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Network for Public Health Law
Source and Scope of Public Health Legal Powers

Apartment Assoc. of Metropolitan Pittsburgh, Inc., v. The City of Pittsburgh

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Overview

Apartment Assoc. of Metropolitan Pittsburgh, Inc., v. The City of Pittsburgh (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Western District, Oct. 21, 2021): The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania struck down a Pittsburgh ordinance that attempted to add source-of-income discrimination to an existing city law that prohibits housing discrimination based on race, familial status, or disability. Pittsburgh is a home rule jurisdiction with broad public health authority, but that authority is limited as to regulation of businesses. Specifically, a state law referred to as the “Business Exclusion” prohibits local governments from imposing duties, responsibilities, or requirements on businesses unless there is a state statute that provides express or implied authority to the local government. Landlord organizations challenged the source-of-income ordinance claiming that the City was imposing a restriction on businesses without a basis of authority in state law. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed, finding that no state statute supported the City’s authority to impose source-of-income restrictions on landlords. Read the full decision here.

View all cases in the Judicial Trends in Public Health – November 15, 2021.

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