A November ballot fight in Tacoma over renter protections has widened into a broader political contest over rental policy, pitting tenants seeking tougher safeguards against landlord organizations with far deeper campaign resources.
That contest has drawn in Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, who joined a Seattle fundraiser backing the initiative.
Here's what to know
If approved, Safe Homes For All would fund enforcement with a per-unit rental license fee, require Tacoma landlords to bargain with tenant unions, and add penalties for violating housing regulations, KNKX reported.
Tacoma For All has reported raising $155,000, compared with $247,460 reported by the Rental Housing Association of Washington. The station reported a large share of the opposition money came from an LLC linked to Seattle-based Goodman Real Estate, which gave $175,000 in August to the association's political action committee.
That large contribution specifically raised Wilson's eyebrows. KNKX reported she said at the fundraiser it "means that Seattle needs to pay attention, too, especially when the person donating that money is also a Donald Trump donor."
Opponents, however, say the proposal goes too far. Kevin Schilling, government affairs director for the Rental Housing Association of Washington, claimed there are already enough measures in place.
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"This is just going to create an onslaught of enforcement complaints," Schilling argued, according to the outlet.
More background
The measure follows Tacoma's 2023 Tenant Bill of Rights, which passed by fewer than 400 votes after setting local political spending records.
Supporters also argue that the earlier law has had limited effect without stronger enforcement, KNKX noted. Tacoma For All Chair Kiss'Shonna Curtis said many renters are effectively left to sue on their own if they believe a landlord violated the rules. Many households simply cannot afford to do that.
"We boldly declared housing is a human right, and three years later we are back fortifying that belief and that message," Curtis said, per the station.
Landlord groups countered by saying tougher regulations could ultimately raise rents by pushing small landlords to sell to larger firms. KNKX reported Schilling blasted the proposal as "a communist idea."
What's being done?
Backers say the initiative is meant to close the gap between rights renters have on paper and rights they can actually use, the station said.
Alongside fines and bargaining requirements, Curtis said the proposal would also create an education and training program aimed at tenants and landlords.
"We'll have special tools for small landlords to navigate [it]," Curtis said, per KNKX. "We've heard feedback that it's complicated; laws are changing all the time. So this will create a pathway for people to know how to operate a business in Tacoma."
Wilson connected Tacoma's moves to a wider movement in the state to take on predatory landlord behavior and junk fees, as the station reported.
"I feel very in tune with the spirit of the measure that you all are fighting for in Tacoma, and it's very exciting to see this work happening simultaneously in cities around our state," Wilson declared.
Where can I learn more?
Across Washington and beyond, similar fights are playing out over renter protections, landlord obligations, and housing policy.
• In Washington, renters are pushing to make air conditioning a basic right after the heat dome.
• In Bellingham, housing backers gathered signatures to put a rent-software ban before voters.
• In Arizona, lawmakers proposed new indoor temperature protections as renters warned of dangerous heat.
• One renter challenged a landlord's extra EV charging fee after a new utility demand.
• In Redwood City, officials sent rent cap and tenant protections to November voters.
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