Happy Holidays from LandlordSolutions!

'Tis the season to be jolly and celebrate the holidays with friends and family! 🎉

In observance of Christmas 🎄 and for the big countdown to 2024 🕛 ,

LandlordSolutions office will be closed on the following days:

🎁  Monday, December 25th, 2023  🎄
Closed

🎉  Monday, January 1st, 2024  🍾
Closed

Wishing you and yours the merriest of holidays and a fantastic New Year!  🌟

Stay safe and enjoy the festive season in good health  ✅

Warmest holiday cheers!

Shoreline City Council passed tenant protections on December 11 by a vote of 6-1, despite significant opposition from housing providers in Shoreline and housing associations like WMFHA. Ordinance 996 establishes new protections for Shoreline tenants, in addition to those already provided under the Washington State Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (RLTA, RCW, 59.18). 

Many of the new changes are similar to new tenant protection laws passed in Tacoma (Landlord Fairness Code Initiative). The new tenant protections in Shoreline go into effect on Tuesday, December 19th. As of 8:30am Pacific Time on December 19th, 2023, the Shoreline Municipal Code has not been updated with the new Chapter 9.35 – Residential Tenant Protections.

What has changed in Shoreline:

• Notice of Rent Increase

• • 120 days for increase greater than 3% but less than 10%
  • 180 days for increase greater than 10%

• Move in fees, deposits and last months rent

• • All move-in fees and deposits cannot equal more than one month’s rent
  • All such fees can be paid in installments

• Late Fees

• • Late fees cannot exceed 1.5% of one month rent
  • Tenant may propose different rent due date if their primary source of income is government assistance
  • Can request date to align with income payment date

• Tenant Screening

• • Landlord may request, but not require social security number or other tax ID as part of screening process

• Additional Fees

• • All charges, one-time or recurring, in addition to rent must be included in rental agreement addendum
  • May not charge fee for tenant access to common areas or share of utilities for common areas for any landlord duty required by state law, for example mail room
  • May not charge fee for issuance of notices to tenant

• Penalties

• • Tenants have the right to sue their landlord for violation of the code.

Does this Apply to You?

This only applies to properties in the City of Shoreline. Check to see if your property is in the city limits here. 

Instructions on how to connect to the meeting if testifying remotely: Instructions

Instructions on how to create your Legislative Account and edit your profile: Instructions

How to Register to Testify in a Committee Hearing

https://app.leg.wa.gov/csi

1. Select the committee name and meeting date and time, then select the bill for which you would like to testify.
2. Testimony registration will close 1 hour before the start time of the hearing. Anyone who does not register before this deadline will be unable to testify before the committee.
3. To testify in person: Select “I would like to testify in person during the hearing.” Ensure your registration information is accurate. After submitting your registration, it may not be possible to make changes. It will be a part of the legislative record and used by TVW for online and television graphics.
   1. Note: Despite registering to testify in person, you will automatically be sent a Zoom link for the meeting. Please plan to testify in person as you indicated upon registering, but you may use the link as a backup if your plans change.
4. To testify remotely: Select “I would like to testify remotely.” Ensure your registration information is accurate. After submitting your registration, it may not be possible to make changes. It will be a part of the legislative record and used by TVW for online and television graphics.

Additional Information about Testifying

• Registration opens when a bill is scheduled for public hearing. Registration closes one hour before the meeting is scheduled to begin.
• Every registrant will automatically receive a Zoom link to the meeting. Each link is unique to the registrant. Registrants are prohibited from sharing links.
  • Those who signed up to testify in person should plan to do so, and only use their link as backup.
• Remote participants may participate via Zoom or phone. See instructions above on how to connect to the meeting.
• Be advised: Registering to testify does not guarantee you a chance to speak or speak at specific times. Time constraints, technical issues, changes to committee schedules, etc. could affect your ability to testify.
• Remote participants will be connected to the Zoom Webinar meeting in attendee view until called to speak.
• The committee Chair may limit public testimony (for example, one minute per testifier) due to time constraints. Be prepared to testify at any point during the hearing. It is also possible you will not be recognized to testify.
• Maintain proper committee protocol, which includes waiting to be acknowledged by the committee Chair before speaking, ensuring testimony is respectful and professional, and following rules for testimony established by the Chair.
  • In person testifiers may not bring signs into the hearing rooms and must adhere to the occupancy guidelines assigned to hearing rooms.
  • Remote testifiers may include the name of their organization in the background of video feeds, but backgrounds that include a campaign sign, a slogan, or any other material that is campaign-related, offensive, or otherwise defamatory will not be permitted.
• Legislative committee and technical staff are unable to assist with any individual connection, Zoom link, or other technical issue you may experience. Please see instructions document for tips on how to address any common link or other technical issues.
• Anyone who fails to follow the rules for testimony established by the committee Chair forfeits their opportunity to testify.

How to State Your Position on a Bill Without Testifying

1. Select the committee and meeting date and time, then select the bill for which you would like to register.
2. Select “I would like my position noted for the legislative record.” Registration will close 1 hour before the start time of the hearing.
3. Ensure your registration information is accurate. Your registered position will be made available to legislative members and staff of the committee, and will be included in the legislative record for bill and meeting archival purposes, but will not be used as part of testimony summary materials on the bill report.

How to Submit Written Testimony

1. Select the committee name and meeting date and time, then select the bill for which you would like to submit written testimony.
2. Select “I would like to Submit Written Testimony.” Written testimony will close 24 hours after the start time of the hearing.
3. Provide your written comments in the form. Your comments will be made available to legislative members and staff of the committee, and will be included in the legislative record for bill and meeting archival purposes, but will not be used as part of testimony summary materials on the bill report.

If you own or operate rental properties in the City of Spokane, you will need to comply with the “Regulation of Residential Rental Housing” ordinance, passed by the City of Spokane City Council on Feb. 27, 2023. The ordinance itself can be viewed at this link: Spokane Municipal Code - Chapter 10.57: Regulation of Residential Rental Housing (spokanecity.org)

City of Spokane Code Enforcement staff will be implementing the property registration and inspections components of the ordinance. Other aspects of the ordinance are outside of Code Enforcement’s scope and may still be pending development by other departments. In order to comply with the business license, property registration and inspections components of the ordinance, property owners and managers will need to:

1. Obtain a business license through the Washington State Department of Revenue and the business license will need a City of Spokane endorsement.
2. Register your rental property or properties with the City of Spokane’s online portal before Dec. 31, 2023, at Accela Citizen Access (spokanepermits.org).
3. Work with Code Enforcement staff when needed to help facilitate inspections (in 2024 and in future years.)

The Spokane City website contains additional information on this new program:

Register Rental Properties Before Dec. 31 - City of Spokane, Washington (spokanecity.org)

Rental Registry FAQs (spokanecity.org)

Spokane Housing Guide

Code Enforcement - City of Spokane, Washington (spokanecity.org)

For questions on the rental property registry, email codeenforcement@spokanecity.org. For questions on obtaining a business license for operating a rental property business in the City, call the Washington State Department of Revenue at 360-705-6741 or City of Spokane Taxes and Licenses at 509-625-6070. Information about the City’s Short-term Rental monitoring program, a separate program, can be found here.

LandlordSolutions founder Jim Henderson spoke with reporters at KIRO7 about Tacoma's Landlord Fairness Code Initiative. Find the story here.

The City of Tacoma has added new resources for the Landlord Fairness Code Initiative to its website.

City of Tacoma: Renting in Tacoma

Landlord Fairness Code Initiative — Full Text

2023 Landlord Fairness Code Initiative Q&A Fact Sheet

Landlord Fairness Code Initiative and Rental Housing Code Slide Deck

Recording of the City's Landlord Fairness Code Initiative Webinar (YouTube)

City of Tacoma Landlord Resources

Notice of Rent Increase — LFCI

Reminder Notice of Rent Increase — LFCI

The population in Washington State has reached 8 million people and is forecast to reach 9 million by 2038. According to the Department of Commerce, we need to build 1.1 million housing units by 2044 to keep up with the population growth. More half of those will "need to be affordable for residents at the lowest income levels."

According to the Washington State Office of Financial Management, the annual growth of housing units has ranged between 46,000 and 47,000 per year since 2020.

• 2020: 3,202,239 units
• 2021: 3,248,655 units (+46,416)
• 2022: 3,295,313 units (+46,658)
• 2023: 3,341,640 units (+46,327)

If this rate holds, Washington State will be adding between 920,000 to 940,000 new housing units over the next 20 years. That’s a deficit of 160,000 to 180,000 housing units over the next 20 years, or between 8,000 to 9,000 units per year. 718,900 of the needed housing units, or about 65%, must be built in just 4 out of 39 counties: Clark, King, Pierce, and Snohomish. With over $35 billion in below-market-rate federal loans available, some of that extra demand may be met by commercial-to-residential conversions. However, if that target is not reached, rents may climb across the state, especially in the 4 biggest counties.

The City of Tacoma’s Office of Equity and Human Rights is holding two online informational sessions on Monday, December 4 to update landlords, tenants, and interested residents about the changes to the city’s rental housing requirements and rules once the Measure 1 ballot initiative goes into effect on December 8. Identical sessions will be held starting at noon and at 5:30 P.M.

The Measure 1 ballot initiative, also known as the Landlord Fairness Code Initiative, includes new rules and requirements on late rent fees, rent increase notifications, evictions, relocation assistance, and more. The Landlord Fairness Code will be in effect along with the City’s Rental Housing Code, which was updated by the City Council in July. The informational sessions will cover all of the new rules and requirements found in both the Landlord Fairness Code Initiative and the Rental Housing Code, as well as how each code will be enforced.

WHAT:               Renting in Tacoma: New Code Information Sessions

WHEN:               Monday, December 4, at Noon or at 5:30 P.M.

JOIN ONLINE: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89006169993?pwd=R3hoU25vZUF5SFlvZ2VhcXlNd1B2QT09

For those who cannot attend either of the live informational sessions on Monday, December 4, a video recording of the sessions will be available on-demand on the City’s website starting December 8^th 2023. A link to the video will be available on the City’s homepage at www.cityoftacoma.org.

You can also find and share the QR codes that have the zoom login info about the sessions on all our Social media platforms listed below.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/4oY5H2MtVsnEaNYq/?mibextid=K8Wfd2

http://www.twitter.com/cityoftacoma

http://www.instagram.com/cityoftacoma

For more information about rules and regulations for rental housing in Tacoma, visit the City’s webpages for the Office of Equity & Human Rights.

For more information on the webinar, please visit the City of Tacoma's press release.

All owners and managers of property in Seattle should be advised that they must have a current registration with Seattle's Department of Construction and Inspection for their rental unit before they can file any eviction for the unit in question with the courts.

This registration requires all rental property to be inspected at least once every ten years, among other things. Please see 22.205.10 of the Seattle Municipal Code for details.

Links:

Register your rental property with Seattle's Department of Construction and Inspection

Rental Registration Instructions—Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections