Renters

Council President Sara Nelson and Councilmember Rob Saka unexpectedly skipped a housing committee meeting Wednesday, holding up 14 appointments to the shorthanded Seattle Renters Commission. Councilmember Alexis Rinck sharply criticized the "disrespectful" move, as did several nominees.

Landlords have used ratio utility billing systems as a backdoor to jack up rents. It’s time to ban the practice in Washington State.

Here are five things Seattle leaders could be doing to lower your rent, in observance of Affordable Housing Week.

The Washington State Legislature approved a 7% to 10% cap on rent hikes Sunday, after the proposal faced a rollercoaster of obstacles over the course of the 105-day session.

Rent increases would be capped between 7% and 10% under the compromise measure approved by a conference committee Thursday night. It still needs to advance back through both chambers by Sunday night to reach the Governor's desk.

On Thursday, the Washington State Senate took the leap and approved a rent stabilization bill, but first senators gutted it with provisions that quickly earned the ire of tenant advocates. An original 7% cap on annual rent increases could instead rise to 20% or more.

Wealthy landlords are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to mislead Washingtonians and to try to block a moderate, but protective rent stabilization bill that will finally provide renters with predictability and stability over their housing costs. 

The rent stabilization bill that the Washington State House approved this week scaled back other protections for renters, including a cap on move-in fees and late fees. The bill now heads to the Senate.