Seattle City Council committee OKs new restrictions on residential landlords
A Seattle City Council committee on Tuesday voted to approve two ordinances that will impose new restrictions on residential landlords who want to raise the rent of their tenants.
The Sustainability and Renters’ Rights Committee voted 4-0 to require landlords to help cover the moving costs of their tenants if the resident’s monthly rent is being increased by more than 10 percent. City Council member Debora Juarez did not vote on the proposal.
The committee also voted 4-0 to approve legislation that would require landlords to provide at least six months notice — up from the current two — if they plan to raise the monthly rent. And the previous landlord could be responsible for paying the move-in costs of their ex-tenant if the resident vacates the rental because of the rent increase. Council member Alex Pedersen abstained from voting.
The full nine-member council is expected to consider the proposals during its meeting on Sept. 27. It would take five member to vote yes for either to become a city ordinance.
Pedersen had proposed a plan where small landlords would be exempt from the six-month notification requirement but it was voted down by the committee.
Both ordinances were introduced by City Councilwoman Kshama Sawant, who said the measures are an attempt to provide protection to renters facing skyrocketing rents.
The proposals were a coordinated effort by Sawant to push legislation ahead of an anticipated expiration of the eviction moratorium. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan issued an executive order on Tuesday extending the moratorium’s expiration date from Sept. 30 to Jan. 15, 2022.
“Over the past decade there has been massive displacement and gentrification in our neighborhoods,” she said. “Primarily driven by skyrocketing rents.”
More than 30 people, supporters and opponents, signed up to talk about the two ordinances during the council’s public comment session.
“It’s still crazy expensive to try and rent a place in the city” said City Councilwoman Tammy Morales.
Some of her colleagues agreed, saying estimates show the average two-bedroom rental in the city costs around $3,600 a month and a one-bedroom unit goes for $2,700 a month.
The passage of the two bills is a precursor to Sawant’s ultimate goal: rent control in Seattle.
“What we really need is rent control without corporate loopholes to regulate the out-of-control housing rent,” she said.
The committee’s 4-0 vote to extend the notification period of landlords who want to raise the rent is to give Seattle renters more time to relocate because affordable housing in Seattle can be hard to find.
“It cannot stop the rent increases,” Sawant said. “But it does give renters the time to find new housing and rearrange their lives if and when a rent increase forces them to move.”
By the same 4-0 vote with Juarez abstaining, the committee passed Sawant’s other bill intended to assist tenants with relocation costs if a landlord raises their rent by ten percent or more and the tenant decides to move.
That landlord would be required to pay three times the amount of what new rental would be, essentially the first and last month’s rent and security deposit, to the tenant that’s moving out or to the landlord where the tenant moves to.
“That is a form of rent control,” said Roger Valdez, director of Seattle for Growth, which represents the interests of many corporate landlords and some smaller landlords in the city. “You’re controlling how much you can raise rent and create a consequence for a decision to raise rents.”
Rent control has been unlawful in Washington state for 40 years and it would take an act by the state legislature to change that.
“The City Council has demonstrated a willingness to pass illegal things in the past,” Valdez said. “So, it doesn’t surprise me they would do this now.”
Pedersen was able to add an amendment to the bill that would put an eligibility limit on the tenant’s income. Tenants making less than 80 percent of the Area’s Median Income would qualify.
For a single person, that’s just more than $63,000 a year. For a family of four, its just over $90,000 annually
If adopted, the law would apply to any landlord who rents in the city, whether they have thousands of units to rent or just one.
“I think whether you live in a small apartment building or a large apartment building, the need for protection is the same,” Morales said.
Sawant plans to roll out a rent control bill next month with a hope for a full council vote by December, despite the knowledge that state law would preempt it from the very beginning.
Source: komonews.com
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