The Council of the City of Philadelphia hereby finds:

(1) Rising costs in the maintenance and upkeep of multiple occupancy dwellings have forced owners to seek alternatives to the rental form of ownership.

(2) Escalating property values whereby high profits can be reaped by the sale of the property also make more attractive the trend toward conversion of these buildings to condominiums.

(3) The cost of purchasing a unit, in many cases, is far greater than paying the monthly rental fee for the unit and it is often extremely difficult for the tenant to get his or her finances in order quickly enough to determine whether purchasing their unit is economically feasible.

(4) This situation can lead to the displacement or eviction of tenants, many of them elderly who have lived in their rental units for years with the intention of making their unit their permanent residences.

(5) When they settled into their rental unit, in many cases, no representation was made to them that the form of building ownership might change, thus requiring a radically different financial outlay than originally anticipated.

(6) Even the task of finding comparable rental housing elsewhere on short notice, and moving into it, has placed a great burden on these tenants.

(7) A need exists for legislation to afford these tenants some relief from the situation, which is detrimental to their welfare, without unnecessarily infringing on the property rights of the owner of the multiple occupancy dwelling.

(8) The City of Philadelphia can, under its police powers, enact legislation which regulates the health, safety or welfare of its citizens.