TACOMA, Wash. — After a year of community outreach and discussion, the Tacoma City Council’s Community, Vitality and Safety Committee voted to pass an ordinance amending the Rental Housing Code and the Landlord Fairness Code Initiative.
According to the city council, the purpose of the ordinance amendment was to “to preserve access to housing and expand tenant rights in Tacoma.”
“The review of the Landlord Fairness Code Initiative has been centered in the goals outlined in the initiative itself: to protect families and reduce homelessness and to balance the needs of the landlord, tenant, and Tacoma while creating a partnership to ensure safe, healthy, and thriving rental housing in Tacoma. Despite the Landlord Fairness Code Initiative’s intentions, it has had dire consequences for our city, most notably on our low-income housing providers who provide housing to those with the greatest need,” said District 2 Council Member Sarah Rumbaugh.
The code, which was passed by voters in 2023, currently protects tenants from evictions during the winter months.
It also prevents high rent hikes and allows tenants to sue landlords who violate the code.
Opponents of the Landlord Fairness Code say it costs landlords tens of thousands of dollars due to the inability to evict tenants.
The City Council’s amendment to the Landlord Fairness Code Initiative enhances renter protections by expanding relocation assistance options for tenants.
Going forward, landlords raising rents by more than 5% in a 12-month period would be required to pay relocation assistance should a tenant request it.
Additional changes clarify that if tenants request relocation assistance and then decide not to relocate, they would have 10 days to repay their landlord.
Changes to the Landlord Fairness Code Initiative also seek to address the outsized impact eviction limitations have on individuals who own and rent out few units in the city.
The amended ordinance goes into effect on January 1st.
The latest information on landlord-tenant policy in Tacoma will be available soon on the city’s website.