Tenant Rules Must Be Fair, Enforced Reasonably
It is time for the truth to be told about the issue at the Commercial Building.
So far, the controversy about how low-income tenants are treated at the downtown apartment building has been misstated and poorly explained by The Spokesman-Review.
It’s been insinuated that Spokane Legal Services, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Spokane Housing Authority are inappropriately protecting some tenants allegedly engaging in drug and alcohol abuse and prostitution.
This misses the underlying question: How can building owners who cater to low-income tenants enforce reasonable rules of conduct, encourage responsibility and protect the bricks and mortar of their own investment?
Three downtown buildings that are serving the same population of single adults that the Commercial Building houses have rules and regulations that ensure each tenant’s personal safety, quality of life and personal liberties. These buildings - the Washington at 325 W. Second, the Sydney at 240 W. Sprague, and the Avondale at 229 W. Second - have used some of the same public funding sources used by the Commercial Building. Federal, state and local money that is used to subsidize affordable housing through mortgage interest breaks or income enhancement comes with strings attached. Among those strings are certain rules for dealing with tenants. Building owners and management teams know what the expectations are and agree to them before any money is spent.
In addition, the owners of the Commercial Building are well aware of the requirements of the Fair Housing Act and landlord-tenant laws. Rules that ensure a drug- and alcohol-free living experience that also include dispute resolution within the building, common eating experiences and common-area cleaning responsibilities can be enforced within those laws.
Management must be consistent, fair and must treat all tenants the same way. Proper notices of violations must be served and unlawful detainer action commenced to remove noncomplying tenants.
When Spokane Legal Services took action against the Commercial Building, it wasn’t to protect drug trafficking or prostitution. It was over claims that legal rights to due process had been violated.
Rule enforcement cannot be done unilaterally and capriciously, based on intimidation and fear. Physically removing tenants from the building or conducting passkey searches of tenants’ rooms seriously violates reasonable due process requirements and does indeed violate civil rights.
However, removal of inappropriate tenants can be done fairly quickly through the process of law.
Management of the Commercial Building has since signed a consent decree, agreeing not to commit the practices complained of. If conditions there have subsequently degenerated into a state of anarchy, it’s only because the managers have adopted a laissez faire policy with regard to building rules.
Personal responsibility of each tenant and reasonable rules that govern conduct within a building are enforceable within the Landlord-Tenant Act. It’s being done in other affordable housing projects in Spokane. Sensitivity, objectivity and consistency are all part of what it takes to provide a safe, secure building.
Actions that harass and intimidate tenants - the kind of actions Spokane Legal Services contend took place at the Commercial Building - have no place in affordable housing.
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