Housing activists in Tacoma are gathering signatures for a ballot initiative that could strengthen enforcement of renter protections.
The initiative is a follow-up to the “Tenant’s Bill of Rights,” also known as the Landlord Fairness Code, passed by Tacoma voters in 2023. That ballot measure added a number of new renter protections, including a ban on excessive fees; winter eviction restrictions; and mandatory relocation assistance for rent increases over 5%.
But activists say compliance has been spotty. If a renter feels their landlord is not compliant with the protections, taking them to court is often their only recourse, and that is out of reach for most tenants, said Kiss’Shonna Curtis, an organizer with Tacoma for All, the group behind the 2023 initiative and the new one this year.
“Litigation is a lengthy process,” Curtis said. “Landlords have a lot of resources, and tenants just don’t have the time, the energy or the money.”
The new initiative — called “Safe Homes for All” — would task the city with issuing fines and going after noncompliant landlords. Enforcement operations would be funded with a new per-unit rental registry fee for landlords.
The idea has been met with pushback from landlords. Sean Flynn, president of the Rental Housing Association of Washington, argues that the added liability and fees would drive out landlords.
“What this tells anyone who’s interested in building or providing housing is: ‘Don’t do it in Tacoma,’” Flynn said.
If the initiative passes, landlords would be required to pay tenants a fee of at least $500 and not more than five times the unit’s monthly rent for each violation of the city’s tenant laws.
“We want to create a real deterrent for landlords on the one hand, and an opportunity for tenants to get some kind of restitution for the harm that is often caused to them through violations,” said Ty Moore, director of Tacoma for All.
The Safe Homes for All initiative would also require the city to create an education program for landlords and tenants, as well as new protections for renters interested in forming a tenant union. Landlords would be required to “engage in good faith bargaining” with tenant unions and post notices in building common areas reminding tenants that they have the right to form a union without retaliation.
“The strongest protection for tenants is going to come from tenants organizing themselves,” Moore said.
Flynn, with the rental housing association, argued that opening up zoning laws and attracting development to Tacoma would be a better approach to address housing affordability — not more regulation.
“You need more housing units, which means you need more housing providers,” Flynn said. “And you don’t attract housing providers to your municipality with this.”
Curtis, with Tacoma for All, is involved in tenant legal aid, and said she regularly hears stories about tenants being charged excessive fees, not being given proper notice of rent increases, and dealing with mold, broken appliances and other code violations that go unchecked.
“The hope is that this initiative would increase accountability and deter landlords from violating in the first place,” Curtis said.
Organizers hope to put the initiative on the November ballot, and are aiming to gather 9,000 signatures by June 15.
