Spokane City Council punts on rental reform package, final vote to come January

Dozens of residents who packed the Spokane City Council chambers Monday left disappointed, having not been allowed to speak on a controversial rental reform package they believed was going to be voted on that night.

That afternoon, the Council had voted 6-1 to table the reforms until Jan. 23 in order to provide one last chance for all parties to propose changes to what some believe could be a dramatic shift in landlord-tenant laws in the city.

Council President Breean Beggs was the sole vote against deferring until next month. Shortly before the vote, he said that the package before Council was the result of years of conversations involving advocates for both landlords and tenants, and that he doubted another month would bring those groups any closer on a compromise.

“I am skeptical that we will make much progress on bringing people together, but I am totally willing to let other council members work on that and live my pain for the last few years,” Beggs said.

Councilwoman Karen Stratton, who proposed the deferral, said she and Councilman Michael Cathcart would work to bring additional parties to the table in the next few weeks.

Cathcart has repeatedly expressed frustration during his term with the process of bringing these reforms up for a vote, saying they had been put together without sufficient transparency or input from varied stakeholders.

While the deferral was intended to encourage additional participation from experts and the public, it did have the unintended effect of frustrating those who arrived hours later to speak to the Council about the proposed reforms.

The City Council rules regarding what public testimony is allowed barred anyone from speaking on the reform package Monday night. The fact that the deferral had taken place just two hours before during a workday meant that many arrived unaware they would be unable to speak.

The rules either allow comment on a topic that the Council is voting on that night, or during Open Forum at the end of the session. But Open Forum comments cannot be on items discussed earlier that evening, items on the next week’s agenda or pending hearing items.

Because the rental reform package had been deferred, it could not be addressed prior to Open Forum; but a hearing was also set on the topic for next Monday’s Council meeting, meaning that comments were also not allowed during Open Forum.

Steve Corker, vice president of the Landlord Association of the Inland Northwest and former two-term member of the City Council, expressed disappointment that those gathered Monday were not allowed to speak.

“One of the things I’ve always admired about Spokane is the passion of its citizens,” Corker said during the meeting. “Today, we had a last-minute postponement of a very controversial issue, and both sides were unable to notify the people coming down to testify because of the lateness of the hour.”

Corker said that, historically, the Council had made an exception to its public testimony rules to allow people to speak on a topic if it had been deferred at a “late hour.”

“I know you’ve heard on this topic (of rental reforms) for five years, but I think setting this precedent of not allowing this opportunity to speak is not a good thing,” Corker concluded.

What do the reforms do?

The rental reforms being proposed are expansive and have been met with concerted opposition by landlords. Additional tweaks are likely to be debated during the upcoming Jan. 23 Council meeting.

In large part, they seek to make the process of looking for a new rental easier, to proactively ensure rentals are habitable and meet various requirements, and to support tenants if a landlord violates their rights.

If passed, renters would no longer have to pay for a new background and credit check for every rental they apply for. Universal background and credit checks, which tenants would pay for once and would be usable for 60 days, would have to be accepted by all landlords.

The universal background check would not disclose arrest or conviction data older than a year, except for violent or sex crimes.

Landlords could still seek additional information from prospective tenants but would be required to pay for other checks themselves.

Landlords would need to register rentals and annually certify that the units are fit for human habitation and meet state requirements.

Landlords who own four or more rental properties would also need to pay the city of Spokane $10 per unit per year. Revenue from these fees would largely pay to bolster city code enforcement.

The first time a property owner obtains a business license for a rental in Spokane, they would be required to complete an online training. Failure to complete the training would be a class 2 civil infraction, which carries a maximum penalty of $131.

The reforms would implement a residential rental property mitigation fund, which would help pay for repair for damage caused by a tenant, if the tenant is low income and receiving support from either a government or nonprofit program. These city funds would only be available after exhausting the tenant’s damage deposit, as well as other state and federal funds to support landlords.

Spokane would also invest in attorney services for tenants , focused on supporting tenants embroiled in legal fights over habitability or Residential Landlord Tenant Act violations.

If a landlord appeared likely to be held liable under state law for an inhabitable unit, the city would also provide funds to help tenants relocate. The city would then be reimbursed by the landlord and any settlement funds.

Landlords would have to provide tenants with information about their rights and responsibilities.

Additional anti-retaliation protections would also be implemented, specifically protecting those who educate others about their fair housing rights or encourage them to exercise those rights.

Finally, landlords would be required to provide each tenant with either a digital or physical voter registration form and a change of address form.