While Kshama Sawant has been criticized for not being more present in her district while she focuses on issues of national and sometimes international importance, she has regularly brought City Hall into the neighborhoods she represents. This week, the District 3 representative will hold an official Seattle City Council hearing on her proposed rent control legislation to Broadway.
Wednesday night, Sawant’s renters’ rights committee will convene inside Broadway’s All Pilgrims Church for a public hearing on the long-awaited rent control proposal.
“Our legislation—if passed without any amendments in favor of greedy corporate landlords—would limit rent increases to no more than the inflation rate,” Sawant’s office writes in the announcement for the session. “It would cover all rental homes in the city, regardless of type, size, location, or building date. It is a trigger law—it will go into effect as soon as the deeply unjust statewide ban on rent control is lifted.”
CHS reported here on Sawant’s final big push for rent control before she leaves office later this year after a decade on the council after succeeding in two other major legislative efforts that will mark her time leading the district: the $15 minimum wage and the so-called Amazon tax.
Triumph on rent control would round out the list. In the proposed legislation, Seattle would tie increases to inflation and put City Hall in the business of controlling rents in the city. Under the proposal, the city would publish an acceptable rent increase percentage yearly and establish a Rent Control Commission and District Rent Control Boards to authorize rent control exemptions. The Rent Control Commission would include 35 renters and seven landlords serving two-year terms. The district boards would require five renter members and one landlord member from each City Council district.
“Nothing,” Sawant’s legislation notes, “prevents a landlord from increasing rent charged for a rental housing unit by less than the maximum annual rent increase, choosing not to increase rent charged, or decreasing rent charged.”
If you're fed up with the greed of corporate landlords, then join Elisha in fighting for rent control!
In 2012, Elisha was working full time making $1500/mo. Her 125 sq. ft micro-apartment was $900/mo, then her landlord jacked up the rent to $1500. https://t.co/aBi3qzLDeG pic.twitter.com/NPpf71yykv
— Kshama Sawant (@cmkshama) July 7, 2023
But even if passed, the legislation would be incomplete. A statewide ban on rent control remains on the books in Washington. Sawant’s legislation would put rent control into effect in Seattle only after that ban is lifted.
Sawant’s office has begun to refer to the proposal as a “trigger-law” and is hoping a big turnout for Wednesday night’s hearing will help push both her proposed legislation forward but also pressure legislators in Olympia.
“The Democrats and Republicans in the State Legislature have been in shameful bipartisan agreement for 42 years (yes, over four decades) to keep the rent control ban in place,” her office writes. “So we simply cannot rely on them or wait for them to stop representing real estate, big banks, and the wealthy.”
“We have to fight to win this trigger law in Seattle to help provide much-needed momentum for building a statewide movement,” the hearing announcement concludes.
Sawant’s office has also produced a FAQ on the proposed legislation. We’ve embedded the document below. In addition to details about the proposal, it includes criticism of both Democrats and Republicans as well as harsh words about the real estate industry — and capitalism.
“As if the normal situation under capitalism was not bad enough for renters, many large property companies have been found to have conspired to drive up rents using rent-setting software from a corporation called RealPage, which aggressively and relentlessly targets tenants for the highest possible rent increases,” the FAQ reads at one point.
At another, it argues that “an overwhelming amount of anecdotal evidence reveals that large numbers of tenants of corporate landlords and slumlords face dilapidated conditions, which often persist despite numerous complaints.”
The Sustainability and Renters’ Rights Committee will hold a special meeting on Wednesday at 6 PM at the All Pilgrims Christian Church at 500 Broadway E. Members of the public may register for remote or in-person Public Comment to address the committee here.
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Trump of the left. She will be gone soon, but the damage is already done to D3 and Seattle. By making enemies out of allies with her divisive politics and failing to deliver results, she has undermined support for socialism and progressive policies. Let’s hope D3 voters have learned something from this tragic chapter and vote for a competent D3 representative that is responsive, collaborative and effective.
Someday neolibs will understand the tired “Trump on the left” lie never made an impact with D3 voters. She would easily beat any of the candidates currently running and has successfully achieved more for the working class in Seattle than any politician I can remember and I’ve been a D3 voters for decades.
They are both divisive populists that only care about their base and themselves. Everyone else is the enemy.
Her “base” are working/middle class, union members, educators, gig workers, renters and anyone that has suffered under the corporate greed other politicians have allowed to turn our city into a tech campus that only the ultra wealthy can afford. So, yes she very much cares about her “base” and has shown up for them time and again.
Thank you, Mr. Marx!
She relies on cult-like ignorance to win. While she’s been effective at getting “things” done, there are consequences that get apparently ignored by D3. “Trump of the left” might not effectively convert anyone, but it is a pretty accurate way of describing the situation. She is truly narcissistic (try having discourse with her in person), vilifies well meaning people that disagree with her, often uses propaganda, alternative facts and magical thinking, and drums up hatred to rally the troops.
Nobody has ever come close to creating as much hatred of “the others” as she has in this town. Sure, you’ve got a minimum wage at $16.50 (and rising), but it’s just not true that this doesn’t contribute to inflation, especially in the service sector, so the vicious cycles continue. It seems like Sawant’s popularity is strongest in the most short-sighted citizens of Seattle. Having regretfully helped her get a seat at the table the first time, I’m out now. In fact, if there was a rational, good hearted fiscal conservative in this town, I think I’d put my weight behind them just for balance.
Why is it a lie? She’s despised and isn’t running because she sees the writing on the wall. Every election she loses more and more support. That’s objectively true.
Despite having won all of her elections for city council and being the longest serving member? lol. The reason she isn’t running is the disappointing reality that electoral politics is just not very effective in creating change and she can do more with Workers Strike Back by helping organize rank and file workers and put the fight in the working class.
“Rent Control Now!” is her golden goose. She has been pulling out her megaphone on this issue for 10 years to rally the base and raise funds. She knows it won’t happen because of state law and that decades of research show that rent control reduces the supply of apartments and makes the problem worse. What a grifter.
Bingo
Rent control is economically illiterate.
“As if the normal situation under capitalism was not bad enough for renters, many large property companies have been found to have conspired to drive up rents using rent-setting software from a corporation called RealPage, which aggressively and relentlessly targets tenants for the highest possible rent increases,”
This. I’ve discovered through personal experience that this extends to public housing using a similar software. Even with all the assistance, poor, elderly and disabled renters are proportionally feeling the same threat and strain.
Loudest death rattle ever. Time to get yourself to Pittsburgh sawant, free 2 day shipping.
I’ll chip in for overnight express. I wish she would take the time to thank D3 for their years of support, maybe actually visit the neighborhood, perhaps reply to one of the many emails she received from neighbors asking for support and say, ‘sorry I wasn’t able to help you with your issue, but thank you for taking the time to be involved, and go quietly to a different path.
74.4% of landlords in Seattle are Mom & Pop owned properties and are not corporate landlords. Mom and Pops tend to keep rent lower than corporate landlords and honestly Mom and Pop’s don’t tend to evict anyone. We’ve been a property manager in Pike/Pine for over 25 years and we have never evicted anyone from a property that we manage. We are just coming off of 14 years of unprecedented economic growth. There are currently 14,758 units under construction, 14,456 units approved by SDCI and 29,312 in permit for a total of 58,526 new apartments coming to Seattle. If you create greater barriers to enter the apartment market (such as Rent Control) then less apartment will be built. Rent control has certainly not worked in San Fransisco or Manhattan, NY. What happens is the landlords don’t make on going repairs or maintenance since they can’t justify the investment since their income is fixed. Apartments will get more and more run down. Why replace carpets, cabinets and countertops if you can’t justify the investment? Supply as well as incentive to build new apartment will be seriously reduced. Ultimately there will be less apartments in Seattle and rental rates will stay high since there will be less apartments built. Rent control is not the answer. Building more City and Privately subsided housing is the only way to create affordable housing.
The plan is to suppress the private investment housing market, depress prices, and greatly increase taxes on the fortunate few (and the rest of us through increased corporate taxation-Amazon tax) to purchase and develop publicly owned housing. That is the plan, and Sawant tells you so. She doesn’t even believe housing should be held for investment purposes so couldn’t care less about private property rights. The rest of Council will go along as this proposal will pass 6-3. I mean, when was the last time one of her landlord tenant related proposals went down to defeat?
The majority of Council want rent control, and are leaving office, so voting for it will have no consequences. They can also console themselves with the notion that passing the law will not result in rent control, as the legislature will need to act to allow it. By the time it does, which will occur within a few sessions, noone will remember who voted for it in Seattle. Meanwhile we will be left with the consequences of an absolutely heinous form of rent control which will discourage building, maintenance, etc., while depriving landlords of control of their private property.
And, of course, this is all being done in July and August, when most people are distracted by more frivilous notions.
Historic levels of low housing inventory and not enough housing being created; surely making it harder to be a landlord and driving out all the small landlords will help Seattle.
About 30 years too late for rent control. But you know, better late than never I guess.
Kshama really wants to screw over renters with her fucked up policies….
Economists almost universally say that rent control is a bad idea. It would certainly help a select few who got lucky but it would hurt the vast majority including renters who don’t earn a lot of money.
Here’s a common scenario in Manhattan. Family of 4 (2 parents and 2 kids) live in a 3 bedroom apartment. Kids grow up and move out and one of the parents ends up passing away. Why would the remaining parent give up a rent controlled 3 bedroom apartment when there’s no incentive to downsize to something more affordable? Lots of empty rooms in Manhattan.
landlords have entered the chat
How do you (the author) consider this being ‘present’ in her district…. Rent control is banned in Washington state… All this is, is performance art, once again a stage for her to dance to her national audience on…