Fight over Tacoma renters’ rights will head to the November ballot after council vote
The Tacoma City Council has approved a resolution that would amend the city’s rental housing code to give renters more rights.
In addition, the council voted Tuesday to send the resolution to the Nov. 7 ballot, letting voters decide between the city’s proposal and another measure Tacoma for All advocates say provides more protections for tenants and discourages excessive rent hikes.
Council members Kiara Daniels and Olgy Diaz voted against sending the city’s resolution to the ballot, arguing the council needed to take a stronger stance in protecting renters, especially low-income residents and those from historically marginalized groups.
The city’s resolution will go into effect July 24. In November, voters will have the chance to decide if they want to choose Tacoma for All’s ballot initiative or keep the city’s resolution, incorporating it into the city’s municipal code, said City of Tacoma spokesperson Maria Lee Wednesday.
The city’s resolution as amended includes modifications to the city’s current Rental Housing Code:
Requiring landlords to provide at least 120 days’ written notice for rent increases, instead of 60 days.
Requiring landlords to comply with city licensing and safety requirements before increasing rent or evicting tenants.
Prohibiting landlords from using some practices to screen tenants, including requiring a Social Security number or having a blanket ban on renting to anyone with a felony conviction or arrest record.
Barring landlords from requiring that renters make more than 2.5 or 3 times the monthly rent.
Adding standards requiring landlords and master lease holders to comply with new shared housing regulations, in cases where tenants may rent a private room but share common areas.
An amendment to prohibit landlords from rejecting tenants with certain dog breeds passed.
Amendments authorizing economic displacement relocation assistance to residents who make less than 50% of the area median income failed at Tuesday’s meeting, as did an amendment to ban certain evictions from Dec. 1 to March 1. Amendments to bar landlords from requiring tenants make 2 or 2.5 times the monthly rent in the screening process also failed.
Several residents spoke in favor of Daniels’ and Diaz’s efforts to provide more support to tenants who are being displaced due to rising rental prices and lack of affordable housing.
“We need to go further. We need to make more room for our most vulnerable residents. This requires hard choices. It requires finding a better balance between the interests of tenants and housing providers in a way that still protects our city’s growth,” Daniels said. “I’m incredibly disappointed in my colleagues, and I’m really disappointed in the pace of progress that we continue to move at. I think we can do better. And I think moving in fear puts us in a place of where our unintended consequences really are: the lack of action.”
Diaz said she was concerned the policy the council approved “is missing the mark on … our own system transformation work.”
“If we are looking to get this diverse workforce, where will they live if they can’t afford to live here? If we’re looking at how folks are making ends meet, we know for a fact that historic redlining inequalities have made it so that folks who look like me have not been allowed to buy homes. We are renters,” she said. “I don’t think anybody up here is ill-intended at all — I just have a lot of concerns about how we got here.”
Other council members said they wanted more time to look at anti-displacement measures that were being discussed, and acknowledged the need for more affordable housing in Tacoma.
“We can tell just how important all of this work is to our entire community just by listening to the people that showed up tonight, listening to people that brought amendments tonight and made sure that their voice was heard,” said council member Catherine Ushka. “It’s precisely because we share the same passion for the democratic process and the importance of voting as a fundamental right, that we remain confident in the ability of Tacoma’s voters to make important choices before them. Tacoma’s voters are smart. They engage and are able to understand our most complex issues. And we asked them tonight to address Tacoma’s future growth as a community in a responsible and sustainable manner for decades to come.”
Mayor Victoria Woodards said that although the meeting was difficult, the discussion means “that we are all deeply concerned and deeply passionate about this issue and our thoughts on how best to address it.”
“We didn’t go as far as Tacoma for All wanted, and we went further than our stakeholder group recommended, which some would say is a good place to be. But what I want to be really clear about is we’ve done some really good work,” Woodards said. “We are not done. As we continue to learn more and understand the issue even greater and continue to work on other solutions, there will continue to be change.”
What is going to the November ballot?
Tacoma for All’s ballot measure would “require landlords to comply with health and safety laws before raising rent or evicting a tenant; set limits on certain rental fees; require landlords provide two notices to increase rent and offer relocation assistance when the increase is 5% or more; create a defense against certain student/school year evictions, evictions between November 1 and April 1, and evictions against service members, seniors, families and others with protected status under the measure; and provide penalties and enforcement mechanisms.”
The city’s alternative measure would “repeal and reenact portions of the City’s rental housing code and require landlords to comply with health and safety laws; have a City license before increasing rent or evicting tenants; set limits on rent late fees and pet deposits; require 120 day notice to raise rent; add new regulations for shared housing; standardize screening criteria for tenant income required to qualify for housing, for reviewing tenant’s criminal history and identification.”
Voters will be asked if either of the measures should be enacted into law, and if one measure is enacted, which one it should be. The chosen measure will be in effect for two years. Within those two years only voters can change it via special election, Lee said.
Residents interested in being considered for appointment to committees advocating “for” or “against” either measure can submit a letter of interest with their place of residence and why they would like to serve on the committee by noon July 17. Letters must be sent to the City Clerk’s office or via email to cityclerk@cityoftacoma.org. Statements prepared by both committees will appear in the voters’ pamphlet.
If voter’s choose Tacoma for All’s ballot initiative in November, any elements of the city’s ordinance that are in conflict will be repealed. The rest will stay in effect, according to the city’s website.
This story was originally published July 13, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
