In two cities, tenant protections caused unintended problems for affordable housing operators.
Tacoma changed direction. So far, Seattle has not — opting instead to try to get out of trouble by spending more tax money.
On this issue, the Emerald City ought to take a clue from its southern neighbor.
In November 2023, Tacoma voters passed the Landlord Fairness Code Initiative.
Among other provisions, landlords were prohibited from carrying out evictions between November and April. The rules also restricted landlords from evicting families with children during the school year.
Upon reviewing the initiative’s real-life impacts, Tacoma determined that low-income housing providers and other landlords suffered from unpaid rents and an increase in damage to units.
“After two years of operating under the Landlord Fairness Code, we continue to experience negative, unintended consequences that impede our ability to do our work and serve our community,” according to an Oct. 31 news release signed by the Tacoma Housing Authority and other providers.
It continued: “Today, due to mounting delinquent rent, our ability to secure investments that would pay to build more affordable units in Tacoma and improve our current stock of affordable housing is in jeopardy.”
On Dec. 9, the Tacoma City Council passed an ordinance amending the codes. Among other conditions, the new law stipulated that the Tacoma Housing Authority and some other nonprofit housing providers with income-restricted units would be exempt from the cold weather and school year eviction bans.
Seattle currently bans evictions between December and March, and, if the household has school-age children, between September and June, among other protections.
These measures contributed to a housing environment in Seattle where folks don’t pay rent and eviction processes are long and costly — all trends that began during the pandemic.
Affordable housing providers have been pleading for relief. Instead, they get short-term cash.
Last year, the Seattle Office of Housing released $14 million in emergency funds for housing operators bleeding money from maintenance and other costs while rents went unpaid.
In November, the Office of Housing announced that it was making another $28 million available to affordable housing providers “to address the current difficulties caused by rising operational costs and revenue shortfalls.”
More money clearly isn’t the only answer.
Seattle City Hall needs to step up and finally tackle the hard challenges of an affordable housing market that isn’t functioning properly. Reforming tenant protections will surely bring out loud protesters to council chambers, but problems with unpaid rent and disregard for rules will not resolve themselves.
