Update for Philly Landlords: 19115 & 19116 Breakdown, Rent Control Threat & Fee Hikes in 2025

Welcome to a new episode of The Philly Landlord Guy podcast — your reliable source for clear, practical insights into the Philadelphia rental market. In this update for May 2025, we break down everything landlords and property investors need to know: pricing trends, market shifts, scam warnings, tax increases, rebate opportunities, and the latest on statewide rent control legislation. 

What you'll learn from this episode:

• Neighborhood deep dive: ZIP codes 19115 & 19116
• May 2025 rental data: median rents, vacancy rates, days on market
• How Facebook scams are hurting both landlords and renters
• What’s changing July 1: Transfer tax hike & recording fee increase
• Details on PGW’s EnergySense rebate program for landlords

• A breakdown of the proposed rent control bill (House Bill 1250) in PA — and why you need to act   

Oppose Rent Control in Pennsylvania
House Bill 1250 is moving through the PA Senate and threatens to introduce rent control across the state — starting with manufactured housing but opening the door to broader regulation.
Take 30 seconds right now to let your State Senator know you oppose this dangerous bill. Just click the link below and follow the prompts. NARPM makes it quick and easy — your voice matters. https://narpm.quorum.us/campaign/131628/ 

Redfin’s latest report shows signs of the market cooling, with Philadelphia sitting right on the edge of becoming a buyer’s market. https://www.redfin.com/news/sellers-vs-buyers-price-impact/?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_13760947

This episode is brought to you by TrustArt Realty, your full-service property management partner in Philadelphia. Whether you’re just getting started or scaling your portfolio, TrustArt helps you stay compliant, efficient, and profitable. http://www.trustartrealty.com Request a Free Rental Analysis or Management Advice – Sponsored by TrustArt Realty https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScj_xLp_5pLmabX63n5UkXw_j3nxPXy55KPbStpnNKsh3KW4A/viewform [e-mail] 267-929-1500

Apply for our Jumpstart Northeast Philly Program — built to help new developers learn how to find, finance, fix, rent, or flip property in our neighborhoods. Apply here: https://trustartrealty.com/jumpstart-ne-philly 

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
93% of renters think rental scams are common and 88%
of scams came through.
Let's shift to some good newsnow.
Here is one way to put moneyback into your pocket with
upgrades that tenant actuallycare about and you can make some
money on it.
Let's talk about something elsethat is directly hit your bottom

(00:21):
line if you're buying orselling.

UNKNOWN (00:30):
Bye.

SPEAKER_00 (00:33):
We're here to share insights and experiences, not
legal or accounting advice.
Be sure to talk to yourattorney, accountant, or
professional advisor beforemaking any decisions.
Everyone's situation isdifferent.
Get the help that is right foryou.
Hi, everyone.
Welcome back to the PhillyLandlord Guy show.
I'm your host, YuriSkripnichenko, the guy with the

(00:55):
hard-to-spell last name andhard-to-remember takes on Philly
real estate.
Just think of me as the Phillylandlord.
If you own or manage rentalproperty in Philly, this episode
is for you.
Here's what we're going to covertoday.
We'll talk about what makes zipcodes 19116 and 19115 great

(01:16):
neighborhoods to invest in.
We'll discuss latest 2025 rentalmarket stats for May and April.
We will talk about rental scamsand how they impact on you more
than you think.
We will talk about new transfertaxes and fee hikes in the city
of Philadelphia.
start on July 1st.
We will also tell you about arebate program that you may not

(01:39):
have heard of from CalelfareGatsworks that you can take
advantage of.
And at the end, we will discussa rent control bill that is
going through Harrisbrook rightnow, and you want to oppose it
as soon as possible.
So let's get right into it.
Okay, let's start with a quickbreakdown of Northeast Philly
19116 and 19115 zip codes.

(02:02):
These are mature neighborhoods,mostly filled with single-family
and twin houses, quite stringedlong-term, homeowners and
working class renters.
So these are some of the moststable tenant bases in the city.
According to the census data,median household income is
around$68,000 in 19116 and about$70,000 in 19115, both

(02:31):
significantly higher thanPhilly's overall median income
of$53,000.
These neighborhoods areincredibly diverse.
Roughly 46% of the residentsspeak a language other than
English at home, and more thanone in each four persons are

(02:55):
foreign-born.
English-speaking speakers makeup just about 54%, which means
landlords should considermultifamily communication tools.
These aren't transitional areas.
These are low turnover, lowvacancy buy and hold
neighborhoods.
If you're looking for deepdiscount flips, this is not your

(03:17):
market area.
It's not easy to find somethingthat you can get at a low
discount.
If you own here, hold it ifyou're trying to buy it will
take patience but it's worth itthese are the kind of markets
where equity builds over timeand tenants stay for years

(03:37):
strong incomes and low turnovermakes for the stable investments
but deals are rare andcompetition is real think long
term focus on qualityacquisitions not speed so
spoiler alert we'll have a gueston our next episode, an investor

(03:57):
and real estate agent who knowsthis pocket very well.
And he invests here and he ownsproperties here.
So he will give you a little bitmore insightful information on
these areas.
So what is the Philly marketlooks like right now?
The market is shifting.
Redfin shows the marketbalancing out, maybe even

(04:19):
turning into a buyer's marketright now.
So what that means for Forrental, the stats for May 2025
show some real movement.
Citywide days on the marketdropped from 67 days in April to
53 days in May.
Median listed rent from$1,900and median rented price$1,786.

(04:46):
So yes, landlords are stilldiscounting.
So basically we have medianprice for all of the listed
units in the city ofPhiladelphia at 1900 and they
were rented at 1786.
So it's over$100 discount here.
So now what is happening in19116 and 19115?

(05:07):
The east on the market averageis 39, which is much lower than
in the whole city.
Median listed price 2175, whichis higher than median for the
city and median rented is 1825.
That means two things.
Tenants are shopping around andthey're negotiating harder than

(05:29):
before.
And if you price too high, youwill sit vacant for a while.
So price correct, offer value,and don't get greedy with the
prices here.
So as you can see on the reporton MLS, there is over$300
difference between the listedprice and the rented price.

(05:51):
So we had strong market foryears, but it's cooling now and
renters know it.
Adjust your strategy now or riskvacancy later.
Okay, I want to take a quickbreak to thank our sponsor,
TrustArt Realt, yourfull-service property management
company in Philadelphia.
Whether you're just gettingstarted or scaling your

(06:13):
portfolio, TrustArt helps youstate compliant, efficient, and
profitable.
Get a free property managementevaluation.
You can email at info attrustartrealty.com or fill out a
quick form that you will find inshow notes and they will get
back to you and provide you withgreat advice.
Now let's get back right to it.

(06:33):
So now let's move from marketstats to a problem that is
hurting landlords and tenantsalike, rental scams.
A recent study by Rently andPolicy shows that scam are
rising.
FTC had over 10,000 scams casesin 2023.
Better Business Bureau saw a 45%increase in scams complaints.

(06:54):
93% of renters think rentalscams are common and 88% of
scams came through Facebook.
So this isn't just a tenantproblem, this is our problem.
These scams arouse trust in allof us, you lose leads, good
tenants become suspicious ofeven legit landlords like

(07:16):
yourself.
So protect your listings, useplatforms with verified identity
checks, avoid places likeFacebook or Craigslist, and
educate renters when you can.
Renters want safe andtransparent leasing.
Scammers are undermining thewhole system.
So be proactive, use securetools, and make your listings

(07:40):
fraud-proof.
Alright, shifting gears, let'stalk about something else that
is directly hit your bottom lineif you're buying or selling.
The increase starts on July 1,2025.
Effective this July, Philly isincreasing both recording fees
and royalty transfer tax.
Here's what is changing.

(08:01):
Recording fees go up by$3 perdocument.
So all of your deeds, all ofyour mortgages, every document
that needs to get recorded goesup by$3, which is not much.
But when you combine all of themthat you need to record, it
comes up to something.
I do not know where is thismagic number of$3 coming from,

(08:22):
but they increased it by$3.
And also they increased the realestate transfer tax by$1.
0.3%.
Again, number three, noexplanation where it's coming
from, but real estate transfertax goes up from 3.278% to
3.578%, which is a significanthike.

(08:46):
Let's say if you're buying a$300,000 property, it's almost
about$900 more in tax that youwill just pay out of your
pocket.
So now what?
If you're buying or selling thissummer for factor this in now
don't let your numbers get blownup mid deal so uh you're aware
of what's happening and phillyreal estate costs were already

(09:10):
high but these new increasesmake closing even tighter.
Budget smarter?
Adjust your margins.
Quick update.
Our Jumpstart Northeast Phillyprogram is live and we're
accepting applications now.
If you are in Northeast Phillyand you're looking to learn how
to find, buy, finance, fix,rehab, sell, or rent a property

(09:34):
in Philadelphia, this program isbuilt for you.
It is based on proven success ofJumpstart Germantown program and
focused on building local wealthwhile improving in our own
neighborhoods.
You also will hear from multipleindustry experts such as
lenders, contractors, zoningexperts, and more sharing real
practical knowledge to help yousucceed.

(09:55):
Don't wait, space is limited.
The first program is running inSeptember.
The application process is opento apply.
Click the link in the show notesor go to trustartrealty.com,
select resources, jumpstartNorth East.
Let's move to some good newsnow.
Here is one way to put moneyback into your pocket with
upgrades that tenant actuallycare about and you can make some

(10:18):
money on it.
PGW, which is Philadelphia GasWorks, has a rebate program
right now called Energy Sense.
It's real money back for highefficiency natural gas systems.
So here is what they'reoffering.
You can get up to$1,225 for highefficiency boilers,$625 for

(10:39):
tankless water heaters,$70 persmart thermostat, even$500 to
switch from another heat sourceto natural gas.
You can visit pgwenergysamp.com.
Rebates are available for nexttwo years through 2027, but
funds are limited.
If you are doing HVAC upgradesto this, you can get some

(11:04):
rebates back.
All right, last thing, and it'sa big one.
Let's talk about rent controlbill that's working its way
through Harrisburg right now.
Now, House Bill 1250 passed thePA House.
It aims to impose statewide rentcontrol, starting with
manufacturing housing for now.

(11:24):
But this opens the back door tobroader rent control across all
property types in the future.
It could tap rent increases at2% to 4% and tie them to CPI.
So can you imagine if thathappens and now all of a sudden
you just can not increase yourrent more than 4% or even 2%.

(11:47):
That means no real way to matchyour rising cost, taxes, labor,
repairs, which is revenue.
It is dangerous precedent.
And with the hikes of taxes andinsurances that we have seen in
the last years, it would be acomplete disaster if we cannot

(12:08):
increase rents more than by 2%or 4%.
So we need to oppose and this isyour time when you can act.
And NARPUM, it's NationalAssociation of Residential
Property Managers, made it easy.
We as a part of this associationhad an access to it.
And now what you can do, you canjust use the tool.

(12:29):
It's a quick link that you canclick.
It's in the show notes.
If you go there, you can justfill out a short form where you
will put your email address,name, and a phone number.
You don't even have to put yourphone number.
You just need to have name andemail address and your address.
you need to be a PA resident andyou will be able to submit that
form which automatically willsend an email to your state rep

(12:54):
just in two clicks.
And that email will tell themthat they need to oppose this
bill.
So please do that.
That will protect you if we beable to stop this bill from
passing.
This is it for this episode.
We covered zip codes 19115,19116.
We covered 2025 rental trends,the rise of scams in rentals,

(13:20):
fee hikes coming to you, July 1,2025, natural gas rebates from
PGW, and we also spoke aboutrent control and why you need to
take an action on it.
If you've got any questionsabout anything that we've
covered, or if you have anyquestions that you would like us
to cover in the future episodes,drop them into the comments or

(13:44):
email us us at info atelalandlordguy.com.
If you found value in this, hitfollow, subscribe, share with
another landlord, and check theshow notes for the links that we
mentioned above.
That's all.
Until the next time, happylandlording.