WA cities expanded renter protections as state efforts stalled - Anlık Haber

Efforts to pass renter protections at the state level stalled in 2024, but cities across Washington — from Olympia to Woodinville to Spokane — expanded local ordinances and policies aimed at protecting tenants.

One of the most significant proposals in the Washington State Legislature in the 2024 session was <a href=”https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?billnumber=2114&year=2024″>House Bill 2114</a>, which would have prohibited landlords from raising rent by more than 7% and limited certain types of fees. It failed to advance. Other tenant protection proposals also died, including limiting the amount landlords can charge for <a href=”https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=6064&Year=2023″>pet fees</a>, creating a <a href=”https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=6136&Year=2023″>business and occupation</a> tax on landlords, <a href=”https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2023-24/Pdf/Bills/House%20Bills/2161.pdf?q=20241218141910″>streamlining enforcement</a> of tenant protections and requiring landlords to <a href=”https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=6212&Year=2023″>submit documentation</a> of tenants’ on-time payments to a national consumer reporting agency.

Ryan Makinster, executive director of government affairs for the landlord and property owner advocacy group Washington Multi-Family Housing Association, described it as a “successful legislative session” in an end-of-session recap sent to members.

“We were able to stop all the bad bills,” Makinster wrote.

Terri Anderson, executive director of the Tenants Union of Washington, described the outcome of the 2024 session as “extremely disappointing.”

Despite the lack of movement at the state level, tenant advocates had local wins. Several major Washington cities implemented policies that extended notice periods for rent increases, imposed limits on excessive fees, required relocation assistance and protected tenants against retaliation for installing air conditioning units.

Anderson said she was glad to see some cities taking initiative where the state didn’t.

“It would be nice to see the state do a little bit better so that you’re not checkerboarding our jurisdictions on who gets protection and who doesn’t,” Anderson said.

Longer notice periods 

Washington state law prohibits cities from passing rent control policies. The restriction — and lack of action from the state government — has prompted some cities to look for other options, Anderson said.

“If you can’t get a cap on rent increases, what’s the next best thing?” Anderson said. “For us, it’s always been extended notice periods for rent increases.”

Washington law requires 60 days of advance notice for rent increases, but several cities have recently passed laws that require more notice: Burien, Kenmore, Kirkland, Port Townsend, Redmond and SeaTac all require at least 180 days notice for increases over 10%; Seattle requires 180 days notice for any rise in rent.

Spokane joined that list this year; council members believe it is the first city in Eastern Washington to extend notice periods. Under the <a href=”https://my.spokanecity.org/news/releases/2024/04/30/council-votes-to-amend-residential-rental-notice-period/”>law passed </a>by the Spokane City Council in May, landlords now have to give at least 120 days notice for any rent increase under 3%, and at least 180 days for increases over 3%.

Homes and apartments in the Queen Anne neighborhood seen from the Space Needle on Friday, May 20, 2022. (Amanda Snyder/Cascade PBS)

As with many proposed rental regulations, the effort to extend notice periods in Spokane was controversial. Council meetings were packed and at times contentious. Landlords argued that it was impossible to predict what market conditions would look like six months in the future, and that the new law would drive small landlords out of business. Tenants, on the other hand, argued that 60 days wasn’t nearly enough time to budget for rent increases and, if necessary, find a new place to live.

In November, the Woodinville City Council passed a set of tenant protections that extended the notice period to 120 days for rent increases greater than 3% and 180 days for increases greater than 10%. It also limits move-in fees, requires advanced notice for landlords who don’t plan to offer lease renewals and requires landlords to provide tenants with a notice of their rights under new lease agreements.

Tukwila considered a similar law to extend notice periods this fall, but ultimately decided to defer the proposal until 2025.

Relocation assistance

In April, the Olympia City Council passed a sweeping set of <a href=”https://www.olympiawa.gov/blog_detail_T40_R27.php#:~:text=2024%20Enhancements&text=The%20City%20now%20requires%20that,may%20be%20charged%20by%20landlords.”>renter protections</a> that includes a requirement that landlords provide tenants with advanced notice of their right to terminate a lease early after receiving an unaffordable rent increase, and allow tenants to break their lease within 30 days of receiving a new rental rate.

The new law also makes renters eligible for relocation assistance from their landlord if they’re forced to move because of an excessive rent hike or habitability concerns. A tenant is eligible to receive a payout from their landlord equal to two and a half months’ rent if they’re facing a rent increase of more than 7% within a 12-month period.

Bellingham and Tacoma implemented similar relocation assistance policies this year following ballot initiatives passed by voters in November 2023.

The <a href=”https://bellingham.municipal.codes/enactments/Init2023-02″>Bellingham initiative</a>, led by Community First Whatcom, makes tenants eligible for relocation assistance equal to three months’ rent if faced with a rent increase over 8%.

In Tacoma, tenants are eligible for a payout equal to two months’ rent for increases of 5% or more, two-and-a-half months’ rent for increases over 7.5% and three months’ rent for increases over 10%.

The Tacoma initiative was led by <a href=”https://www.tacoma4all.org/initiative01″>Tacoma For All</a>, a progressive advocacy group, and passed with a thin margin of less than 400 votes. It also prohibits landlords from evicting tenants between November and March, and prohibits evictions of families with kids in school.

In August this year, the Citizen Action Defense Fund, a constitutional-rights nonprofit, sued the city of Tacoma over the initiative on behalf of a Tacoma apartment complex. In a news release, Citizen Action Defense Fund executive director Jackson Maynard argued that the initiative is unconstitutional and creates “additional financial strain on the housing market.”

Added fees

As efforts at the state stalled, several Washington cities have been taking steps to crack down on what housing advocates call “junk fees” — a broad category of fees tacked onto rental units that advocates say has become arbitrary and excessive in recent years.

The Tacoma ballot initiative lowered the cap on late fees from $75 to $10; limited pet damage deposits to no more than 25% of one month’s rent; and banned move-in fees that exceed the first month’s rent. Olympia’s new suite of renter protections has similar limits.

In Bellingham, City Councilmember Jace Cotton is working on two ordinances to prohibit unreasonable<a href=”https://www.cascadiadaily.com/2024/sep/30/bellingham-considers-ordinance-to-limit-junk-fees-impacting-renters/”> “junk fees</a>” and administrative costs associated with rental units and manufactured mobile homes. The rental law would prohibit non-refundable pet fees, limit late fees and application fees and require that landlords disclose all mandatory fees on a rental agreement.

After being deferred for more community engagement in September, Bellingham plans to bring the proposals back for a city council vote at some point in 2025.

The right to air conditioning 

The set of protections passed by the Olympia City Council in April also ensures that tenants won’t be cited or evicted because they installed a cooling device — such as a portable air conditioner — in their unit.

Spokane passed a similar “Heat, Health and Safety Ordinance” in June this year. The law was based on <a href=”https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2022R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB1536/Enrolled”>Oregon Senate Bill 1536</a>, which passed in 2022.

Spokane City Councilmember Kitty Klitzke, who sponsored the law, said in a press conference that the law is especially important in light of the 2021 heat dome that caused at least 19 deaths in Spokane County — many of them in apartments without air conditioning.

“Climate change is affecting the most vulnerable people in our community,” Klitzke said. “[This is] an important step to bring justice towards our efforts to mitigate climate change.”

Registry rules

Several Washington cities have laws requiring landlords to register each unit they operate with a central database. Spokane passed a similar law in 2023, requiring landlords to obtain a $130 business license, pay a $15-per unit fee and register every unit they operate with the city.

The goal of Spokane’s registry is to create a centralized database of rental units and landlord contact information — making it easier for the city’s code enforcement department to be proactive about inspecting rentals for substandard conditions.

Landlords were required to <a href=”https://www.inlander.com/news/spokane-will-require-four-to-six-months-of-advanced-notice-for-rent-increases-but-many-landlords-havent-complied-with-the-citys-other-rent-27885600″>register all their units</a> by Jan. 1, 2024, but many didn’t do that. By September, a little over 21,000 units were registered — less than half the total number of rental units estimated to exist in the city.

Voluntary compliance didn’t seem to be working, so in October the Spokane City Council decided to update the law to give it some teeth. Under the new rules, landlords who haven’t registered their units aren’t allowed to raise rent or evict tenants.

A proposal to create a rental registry program in <a href=”https://www.beheardvancouver.org/rentals”>Vancouver</a> is slated to come before its city council in 2025.

Renter protections might come up again at the state level in 2025. Progressive state lawmakers have indicated that another attempt at a rent stabilization bill could be introduced in the 2025 session. Anderson of the Tenants Union said it’s a big priority for her organization, and that she’s hopeful it has a better shot at passing in the next session. Two of the Democrats who blocked the proposal last year <a href=”https://www.kuow.org/stories/as-trump-s-gop-takes-control-what-s-next-for-washington-s-democrat-led-legislature”>won’t be returning </a>to the Senate

Topics: <a href=”https://www.cascadepbs.org/landlords” hreflang=”en”>Landlords</a>, <a href=”https://www.cascadepbs.org/renters” hreflang=”en”>Renters</a>, <a href=”https://www.cascadepbs.org/washington-legislature” hreflang=”en”>Washington Legislature</a>, <a href=”https://www.cascadepbs.org/next-gen” hreflang=”en”>Next Gen</a>

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