Dueling Tenant-Protection Laws Will Be on Tacoma Ballot

The City Council in Tacoma, WA has put two competing tenant-protection initiatives on this November’s election ballot.

Appearing on the ballot will be a measure—put forward by a citizens’ initiative that raised 7,000 signatures in a petition drive—which aims to enact a series of tenant-protection measure including several that already have been adopted in neighboring Seattle.

The citizens’ initiative would require landlords to give six months’ advance notice of rent increases and pay relocation assistance if tenants move out after certain rent increases; cap fees at $10; and limit evictions during the school year and winter months, according to a report in the Seattle Times.

The amount of relocation assistance would vary based on the size of the rent increase, ranging from two months’ rent for a 5% increase to three months’ rent for a hike of more than 10%, which the petitioners said was an acknowledgement “of the additional time required to find replacement housing when a tenant’s current rent is below market rate,” the report said.

Unlike the relocation assistance program in Seattle, which is means-tested, the ballot initiative would make relocation assistance available to all tenants, regardless of income.

The City Council also placed on the November ballot an ordinance that has a narrower set of tenant protections.

The ordinance will require four months’ notice of rent increases; limit late fees at 1.5% of rent up to $75; tighten some rules around tenant screening; and require landlords to have a city license in order to raise rent or evict tenants.

The ordinance also stipulates that when renting to new tenants, landlords can require tenants to prove their income only up to two-and-a-half to three times the rent, depending on the amount of the rent.

The City Council voted to approve the ordinance earlier this month—it will go into effect before voters get a chance to ratify or oppose it in the election on November 7. Tenant advocates are crying foul at the dueling ballot questions, saying it the city’s ordinance was put on the ballot to confuse voters.

Ty Moore, campaign manager for the group behind the citizens’ initiative, which calls itself Tacoma for All, said putting the ordinance on the ballot would turn it “in a weapon in the hands of the landlord lobby to try and sabotage our coalition efforts,” the Times reported.

Catherine Ushka, a city council member who supports the ordinance, responded that the city’s measure “will make the greatest progress with the least negative consequences.”

“My vote to put this on the ballot is not to confuse voters. My vote is to give voters a chance,” said Mayor Victoria Woodards, who also serves on the City Council.

The waiting list for affordable rentals in Tacoma now includes 6,500 households, according to the city’s public housing authority.