents. These subsidies, however, are not permanent relief. Subsidies that exist on the building level have expiration dates and building owners can choose not to renew them for the future. When this happens, tenants who rely on these subsidies are often unable to pay market-rate rent and are forced to find a new place to live. The subsidies that make thousands of housing units affordable are set to expire in Philadelphia in the next five years, and certain neighborhoods in Philadelphia will be impacted more intensely than others. The chart to the left shows the number of housing units within each neighborhood that will be impacted by subsidy expirations and how soon renters in each neighborhood may be affected.
As a city, Philadelphia will see a high number of affordable housing subsidies expire next year as well as in 2024 and 2026. This chart shows how many housing units will be impacted each year citywide. As the City of Philadelphia approaches these expiration periods, it will be important for policy makers to decide what safety nets will need to put in place to avoid major waves of displacement, further eviction, or homelessness.
Created by: Bri Cervantes, Marlana Zink, Olivia Scalora; December 2021