Dazed and Confused: Tenant Landlord Regulation Isn’t Housing Policy
State Representative Nicole Macri and State Senator Patty Kuderer are either profoundly confused or misled. They seem to think that toying with landlord tenant law — really contract law — is housing policy. It isn’t. It’s contract law. However, whenever they get drawn into the swamp of minutiae of how rental contracts are regulated, they do real damage to housing in the state. Senator Kuderer has been pushing SB 5160, a bill that slants the housing provider and resident relationship toward a tiny number of people with problem tenancies at the expense of everyone else.
I won’t speculate on their motives here, but we’ll highlight one plea from a housing provider about Macri’s proposal, HB 1236, urging representatives to vote, “No.” I won’t go into the details of the bill because I think this housing provider covers what you need to know. Find your house member and send them a message about this bill.
I am writing you today to ask you to vote NO on SHB 1236 because the legislation will force me to provide a perpetual tenancy.
I am a small housing provider and have owned & operated a rental property in the city of Shoreline for the last 18 years. It was our first house and we lived in it for 6 years & started our family there before it became a rental home.
In 2019 we had the worst tenant in our 18 years at the Shoreline house – they cost us $26,000 in damages in addition to 7 months of lost rent while we fixed the damage they caused. We didn’t know about the damage until they moved out and we are still recovering from this loss.
That particular tenant was very savvy and exploited every loophole and advantage that the law provides to renters. We managed to convince them to move without pursuing eviction, but it terrifies me to think what we would still be enduring if the Legislature tied our hands and made it impossible to end that problem tenancy.
The governor’s restrictions during the pandemic have already caused small mom & pop housing providers like me to endure many months of restrictions on the use of our property without receiving income from tenants. I am already exposed to significant risks that are leading me towards considering closing my rental property in order to protect my family.
We are already pulling out of investing in Seattle and are seriously considering moving our rental property investment out of the state of Washington altogether because of hostile legislation like this.
If SHB 1236 passes as written, there is no reason for me to use a lease because I cannot control the use of my property unless the tenant agrees to leave or I go through a long and costly eviction proceeding.
Housing providers and tenants agree to rental agreements so that both sides have a dependable understanding about the length of tenancy, community responsibilities, and rental rate.
I will be forced to increase my screening criteria in order to compensate for the fact that a tenant will have permanent use of my property. If SHB 1236 as written passes, I will no longer be able to provide second-chance opportunities to prospective tenants.
Please vote NO on SHB 1236, and please work with people like me who provide critical housing opportunities in your district to remove mandatory perpetual lease requirements and lease ending restrictions from the bill.
Thank you for your consideration. I would be very happy to speak with you about our experience.
Oh Boy. Here We Go. Seattle Banning Credit Checks?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: We are seeing the slow erosion of private rental property in Seattle and the United States. But the takeover of housing by government is speeding up. Last week the Seattle Renters’ Commission wrote a long letter to the Seattle City Council urging the end of credit checks for rental housing.
“We, the Seattle Renters’ Commission, is advocating for the City of Seattle to enact an ordinance in which they remove the practice of credit checks for rental applications.”
The chances that the Seattle City Council will implement this are high. Below is the letter I sent complete with an incorrect apostrophe. The Commission represents (or claims to represent) more than one renter. Sorry Grammar Police. If you want to echo the letter or send your own message, there is a space below. Please do as soon as you can.
Please Shelve SB 5160: Work on Real Solutions
January 12, 2021
Greetings members of the Senate Housing and Local Government Committee,
Once again the Chair has chosen to take a scorched earth approach to eviction with SB 5160, a bill written by, for, and with eviction defense attorneys.
Nothing in this legislation will help a single mother with two jobs that lost them to Covid-19 shutdowns. Nothing in this legislation will help a person in a mental health crisis. Nothing in this legislation will help a family hit with a huge medical expense. Nothing in this legislation will provide a sustainable income for a person who has lost benefits. Nothing. It will allow them to suffer through all this in a free rental unit.
Except that it really isn’t free. In the end, while rent goes unpaid, so do utility payments, property taxes, repairs, maintenance, and in the end, mortgages.
If passed, SB 5160 introduces uncertainty into an already uncertain housing market. As new units come on line, how will housing providers ensure residents don’t end up as non-payers protected for months on end by the provisions of this legislation? Many people worried about their futures will see these provisions as an opportunity to direct their cash away from rent they owe and toward other serious needs.
When the emergency is over – and we don’t know when that is – what will be left of a housing market with significant debt and slowed production?
During public hearings you’ll hear more about the specific damage this legislation will do from housing providers of all kinds and sizes from all over the state.
The right thing for the Committee to do is shelve this bill. Instead, you should engage with the housing community to find ways to prevent eviction. Remember, eviction is a rare and expensive intervention (only 1,215 evictions in the state’s largest city in 2016) that no housing provider wants to make.
The entire focus of the Committee now should be holding the Governor accountable for how the State spends $508 million in rent relief. The money needs to pay rent as soon as possible for families and households suffering from the impacts of Covid-19.
Sincerely,
Roger Valdez
Director
Our Christmas Card for Governor Inslee
We sent this email to Governor Inslee about rent relief. Bottom line? We can solve the problem of unpaid rent without eviction bans.
Dear Governor Inslee,
Happy Holidays! I understand from reading the Seattle Times that you extend the state’s eviction ban until the 31st of March of 2021. In Seattle because of legislation passed there, this ensures that the ban will continue for all of 2021. I’m sure you knew that.
I’m sure you also know that the relief bill passed by congress on Sunday, the one I referenced in my last letter, has $25 billion for rent relief that is to be paid to housing providers. Did you know that about $506 million is coming to Washington State (see attached).
Now I don’t make a practice of believing what I read in the Seattle Times (a longer story I’d love to tell you) but let’s go with their numbers in the story I read here: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless/gov-inslee-to-extend-washington-statewide-eviction-moratorium-to-march-31/
“In Washington, more than 181,000 households are estimated by the survey to have fallen behind on rent payments — more than 11% of households in the state that rent.”
Our own analysis (which I’m sure you have considered) found about $26 million in unpaid rent in the state’s six most populous counties as of May of this year. If that figure increased by four times we’d have about $100 million in unpaid rent in Washington state, about the amount you allocated from CARES act funding to rent relief already, money that few if any housing providers have seen.
But forget about our numbers, let’s go back to the Seattle Times. Let’s guess (which is what seems to be what the federal, state, and local government does when making big decisions about housing) that the average amount owed by those 181,000 households is $1,000.
The total unpaid rent in Washington would be about $181,000,000. Again, just guessing, let’s say it was three times that amount. That would be $543,000,000, close to what we’re being allocated and still less if added together with the $100 million.
Unpaid rent is probably much closer to the $181 million figure. But unless you act now to establish a rent relief program that will quickly and without any strings or excessive process, we will eventually see a number that high.Why wait to let that happen? We have the resources on the way to solve this problem, including $100 million already allocated.
We need to hear from you as soon as possible about how we are going to plan together to get resources to families who are behind on their rent and just as important we need a program that will just as quickly provide payments for rent if you decide on another lockdown in the future. Lastly, please remove the prohibition against removing people who are not paying rent but who have jobs or income. This continues to be an issue across the state.
Finally, please engage the state’s banks and lenders, including non-profit credit unions. Our suggestion is to allocate at least $181,000,000 to them and let them get the money to providers fast.
All we want for Christmas this year is to hear from your staff and the Commerce Department so we can get this money where it should go — families struggling to pay rent — as soon as it arrives.
Roger–
Director
Seattle For Growth
206-427-7707
Governor Inslee: Talk to Housing Providers Now About Rent Relief
The Congress has finally passed a measure for rent relief. The legislation includes $25 billion to be paid to housing providers for unpaid rent. The legislation allows for ongoing payments as well, something like the insurance program we’ve been asking for. This letter was sent to Governor Inslee and all legislators. If you want to send a message to the Governor, there is a template below.
December 19, 2020
Dear Governor Inslee,
We are writing you on behalf of housing providers in our region and state who have residents who cannot pay rent because of the impacts of Covid-19. New legislation just passed by Congress has allocated $25 billion for rent relief. These funds will be coming to the state in 2021 and it is essential that they reach hard hit households fast.
We ask that you convene representatives of housing providers of all sizes and locations to get advice on how to design a distribution program. The program should,
- Pay the full amount of unpaid rent for affected households;
- Consider current (not pre-Covid) income for households to qualify;
- Pay any and all unpaid utility bills for the unit;
- Not spend any less than the required 90 percent on direct rent relief to housing providers;
- Limit the number of third parties in the transaction;
- Use lenders that have existing relationships with housing providers;
- Use direct electronic transfers to pay rent directly to providers; and
- Allow ongoing payments for ongoing and future rent and utility obligations if Covid-19 impacts continue; and
- End or modify state and local bans on eviction to allow eviction for people who can pay but aren’t.
Remember the law is requiring payment to housing providers not tenants or third parties. For this program to be successful state and local government needs to work with property owners and fast to be sure resources go where they are needed the most. We are ready to work with you and other groups to design this program.
Sincerely,
Roger Valdez
Director
