House passes Bullock, Cephas homeowner protection legislation

Rep. Morgan B. Cephas    April 8, 2024 | 2:10 PM

HARRISBURG, April 8 – The Pennsylvania House of Representatives today passed legislation (H.B. 657) introduced by state Reps. Donna Bullock and Morgan Cephas, both D-Phila., which would provide consumer protection against unfair realty agreements for homeowners by establishing prohibitions and requirements for these agreements.

“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 that with this legislation we can ensure homeowners are no longer subjected to these unsavory and underhanded practices.”

Under this legislation, unlawful agreements that include certain forbidden content would be deemed unenforceable in Pennsylvania and in violation of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act.

“Pennsylvania homeowners spend their lifetime working hard to build home equity and create generational wealth but are too often vulnerable to dishonest realty companies looking to scam them out of that wealth,” Cephas said. “Pennsylvanians deserve protections from fraud, and should they fall victim to predatory practices, then they deserve to have the damages recovered.”

The bill will now go to the PA Senate for consideration.

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