Evictions to soon resume in Philly amid new protocols, LTO says

Evictions will soon resume in Philadelphia amid new training protocols and procedures for officers, the Landlord-Tenant Office (LTO) announced Friday.

A spokesperson from the LTO said evictions will resume in Philadelphia on or after August 21, 2023.

"New protocols and procedures in the performance of future evictions have been designed after input from numerous stakeholders," the spokesperson wrote. "They are intended to eliminate violence in the eviction process and to increase the safety of tenants, city residents and deputy LTO officers during execution of court orders."

The new protocols and procedures include the following, according to the LTO:

• Evictions will be conducted in teams of two Landlord Tenant Officers, at least one of which will have received all training required for certified Pennsylvania Constables.
• New Deputy Landlord Tenant Officers with experience serving as Pennsylvania Constables will be sworn to service in Philadelphia by the President Judge of Philadelphia Municipal Court in accordance with applicable Pennsylvania law.
• In the future, schedules showing dates and times of evictions for the following week will be shared via email with any tenant action group or other interested stakeholder wishing to receive it and with all tenants who make inquiry of the office.  At the request of tenant advocates, the date and times of evictions will also be placed on the Court’s docket.  Tenants may learn the date and time of their particular eviction, therefore, either from their counsel, by checking the court docket, or by calling the LTO, whose contact information is provided to tenants together with service of the writ of possession giving the tenant notice that an eviction is imminent.
• Landlords will be required to submit information to the LTO office in the form of an affidavit before future evictions will be scheduled.  The information will require disclosure of known issues that otherwise might not come to light until an LTO eviction is in process.  All such issues will need to be addressed in a reasonable manner prior to eviction scheduling.  Pending applications for alias writs must be updated to include the affidavit before being scheduled.
• All deputies will be reminded to cease and desist from evicting, as the personal safety of officers permits, if unexpected issues arise.  Postponed evictions will only be rescheduled after the issues presented are resolved.
• Total LTO fees for an eviction will increase from $145 to $350 to cover added expenses related to hiring additional staff, training, and insurance costs, etc.

The city of Philadelphia outsources evictions to the landlord-tenant officer, who in turns outsources lockouts to private security contractors.

Evictions were paused in July after LTO officers and contractors were involved in multiple shootings during evictions within a four-month span.

Philadelphia city council members Kendra Brooks (At-Large) and Jamie Gauthier (3rd District) pushed for new LTO policies and guidelines during the eviction pause, including notifying tenants of the date and time of evictions, training for appropriate use of force and de-escalation tactics and public accountability.

"I think that is appropriate," Gauthier told NBC10. "We have no other part of our justice system that is allowed to operate this recklessly, this dangerously and with no accountability to the public."

Reaction from Philly council members

Gauthier and Brooks released the following statement on the LTO's newest protocols.

“The private for-profit law firm appointed as landlord-tenant officer announced that she will resume lockouts next week using constables. We appreciate that the landlord-tenant officer provided her contractors with safety and de-escalation training, and thank the Municipal Court for their partnership," they wrote. "However, we made it clear to the landlord-tenant officer and the Court that contracting with constables is not an acceptable long or even medium-term solution to Philly’s reckless eviction process.  Outsourcing evictions to armed constables elected in municipalities outside of the City does not ensure public accountability to Philadelphians nor does it satisfy the need for robust government oversight. These constables will not be serving in their official capacity as elected officials but as private contractors subject to no more accountability or oversight than the private contractors who shot two Philadelphia women during recent evictions.

“Much more work remains to meaningfully reform a system that subjects countless Philadelphians to reckless violence during hasty, poorly regulated evictions. In order to protect the safety of everyone involved in the eviction process, any permanent solution must guarantee accountability, oversight, and notification of the date and time of eviction to every tenant. Tenants, housing experts, and our fellow councilmembers have made clear that these basic, common-sense reforms must be achieved in order to prevent the violence inherent in the operations of the landlord-tenant office.

“Every tenant in Philadelphia deserves notice of the date and time of an impending lockout. The landlord-tenant officer’s proposal to provide notice to tenants only upon request does not address widespread, grave concerns about tenants being surprised at their door by armed private contractors who allow only ten minutes before locking families out of their homes. Notification of date and time must be provided directly to every tenant for every eviction in order to protect the safety of all parties and ensure that families can exercise their legal rights or make plans to find alternate housing. Surprise lockouts increase the likelihood of conflict and threaten the lives and safety of everyone involved in the eviction process, especially elderly tenants and tenants with disabilities and complex medical needs. 

“Outsourcing the responsibility for evictions to out-of-county constables acting as private contractors does not make the system accountable to Philadelphians. 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. We look forward to continuing to work with the Municipal Court and other stakeholders to achieve this. The people of Philadelphia, including the two women who were shot during evictions, expect and deserve meaningful reforms to this office that will bring full accountability for our system of evictions.”

Philadelphia Jul 19, 2023

Officials suspend evictions in Philly after 3 shootings in 4 months

Philadelphia Jul 18, 2023

Contractor shoots woman during eviction in Philadelphia, police say

Timeline of shooting incidents

On March 29, Lamont Daniels, a private contractor hired by the landlord-tenant officer, shot 35-year-old Angel Davis in the head while conducting an eviction, police said.

At some point during that eviction process, a struggle ensued, according to investigators. 

“He made contact with the residents inside and at some point during that contact a physical struggle ensued at which time the rent server discharged his firearm striking the female resident in her head, one time,” Philadelphia Police Lieutenant Jason Hendershot said. 

Davis' husband, Gabriel Plummer, gave his account of what happened during an interview with NBC10. 

“He was trying to push the door open,” Plummer said. “We’re pushing it closed. Because you’re not coming in here. We don’t know what’s going on.” 

Plummer said the officer then opened fire.

“I seen when he drawed up and he – just like this – baow! He shot her. Just like that. Boom,” Plummer told NBC10. 

Davis was transported to the hospital. In a lawsuit filed against Landlord-Tenant Officer Marisa Shuter as well as the officer involved in the shooting, Davis' attorneys said she sustained severe and permanent injuries, including a traumatic brain injury.

Investigators said a weapon was recovered after the incident.

“Allegedly there was a knife involved,” Lieutenant Hendershot said. “That’s why he discharged his firearm. So we have to figure that out.” 

Plummer told NBC10 he was trying to give the worker back personal items that he had dropped. 

“He dropped his badge, a watch and some metal thing,” Plummer said. “I don’t know what it was, I just picked it up.” 

That next day on March 30, State Senators Sharif Street and Saval announced legislation to ensure that public offices, not private entities, are tasked with conducting evictions.

On June 28, another private contractor hired by the landlord-tenant officer fired his gun at a tenant’s dog during an eviction. The animal was not injured.

A third shooting occurred on July 18 when another private contractor hired by the landlord-tenant officer shot a 33-year-old woman in the leg during an eviction.

The Landlord and Tenant Office of the Municipal Court of Philadelphia said their deputy officer was attacked while attempting to evict the woman.

The woman allowed the officer and the landlord representatives into their home and "without warning" physically assaulted the property manager, the LTO said in a statement NBC10's Brian Sheehan received.

The woman then proceeded to threaten the LTO officer with a knife, according to the office. The LTO said the officer demanded several times that the woman drop the knife and cease the assault before discharging his weapon and hitting the tenant in her leg.

In response to the shooting incidents, the Municipal Court announced a temporary suspension of evictions conducted by the landlord-tenant officer.

On July 20, State Representative Rick Krajewski announced legislation to reform evictions statewide.

The Office of Homeless Services has a list of intake centers for those experiencing homelessness as well as assistance for those facing eviction. Anyone in need of eviction prevention assistance may also contact the office at 215-686-7177.