Side by Side: Expanding the Eviction Diversion Program

For the past five years, PLA has played a central role in the success of the City’s Eviction Diversion Program. When Philadelphia first launched the program, the City turned to us to operate the Eviction Diversion Program Hotline and serve as the central point of contact for tenants.

PLA brought deep experience to this work, including nearly two decades of operating the Save Your Home Philly Hotline and supporting the Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program. Since the Program’s beginning, PLA has helped thousands of tenants understand their rights, confirm their participation in the program, connect with housing counselors and mediation, and access legal advice and representation when they need it most. 

Over the past year alone, PLA’s Eviction Diversion team handled more than 13,000 calls from tenants seeking help. PLA attorneys and advocates provided legal advice and representation to more than 1,300 tenants, negotiated with landlords, and represented tenants in court when necessary. Through conversations with thousands of low-income tenants, PLA identified an important gap in the program. About a third of tenants in the Eviction Diversion Program are assigned to the Direct Negotiation Pathway. These tenants are expected to negotiate with their landlords on their own and often lack the information and support needed to do so successfully. Furthermore, these tenants were not eligible for Targeted Financial Assistance where they could receive financial assistance to repay rent arrears. 

In response, PLA developed a pilot initiative where PLA advocates host live webinars to educate tenants about the Eviction Diversion Program, give them practical tools to negotiate with their landlords, and answer any questions they may have about the direct negotiation process. Early results have been very promising. More than 80% of workshop participants reported a better understanding of how to negotiate with their landlord, and nearly two thirds reached agreements that helped them stay in their homes. 

Building on this success, Philadelphia Legal Assistance is seeking to expand its work to support tenants assigned to the Direct Negotiation Pathway. With new support, PLA would provide education, legal advice, and direct representation to tenants who need help negotiating with their landlords, connecting them to financial assistance programs, and representing them in court when negotiations break down. This expansion would significantly broaden PLA’s community reach, allowing PLA to serve hundreds more tenants.