Tag Archives: renters

Seattle City Council approves nation’s first Renters’ Commission

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Council member Tim Burgess

Council member Tim Burgess

Applause followed the City Council’s unanimous approval of an ordinance creating a Seattle Renters’ Commission on Monday.

“This was truly a grassroots effort that started up on Capitol Hill and will now benefit the entire city of Seattle,” Council member and prime sponsor Tim Burgess said.

“We just want to give renters a formal voice here at City Hall,” he said. “… Renters need landlords and landlords need renters, so if this commission can help bridge that relationship then that will be a positive move for our city.” Continue reading →

Seattle Renters’ Commission bill sees early support in City Hall debut

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Zachary DeWolf
Sierra Hansen
Joel Sisolak

The proposed Seattle Renters’ Commission made its debut in the City Council’s Affordable Housing, Neighborhoods, and Finance Committee meeting last week. Early signs indicate good support for the proposed 15-member commission that aims to give renters in the city a voice on not only tenant rights and affordability but also related issues like transportation access and economic development.

“There’s a lot of issues that touch renters and they’re not often at the table,” said Sera Day, legislative assistant to council member Tim Burgess, prime sponsor of the ordinance.

“As rents continue rising, it’s critical that renters are given space to engage city government with a strong and organized voice,” Capitol Hill Community Council president Zachary DeWolf said Friday. “… This ordinance will create a platform for renters to get engaged in civic life and fully invest in their neighborhoods and ultimately our city of Seattle.”

Sierra Hansen, executive director of the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, also spoke in support of the commission.

“I think that this is an amazing effort among Capitol Hill residents that will benefit folks across Seattle,” Hansen said. Continue reading →

Central District Tenant Rights Bootcamp

Trying to get repairs? Worried about losing your deposit? Confused about new Seattle tenant laws? Worried about eviction?

Tenant Rights Bootcamps are a neighborhood-by-neighborhood series teaching renters how to to assert their rights, find solutions to various issues, and make change in their community.

Tenants walk away from Bootcamps with a better understanding of their rights, current Seattle landlord/tenant laws, and resources to help in trying times. They will also have the opportunity to sit and talk with someone knowledgeable in WA State tenant law.

With Tenant Rights Bootcamps, renters don’t need to search for answers. We bring resources to the people.

Tenant Rights Bootcamps are a partnership between Be:Seattle Organizing and the Legal Action Center.

This Bootcamp is co-hosted by organizers from SAFE

More info at seattletenantbootcamps.org.

Capitol Hill renters might be getting slightly better deal in 2017 — but new commission is about more than rents

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Screen Shot 2017-03-02 at 4.11.25 PM Screen Shot 2017-03-02 at 4.11.31 PMFriday morning, the Seattle City Council is taking its first steps toward forming a first of its kind commission to represent renters at City Hall. Formation of the Seattle Renters’ Commission comes as rents for the first time in ages appear to possibly be softening on Capitol Hill — but immediately lower rents aren’t necessarily the goal. The city is going to need political help widening the new apartment pipeline to keep new construction in motion and new apartments coming into the Seattle market.

“Rising rents are pushing residents out of the city, and that’s unacceptable,” Seattle City Council member Mike O’Brien representing Northwest Seattle’s District 6 said. “Low-income renters are nearly twice as likely as homeowners to be displaced by gentrification. I believe that the Seattle Renters’ Commission will bring much needed perspective to our policy work about how we can grow equitably and inclusively.”

O’Brien is talking about lots of things — Source of Income Discrimination and Move In Fees legislation, enforcement of existing laws like the Just Cause Eviction Ordinance, Rental Housing Registration and Inspection Program, the Tenant Relocation Assistance Ordinance, and the Rental Agreement Regulation Ordinance — but he is also, of course talking about HALA. Continue reading →

Capitol Hill Renter Initiative, Entre Hermanos holding ‘housing justice’ movie night

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Last summer, CHS reported on progress in easing the construction of backyard rentals to help combat Seattle’s affordability crisis. The progress has since ground to a halt. Wednesday, the Capitol Hill Renter Initiative and Latino LGBTQ nonprofit Entre Hermanos are teaming up for a movie night and discussion at 12th Ave’s Northwest Film Forum to sort out how the groups “can take action on backyard cottages and other housing justice campaigns” —

Housing Justice Movie Night-Quinceañera

This event was created in response to the recent decision by the Seattle hearing examiner to indefinitely delay an ordinance that would make it easier for homeowners to build backyard cottages (legally called Detached Accessory Dwelling Units or DADUs) like the home the main characters share in the movie. The hearing examiner decision came after a legal challenge by the Queen Anne Community Council, a neighborhood group that hired attorneys in order to delay these low cost housing options from coming to their neighborhood.

You can register for a “ticket” to the event here. The screening is free but organizers are asking for a $3 donation to help cover costs.

CHS wrote here last month on the Capitol Hill Renter Initiative’s goals for 2017.

Capitol Hill Renters Initiative starts 2017 with call for tenant leaders

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759960-250Wednesday night on Capitol Hill includes two different tenant rights meetings. Maybe 2017 really is the year of the renter.

To start the new year, CHS told you about a new series of free bootcamps to hep educate tenants across Seattle. The first Be:Seattle Tenant Rights Bootcamp is Wednesday night from 6:30 to 8:00 PM at Summit Ave’s Top Pot.

Wednesday also brings the monthly gathering of a longer-term effort to help politically — and tactically — organize tenants on Capitol Hill. Alex Brennan of Capitol Hill Housing’s EcoDistrict effort tells CHS the nonprofit is looking forward to the Capitol Hill Renters Initiative growing more and more independent in 2017 starting with its first meeting of the new year from 6 to 7 PM at 12th Ave Arts.

“The big thing is we’re moving towards renters taking on more leadership and more responsibility from Capitol Hill Housing staff,” Brennan said. Continue reading →

Seattle Times: ‘Seattle needs a renters’ commission to include more voices in policymaking’

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Of the many ideas that emerged during September’s Capitol Hill Renter Summit, the call for a louder, more permanent voice for the city’s tenants came through most clearly. Recently, Capitol Hill Housing’s Joe Sisolak and the Capitol Hill Community Council’s Zachary DeWolf spilled some ink in the Seattle Times in an essay calling for the creation of a Seattle renters’ commission. We’ve shared the piece, below. To get involved, check out facebook.com/CapitolHillEcoDistrict/ for upcoming meetings and events.

Seattle needs a renters’ commission to include more voices in policymaking
By Zachary DeWolf and Joel Sisolak

WHEN Seattle Mayor Ed Murray cut formal ties with the neighborhood district-council system in July, he pointed to the fact that they did not reflect the full diversity of their neighborhoods. District council officers and attendees, the mayor said, tended to be 40 years or older, white, with the vast majority owning their homes, as opposed to renting.

If the mayor wants more diverse voices at the table, there is one idea that is generating support: Form a citywide “renters’ commission.” Continue reading →

A Capitol Hill renter? Tell Sawant, Murray what you need

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renter-power-tshirtSomewhere between Capitol Hill’s activist circles and neighborhood groups is a “silent majority” of renters seeking a way to get involved in Seattle’s most pressing policy debates. Capitol Hill EcoDistrict wants you.

On Saturday, the EcoDistrict — an outgrowth of the nonprofit Capitol Hill Housing — is sponsoring its first ever Capitol Hill Renter Summit at the Miller Community Center.

“We view the Summit as the start of a much larger movement,” said CHH planner Alex Brennan. “We’ve talked a lot these past few months about how renters can have more power in decision-making in our neighborhood and city.” Continue reading →

What’s in Seattle ‘Renting Crisis’ report

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Progressive Seattle City Council members unveiled a pair of bills Thursday they say will help protect average residents looking for housing in Seattle’s cutthroat rental market. District 3 representative Kshama Sawant is proposing new legislation to limit move-in costs and “ease moving barriers” for Seattle renters. A measure from District 1 rep Lisa Herbold seeks to prevent landlords from turning down prospective tenants due to their source of income.

To put a finer point on the need for their proposals, the council members were joined by members of Washington Community Action Network, an advocacy organization working on housing justice, who released a ‘Renting Crisis’ report on the challenges faced by renters in Seattle.

Of the 303 renters surveyed, 95% rated housing as unaffordable, more than 70% said poor housing conditions were negatively impacting their health, and the report indicated that minority and LGBTQ tenants were more likely to experience problems with the conditions of their rental units and resulting health problems. Continue reading →

Reminder: Capitol Hill Renter Initiative monthly meeting

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(Image: Carlos Ruiz courtesy of Capitol Hill Housing)

(Image: Carlos Ruiz courtesy of Capitol Hill Housing)

Remember how we told you about how renters, Capitol Hill’s silent majority, are getting their political act together?

Renters: Capitol Hill’s silent majority is organizing

Here’s the next chance for you to get involved:

Capitol Hill Renter Initiative – July Meeting