The Seattle City Council faces a choice: reform landlord-tenant laws or plow tens of millions of dollars into trying to keep a sinking affordable housing system afloat with no policy changes.
The council has a track record of taking on big issues with the right sensibilities, only to back off when protesters converge at City Hall and the outrage machine gets pumping.
Like Charlie Brown once again charging at the football, The Times editorial board hopes that this time the outcome will be different.
Change is needed. Now is the time to make it.
Problems in the housing market have been known for years.
After pandemic rental assistance phased out around 2022, affordable housing operators of all stripes faced similar situations: tenants refused to pay rent, courts flooded with eviction cases that took months to resolve, property destruction skyrocketed, police did not respond to public safety issues, and costs from labor to insurance to building supplies increased.
In its application for city relief funds last year, the Low Income Housing Institute noted that it “faces serious issues regarding rent collection.”
Tenants who pay their rent typically pay on time. “However, the vast majority of those who don’t pay rent have sufficient income to pay but choose not to. Although we offer payment plans, those who accept them do not follow through with them,” wrote LIHI, which develops, owns and operates housing for low-income, homeless and formerly homeless people.
Over a few years, the previous Seattle City Council passed a series of laws intended to protect tenants from landlords. These included the Fair Chance Housing Ordinance, 2018 (prevents landlords from denying a prospective tenant based on criminal record); Roommate Ordinance, 2019 (makes it easier for tenant to bring in a roommate); Winter Eviction Ban, 2020 (restricts eviction from December to March even if the tenant isn’t paying rent), and others.
As The Times recently reported, affordable housing operators are getting out of the business. Thirteen buildings with more than 1,100 units have been put up for sale in recent months.
The problems of Seattle’s housing sector are complicated and only some of them are under City Hall’s control. Still, the council ought to reexamine policies and try to stabilize the market without resorting to the city’s seemingly preferred method of dealing with any problem: more taxpayer money.
The editorial board noted last year: “The city’s own policies contributed to the current financial crisis in the affordable housing system. These must be fixed to help reset the landlord-tenant relationship and end the dysfunction.”
Nonprofit and for-profit housing developers have urged action.
The current situation is untenable. Council members: Kick the darn football.
