Warren County hasn’t seen much of an uptick in landlord-tenant complaints since the state’s eviction moratorium ended.

Since Aug. 31, the day the moratorium ended, three landlord-tenant complaints have been filed with District Judge Raymond Zydonik, whose jurisdiction includes the city of Warren, per online court records. Two seek claim amounts in excess of $1,000 and a total of seven people who stand to be evicted are identified in the complaints. One has been filed through District Justice Laura Bauer’s office and names two individuals as defendants. Much of northern Warren County falls under Bauer’s purview.

Gov. Tom Wolf wants state legislators to act on a package of stop evictions in the state as well as change existing state programs.

Republicans ask, after months of Wolf governing largely by executive order, why the eviction moratorium is being kicked to the legislature for action?

In a news conference last week, Wolf was joined by housing advocates as well as House and Senate Democrats in an attempt to push the legislature to pass legislation.

“Pennsylvanians shouldn’t lose their homes or have to worry about a place to live because of the financial hardships caused by COVID-19,” Wolf said. “Pennsylvanians are making sacrifices to fight this pandemic, but a place to live shouldn’t be one of them. I’ve paused evictions for nearly four months, but now we need legislation. I urge the General Assembly to immediately pass a moratorium on evictions and fix flaws in a rent relief program so more people can get the help they need.”

The governor called for changes to help renters:

¯ Raise the $750 monthly cap on rent relief to at least 130% of HUD limits. .

¯ Eliminate the requirement that households be 30 days behind on rent to be eligible for assistance.

¯ Eliminate verification that applicants applied for unemployment compensation.

¯ Provide landlords and mortgagees the option to forgive the remaining unpaid rent or mortgage payments or allow the balance to be repaid over one year.

Rep. Maureen Madden, D-Monroe, attended the news conference as the sponsor of House Bill 2838, which would require landlords to create a payment plan option for tenants who have lost their jobs, prohibit landlords from charging late fees on rent payments and create a landlord-tenant mediation and counseling program to help resolve issues before an eviction is required.

“Being evicted from a home is traumatizing for tenants and overwhelmingly costly to landlords, especially during a global pandemic when everyone’s safety is threatened,” Madden wrote in her legislative memorandum. “We must ensure that all Pennsylvania residents are equipped to continue battling this pandemic, future pandemics, and all declarations of emergency to come.”

Additionally, House Bill 2850, sponsored by Democrats Elizabeth Fiedler, Sara Innamorato and Summer Lee, would extend the eviction and foreclosure moratorium for another 90 days.

Wolf said Monday he would not extend his executive order halting evictions and foreclosures in Pennsylvania because of legal limits that prevent him from taking further action. In a statement, Wolf’s office said it had explored the possibility that it could build off of the Federal Housing Administration’s Thursday extension of its national foreclosure and eviction moratorium through December.

House Republicans said in a statement that Wolf’s reasoning flies in the face of his actions since March.

“Gov. Wolf has ignored the law and acted by fiat for the last six months. It is curious now that he is searching for the limits of his authority as an excuse to pass the buck to the General Assembly over the crisis he created for both property owners and renters,” said Jason Gottesman, Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus spokesperson. “”Instead of telling the General Assembly how to do its job and what bills to pass, Gov. Wolf should instead work with us to reopen Pennsylvania’s economy, get those struggling to pay their bills back to work safely, and restore some sense of normalcy to the people of the Commonwealth.”