Pa. House Housing & Community Development Committee approves Bullock, Cephas homeowner-protections legislation
Rep. Morgan B. Cephas February 20, 2024 | 1:12 PM
HARRISBURG, Feb. 20 – During a voting meeting today, the Pennsylvania House Housing & Community Development Committee approved legislation, H.B. 657, co-sponsored by state Reps. Donna Bullock and Morgan Cephas, which would provide consumer protection against unfair realty agreements for homeowners in the commonwealth by establishing prohibitions and requirements for these agreements.
“All too often, I hear the horror stories of unscrupulous realty companies preying on unsuspecting homeowners and vulnerable neighborhoods by trapping them in questionable realty agreement contracts and then suing them should they try to cancel the agreement,” Bullock said. “It’s our hope with this legislation that we can ensure that homeowners are no longer subjected to these unsavory and underhanded practices.”
Unlawful agreements that include certain forbidden content would be deemed unenforceable and in violation of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act, should this legislation become law.
“Companies seeking to swindle home equity from Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable homeowners must be stopped,” Cephas said. “Pennsylvanians deserve protections from such unsavory realty companies, and should they fall victim to such companies then they deserve to have the damages recovered.”
The legislation will now go to the full House, where it will await a vote.