From
the Philadelphia City Code and Home Rule Charter:
§
10-404. Prohibited Conduct.
(1)No
person shall discharge or allow the escape of sounds or vibrations
of a nature which result in or cause noise or excessive vibration.
(2)
No person, excluding the operator of a motor vehicle while such
vehicle is being driven, shall operate a radio, tape player or
similar device, unless used in connection with an earplug or earphones
which will prevent the emanation of noise, or unless such radio,
tape player or similar device is used in connection with the holding
of a public assembly for which a permit or license has been issued
by the City, in any public area of a residential district between
the hours of 9:00 P.M. and 8:00 A.M.
(3)No
person shall operate a radio, tape player or similar device, in
any public area of a residential district at a sound level which
produces sound audible at a distance greater than one hundred
(100) feet from the location of such radio, tape player or device
unless such radio, tape player or similar device is used in connection
with the holding of a public assembly for which a permit or license
has been issued by the City.
CHAPTER
10-500. PROPERTY–DAMAGING,
DEFACING AND INTERFERING WITH
§10-501.
Prohibited Conduct.
(1)No
person shall destroy, damage, or deface in any way, public or
private real property, whether occupied, vacant and/or abandoned.
CHAPTER
10-600. PUBLIC PLACES — PROHIBITED CONDUCT
§10-603. Loitering
(1)Definitions:
(a) Loitering . Idling or lounging in or about any place or facility
described in (2), so as to prevent others from passage, ingress
or egress, or to idle or lounge in or about any place or facility
described in (2) in violation of any existing statutes or ordinances.
(2)
Prohibited Conduct . No person shall loiter in, on or about any
underground platform or concourse, or any elevated platform serving
public transportation facilities, or any underground or elevated
passageway used by the public, or any railroad or railway passenger
station or platform, or on the steps leading to any of them. No
person shall loiter in, on or about private property used to accommodate
the public.
§10-604.
Alcoholic Beverages
2)Prohibited
Conduct.
(a)No
person shall bring onto any city-owned recreation center, playground
or park area, with the exception of Fairmount Park, proper, or
drink thereupon an alcoholic beverage unless such person has written
permission for that purpose from the person in charge of the City
facility.
(b)No
person shall consume alcoholic beverages or carry or possess an
open container of alcoholic beverages in the public right-of-way,
or on private property without the express permission of the landowner
or tenant.
Know
Your Rights
-
BASIC TENANTS' RIGHTS -
A
tenant has certain basic rights, whether written into the lease
or not. The Landlord Tenant Act of 1951 outlines these basic tenant's
rights. Since 1951 there have been certain amendments to the law,
such as the "Warranty of Habitability" (1978) and the
Philadelphia City Council Ordinance of 1987, making it illegal
for a landlord to lock a tenant out, shut off utilities, or harass
with the intention of evicting without due process.
In
July 1994 the "Plain Language Contract Act" was enacted.
According to this act all residential leases after this date must
be written, organized, and designed so that they are easy to read
and understand by consumers. As a result, widely used leases such
as #42, #50, L-1A, L-1G can no longer be used unless revised for
compliance. However, a lease that is easy to understand is not
necessarily a fair lease. Certain leases still contain unfair,
illegal clauses or ask tenants to waive important rights. Commercially
available Lease 78, part 1 and 2, and The Penn Consumers Board
Lease are fair leases. Lease L-R 1996/97, now widely used, has
certain clauses that are unfair and you should try to override
them. Since 1995 all leases for properties built prior to 1978
must contain a "Lead Paint Disclosure" clause.
BASIC
RIGHTS
Tenants have the right to:
·
Fair Housing, or freedom from discrimination because of membership
in a protected class (in the State of Pennsylvania the protected
classes are: race, color, national origin, gender, familial status,
disability, creed, ancestry, or age over 40);
·
A clean, safe place to live, in compliance with the warranty of
habitability, which includes:
-
structurally sound building,
-
waterproof roofs, ceilings, and walls,
-
walls and woodwork properly painted (no peeling-off paint),
- adequate
heat in winter,
-
hot and cold running water,
-
bathroom equipment and drains that work properly,
-
functioning stove,
-
doors that lock properly,
-
windows that work and can be locked,
-
apartment/house free from infestation with roaches and/or rodents,
-
a building with smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and fire
escapes;
·
Repairs to be made promptly and properly by property owner/manager;
·
Enforce the right to habitable premises by using legal remedies
such as repair and deduct, rent reduction, rent withholding, or
move out of uninhabitable premises with the right to recover all
prepaid rent and deposits.
NOTE:
CONSULT WITH A HOUSING COUNSELOR OR YOUR ATTORNEY BEFORE USING
ANY OF THE ABOVE REMEDIES.
·
Privacy and protection from intrusion and harassment from the
landlord;
·
Quietly enjoy full possession and use of the premises;
·
Make complaints to governmental authorities about violation of
rights without retaliation;
·
Represent himself/herself in court and sue the landlord;
·
Move out when necessity arises, for any number of legitimate reasons,
and have the landlord make a diligent effort to mitigate damages;
·
Prompt return of all deposits and interest due
·
Property seizures, lock-outs or evictions only in accordance with
established legal procedures and with proper advance notice;
·
Recover damages for violation of rights;
·
Hold the landlord responsible for damage or physical injury if
it can be proved that the property owner or manager was negligent;
·
A lease that guarantees these rights in writing.
Older
leases contained such illegal clauses as distraint (the landlord
has the right to enter apartment, seize tenant's property and
sell it if tenant fails to pay rent) and disclaimer of liability
for negligence. The language used was full of confusing legal
jargon so it was difficult to understand that important tenant's
rights were violated by the lease. The disclaimer of liability
for landlord's negligence is still part of many leases currently
used. The confession of judgment clause was also formulated in
the same "legalese" and by signing a lease containing
such a clause tenants were giving power of attorney to their landlord/property
manager/realtor, who could represent them in court. After 1994,
such clauses, should they appear in leases, will have to be formulated
in language easy to understand so a tenant no longer needs a translation
of such clauses.
WAIVABLE
RIGHTS
Some leases may ask lessees to waive their right to notice or
to reduce it to five days. The law requires 10 days of notice
for non-payment of rent and 15 days for other violations of lease
terms. Make sure you understand that the right to notice in case
of non-payment of rent or other violations of the lease term is
a waivable right. Another right, which is a waivable right, is
the right to continue a lease when the property has been sold.
Some leases ask the lessee to agree that in case there is a foreclosure
sale, the new owner has the right to terminate lease.
NOTE:
READ AND UNDERSTAND YOUR LEASE BEFORE SIGNING. NEGOTIATE
ADDITIONAL
TERMS AND WRITE THEM INTO THE LEASE. ALWAYS GET A COPY OF ANY
DOCUMENT YOU SIGN.
Once
you have signed the lease you have committed yourself to all its
terms, even if some of them may be unfair to you. Only illegal
clauses, if any, will not apply.
Leases
can be negotiated. The best time to negotiate is before signing.
Clauses can be crossed out if both parties agree. Any deletions
must be initialed by both parties in order to be valid. If additions
are to be made, some leases provide space for "special clauses".
Additional agreements can also be attached in Riders. Remember:
the agreement in the rider supersedes any clause with the same
content in the main body of the lease. If the lease you must sign
has a rider, read it carefully, and make sure you agree to those
terms. Landlord riders sometimes contain clauses that invalidate
certain favorable terms outlined in the main lease (e.g. subletting,
repairs, penalties for late payment and others).
How To File A Complaint Or An Appeal
COMPLAINTS
If
the landlord is not carrying out his responsibilities, the tenant
should tell the landlord what is wrong. If the landlord fails
to act, the tenant should report the problem to the Department
of Licenses and Inspections, Services and Operations, by calling
686-2463.
When
making a complaint the person must give his or her name and/or
address, as well as the address of the problem property and the
nature of the complaint. An inspection will be conducted.
If
an inspector is unable to get in, he or she will leave a card;
the recipient is required to call the number on the card to arrange
for an inspection.
The
department does not divulge the identity of a complaint, and will
not accept anonymous complaints.
APPEALS
Any
person who believes that the Department has erred in some action
that has been taken, or wishes to obtain a variance from the requirements
of the Building Construction and Occupancy Code may appeal to
the Appeals Boards Administrator in the Concourse Level, Municipal
Services Building, 1401 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, within thirty
days of receiving a violation notice. Call 626-2427 for more information.
