Tenant Union Junk Fees Resolution (Resolution 260825)

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions; names and details may be misheard.

What: Resolution No. 260825 honors the citywide tenant union of the Philadelphia chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and tenants, leaders and organizers at the Emerson and Florence Gardens buildings who are organizing to end rental "junk fees" and secure tenant protections.
Where it stands: adopted by voice vote on 2026-10-08 after public comment. Councilmember O'Rourke moved it.
Next: none required of the City. The resolution calls on the landlord to negotiate; a commenter asked Council to legislate a citywide standard instead.

Supporters: tenants said that since October 1 more than 40 tenants across two buildings run by New Age Realty Group are withholding a mandatory $25 monthly "resident benefits package" fee, and described elevator outages, high utility bills and a mold problem. They said they had heard nothing from the company after a week.
A commenter who supported recognition urged Council to pass legislation setting a citywide standard on junk fees, since a resolution is not law.
Two commenters opposed the resolution, objecting to the tenant union's political affiliation and to the sponsors' politics rather than to the fee dispute itself.
Another commenter spoke mostly about unrelated matters; the chair asked that remarks stay on items before Council.

A tenant speaker thanked O'Rourke, Brooks, Landau, Gauthier and Phillips for introducing it.
In closing remarks O'Rourke said tenants had dealt with power and heat outages and shut elevators, tied the issue to ratio utility billing (RUBS), which he said the City does not regulate, and pointed to the cost-of-living task force report.
Adopted by voice vote with no opposition heard.

About 15 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting	Minutes
2026-10-08 - City Council	15

2026-10-08 - City Council — Five public comments (two opposed, three supportive), O'Rourke's remarks on utility billing; adopted by voice vote.
2026-10-01 - City Council - Held until the following week.
2026-09-30 - Committee on Global Opportunities & Creative-Innovative Economy - A public commenter asked for a ban on junk fees and utility billing charges; no committee action.