Philadelphia Landlords Are Paying for the Sheriff's Office's Failures

By Benjamin Oller, Principal at TCS Property Management · About the author

Philadelphia owners who win an eviction case are now waiting months for the Sheriff's Office to carry it out, and nobody is accountable for the delay. At TCS Property Management, we think that is unacceptable.

A court judgment is supposed to mean something. Today it starts a second, open-ended wait — one that lands on owners at the exact moment borrowing costs make every lost month more expensive. This post lays out where rates stand, what the Sheriff's Office's own numbers show, and what Philadelphia should do to fix it.

Money got more expensive in September

On September 16, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate a quarter point, to a target range of 3.75%–4.00%, in a unanimous vote aimed at bringing inflation back to 2%.

Mortgage rates followed. Freddie Mac's September 24 survey put the 30-year fixed at 7.03%, up from 6.95% a week earlier and 6.30% a year ago. The 15-year fixed hit 6.42%, up from 5.49% a year ago.

Fed funds target: 3.75%–4.00%
30-year fixed average: 7.03%, compared with 6.30% a year ago
15-year fixed average: 6.42%, compared with 5.49% a year ago

On a $200,000, 30-year loan, that move adds about $97 a month — roughly $1,160 a year — before taxes, insurance or repairs. Investor and refinance loans typically price above these owner-occupant averages, so many of our owners feel it more.

Evictions now take months — with no plan to fix it

Since the Landlord and Tenant Office stopped serving evictions in late 2024, the Sheriff's Office has handled every lockout in Philadelphia. The safety record has improved: WHYY reports no shootings by sheriff's detectives at evictions. But speed collapsed.

Typical wait, writ to lockout: about 10 days under the old system; 6–12 weeks under the Sheriff's Office
Full case, filing to lockout: about 2 months under the old system; about 6 months now
Lockouts scheduled per week: 140 or more

In April, Sheriff Rochelle Bilal told City Council the office needs 14 more eviction detectives, on top of the 8–12 who work evictions each day. The mayor's proposed budget included no new money for it. The office's own statement on its requests named no wait-time target and published no backlog count.

That is the lack of direction we mean. The office has asked for more people, but has not told owners how long they should expect to wait, how many cases are behind, or when that will improve.

The same office was placed under six months of outside court supervision on August 26 over its sheriff-sale delays, after winning bidders waited more than a year and records were withheld from the court. Different unit, same pattern: work piles up and no one outside the office can see it.

What the delay costs a small owner

Four extra months of waiting can cost a typical small owner over $11,000 — money that never comes back. Here is an illustrative case: one owner unit renting for $1,500 and carrying a $200,000 loan at today's 7.03% average.

Rent not collected: 4 months × $1,500 = $6,000
Mortgage still due: 4 months × approximately $1,335 = $5,340
Out of pocket before taxes, insurance, utilities or turnover: $11,340

The tenant's rent stops; the lender's payment does not. Higher rates make that gap wider every month, and small owners rarely have the reserves to absorb it.

The cost doesn't stay with owners. As HAPCO's Paul Cohen told WHYY, owners respond with higher rents and tighter screening — which shrinks the supply of affordable housing for the next tenant.

What we're asking City Council and the Sheriff to do

Owners aren't asking for shortcuts around tenants' rights or the diversion program, which settles most cases. We're asking for a court order, once issued, to be carried out on a predictable schedule — and for someone to be accountable when it isn't.

Publish the numbers monthly. Write pending, average days from writ to lockout, and lockouts completed should be posted publicly, like any other city service.
Set a service standard. Set a written target — we suggest 30 days from writ to lockout — and a public report each quarter on whether it was met.
Tie new funding to results. If Council funds more eviction detectives, the money should come with that target and monthly reporting attached.
Independent oversight, not just for deeds. The court-ordered monitor now watching sheriff sales shows outside review works. Eviction service deserves the same, through the City Controller or a Council-appointed monitor.
Pursue the structural fix. The Committee of Seventy has urged Council and the Mayor to modernize the office and build accountability into its daily work. We agree.

What TCS is doing for owners now

Until the system is fixed, we plan around it. For the owners we manage, that means:

Budgeting for the real timeline. We model six months, not two, when a case may head to court, and size reserves for today's 7% rates.
Resolving early. We use payment plans, rental-assistance referrals and the city's diversion program before a filing becomes a lockout.
Tracking every writ. We confirm lockout dates directly with the Sheriff's Office and keep owners informed at each step.
Screening carefully and fairly, within the law, so fewer tenancies reach this point.

If you own rental property in Philadelphia, tell your Councilmember that eviction delays are a housing-supply problem, not just a landlord problem. And if you'd like help managing through it, TCS Property Management is a call away.

Sources

Federal Reserve, FOMC statement, September 16, 2026
Freddie Mac via Nasdaq, Mortgage Rates Average 7.03%, September 24, 2026
WHYY, How Philly's eviction system has performed since the Sheriff's Office took full control
WHYY, Philly sheriff seeks more staff for evictions, April 30, 2026
Philadelphia Sheriff's Office, Statement on budget request
Philadelphia Inquirer, Judge imposes outside supervision for sheriff's auctions, August 26, 2026
Committee of Seventy, Statement on outside supervision, August 27, 2026