After assessments, rents will go up. Here’s what renters like me need.

The other day, my landlady knocked on my door.

“I’m going to need to talk to you about the rent,” she said.

She explained that she had just received her new property assessments, and her real estate taxes are going to go up by 225%. She said she had no choice but to raise the rent. “I don’t want you to move, but I’m not sure what else I can do,” she told me.

My sons and I have lived in this house on the edge of East Kensington for about five years. In that time, the garage next door run by a man from Puerto Rico was sold, demolished, and turned into housing units. While Philadelphia has become notorious for being “affordable,” we need to ask ourselves: Affordable compared to what? And affordable for whom?

Nationwide, about 65% of Americans own their homes, and about 35% of households are headed by renters. In Philadelphia, that difference is much closer, with approximately 55% owning and 45% renting. According to the Pew Research Center, households headed by Black adults are more likely than the population overall to rent their homes, with over half of all households of color renting.

This means that any changes to the rental market in Philadelphia — such as an increase in rates because of the recent property assessments — will have a significant impact on many households.

Over 23% of people in Philadelphia live in poverty, which is double the national poverty rate. With rent increases outpacing inflation, it is becoming more difficult for a family making less than $50,000 a year to afford the average $1,755 a month in rent. In those situations, rents make up about 50% of the annual take-home pay. The majority of families in Philadelphia are single mother-led households, like mine, and 60% of us are making no more than $20,000 a year.

Recently, a friend told me her landlord is going to double her rent, even though they both agreed to an amount last month, due to the increase in his property taxes. She has been hoping to buy a home and wanted a month-to-month lease; now, thanks to the overpriced housing market, she likely won’t be buying anytime soon, either.

With nearly half of all people in Philadelphia living as renters, there need to be as many programs for them as there are for people who have purchased homes.

Lei Ding, a senior economic adviser at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, used a 2014 Philadelphia tax increase to study gentrification. Ding found that “gentrification increases property values, property taxes, and the delinquency risk on property tax bills.” Ding also found that tax programs for those with financial difficulty helped mitigate the impact of gentrification. Instead of being priced out, these programs helped people stay in their homes.

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There is a way City Council can help build a better foundation for families in the city. First, make a more permanent program like PHL Rent Assist, the COVID-19 rental assistance program, for families in the most need. Programs to offset tax increases following property assessments, like the Longtime Owner Occupants Program (LOOP) and the Homestead Exception, are only available to homeowners. Coordinating rental assistance programs when tax increases are implemented could provide necessary relief.

Second, the Office of Property Assessment should create a more transparent and consistent assessment process. This will give people more confidence so they do not feel they have to drastically increase rents. More transparency will also expedite the appeals process by giving owners the necessary information to appeal a ruling they feel is unjust. Lastly, the city should make the assessment process a more regular occurrence. Transparency and regularity in the property tax assessment process give people more confidence in the process so they do not panic and raise rents and instead make increases at a more regulated rate. More frequent property assessments can avoid sporadic increases for owners that can be passed on to renters, and help those leasing property apply incremental rent increases that tenants can prepare for and manage.

Homeowners are afforded financial programs to stay in their homes in Philadelphia, and the city needs to offer more programs to keep renters safe from losing their housing as well. We need to ensure Philadelphia is affordable for renters.

Aja Beech is an author and organizer. She is currently working toward a master of studies in law in compliance at Fordham University School of Law. @ajabeech