Olympia City Council adopts renter protections with amendments after landlords push back

The Olympia City Council voted unanimously this week to adopt an ordinance that gives more protections to renters and includes relocation assistance.

However, the vote came after nearly three hours of deliberation on amendments to the ordinance based on testimony from landlords.

Christa Lenssen, the city’s Housing Program Specialist, told the council that of the 53% of Olympians who are renters, 54% of them are “cost burdened.” The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development considers households cost-burdened if they spend more than 30% of total income on housing costs, such as mortgage or rent, utilities, condo fees, and so on.

She said city staff have heard more each year about the need for relocation assistance to help tenants who are displaced from their current homes and for restrictions on fees that add to the cost of housing. Lenssen said relocation assistance helps smooth the transition to new housing situations and can help prevent evictions and homelessness.

Lenssen said the new ordinance builds off existing state law that addresses relocation assistance. A public hearing was conducted March 19 regarding adding the state law language to city code.

One state law requires that relocation assistance be paid by the landlord if the unit is condemned or deemed unlawful to occupy by a government entity.

The other requires that cities pay relocation assistance to a low-income tenant, at or below 50% or the area median income, if their unit is demolished, rehabilitated or the use changes. Cities can share the cost with property owners up to 50%.

State law does allow landlords and tenants to negotiate moving into another unit if it’s possible and agreed upon.

Lenssen said consideration of other tenant protections were reliant on whether or not the legislature would pass rent stabilization efforts this year. That legislation did not pass.

The ordinance

Lenssen presented the council with a number of renter protections, and the council later made several amendments before unanimously agreeing on an ordinance.

Under the proposed protections, landlords would have to notify tenants of their right to relocation assistance when increasing rent by more than 5%. The amount of relocation assistance is three times the monthly rent, or $2,000, whichever is more.

The tenant would then have 45 days to request relocation assistance from their landlord. The landlord would have 31 days to pay the relocation assistance.

The tenant could then move out at any point after receiving relocation assistance, with a 20-day written notice. If they don’t move out before the rent increase takes effect, they have to pay the new rent amount and repay the relocation assistance.

Staff also proposed that if the rent increase is more than 10%, relocation assistance would be three times the monthly rent.

The ordinance also reiterates that rent increases of more than 5% require 120 days notice, and 10% or more require 180 days notification. If tenants break their lease early due to being priced out, they won’t be penalized.

The proposed ordinance also limits fees. Late rent fees would be capped at $10 per month. Fees for damages or actual costs incurred by landlords, including improvements, can still be applied. When it comes to screening and application fees, landlords can only charge the actual cost of completing it, according to state law.

Pet deposits are still limited to 25% of monthly rent that can be paid over a three-month period.

Lastly, the ordinance allows tenants the ability to install cooling units in their homes.

“The need for cooling devices is increasing and is a health and safety issue for tenants, particularly for seniors and people with disabilities or chronic health conditions,” Lenssen said.

She said Olympia’s climate conditions report said extremely hot days are projected to occur more often than the current baseline of 14 days per year. According to the data, there could be an additional 24 days of 90-plus- degree weather per year between 2030 and 2059.

The ordinance allows landlords to require some parameters, including using their agent to properly install a cooling system, and removing the systems during winter months.

The public speaks out

Lenssen said there’s been a mix of support and disapproval from the public on the proposals since the March 19 public hearing.

She said staff heard from landlords that increased regulations like these would push small landlords to sell their properties. And most small landlords operate on thinner margins, where rent increases are to cover increasing operating costs.

Lenssen said they heard small landlords are more likely to work with tenants on payment plans and other situations, and they see the problem as more of a housing supply issue and would rather support greater subsidies for lower income tenants.

More specifically, Lenssen said some landlords complained the late rent fee is too low to incentivize tenants to pay rent on time. And allowing tenants to break their lease early affects landlords’ stability and their ability to plan.

Some landlords also said the relocation assistance should not be their responsibility. And the rate of inflation is higher than the proposed 5% trigger for assistance.

There’s also worry that higher-income tenants could take advantage of the program.

On the other hand, the proposals have been highly supported by tenants and local organizations around Olympia. The council received a letter of support from the Thurston County Board of Commissioners. Olympia for All, a coalition of 14 community organizations, applauded the council’s April 9 action.

Dave Toler with Olympia for All said the coalition is prepared to cease its tenant rights campaign, but the council made a number of amendments to the ordinance that leave him questioning if it’s time.

Amendments to the ordinance

The biggest amendment the council made was the threshold for triggering access to relocation assistance. To meet landlords in the middle, the city council adopted a rent increase of 7% instead of 5% to trigger relocation assistance. Instead of relocation assistance equaling two months rent, it’s now 2.5 months rent. And the council eliminated the 10% threshold.

Upon notification of a rent increase and access to relocation assistance, a tenant will be given a city-provided letter that includes renters rights and contact information in case of a violation.

The council also amended the number of days tenants have to notify their landlord they’re moving from 20 days to 30 days.

Lenssen said since the launch of the rental housing registry on March 1, city staff have been in contact with people who are renting to people in their immediate family. She said many have purchased a home for a family member due to that person’s difficulty in finding housing, or for medical reasons.

She said she heard from a woman whose grandson has significant disabilities and needs modifications in their home so they can live there. Most of these landlords don’t own any other rentals and intend to sell if their family member moves.

One of the amendments creates a form that these landlords can fill out to be exempt from the rental registry program and other ordinances. But the home can lose its exemption if complaints are filed about the condition of the building.

This amendment would include a definition of family that qualifies for the exemption. It includes spouse, domestic partner or partner in committed intimate relationship, or a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, sibling, niece or nephew, whether related by blood, marriage, domestic partnership, or committed intimate relationship.

Toler said the relocation fee is the first policy reform to directly tackle housing affordability.

“Our primary question is: How many renters in Olympia will receive a 7% increase in their wages this year?” he said. “The answer is not enough and therefore more renters will be moved into housing instability.”