The legislation eliminates fees including administrative service fees, pet rent, and package fees.
The Seattle City Council unanimously approved legislation Tuesday aimed at eliminating certain rental "junk fees" and requiring landlords to provide tenants with clearer upfront pricing.
The legislation eliminates fees including administrative service fees, pet rent, and package fees.
VOTE: DO YOU THINK ELIMINATING JUNK FEES WILL HELP MAKE RENT MORE AFFORDABLE?
It also requires clearer pricing for tenants and strengthens enforcement of the city's rental rules.
I'm happy to celebrate the elimination of junk fees, creating greater transparency and fairness in the market," Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said. "This is a major step forward in making Seattle an affordable city for working families and their pets. I am grateful to Councilmember Foster and her team for her partnership on this important step forward for renters.
Wilson worked with renters and Councilmember Dionne Foster for months to develop the legislation. Wilson, who is also a renter, said she repeatedly heard concerns about unexpected and increasing fees making housing less affordable.
"I'm grateful for the close partnership of Councilmember Dionne Foster, City Attorney Erika Evans, the Stay Housed, Stay Healthy coalition, labor partners including SEIU 6, UAW 4121, Teamsters 117, UFCW 3000, and all the community partners who were instrumental in advancing these renter protections," Wilson said.
Foster, chair of the council's Housing, Arts and Civil Rights Committee, led the legislation through the council.
This important legislation advances consumer protections for renters in our city by making Seattle's rental market more transparent and affordable," Foster said. "We know that transparency creates a better housing market. This legislation gives renters the ability to compare rental options based on their actual cost, not an artificially low advertised price followed by a list of surprise charges. I want to thank the mayor and her team for advancing this vital work.
Ryan Karpenko, who rents a unit on Capitol Hill, said transparency is one of the most important things a tenant can have.
“You don't want to be caught in a situation where you are paying more than you budgeted for and so i think legislation like this is great for renters,” Karpenko said.
Dalia Al-Sagr said she recently moved to Seattle and started a new job, and doesn’t need extra surprises adding to her costs.
“The pet fees and the parking fees that you didn't know were going to be included, and then suddenly you sign your lease and then they are all hitting you at once,” Al-Sagr said. “I want to know how much I'm paying for rent and how much I'm paying for my cat and my car and how much i need to spend on food."
The Rental Housing Association of Washington, which supports independent landlords, sees the junk fee ban as one more regulatory burden on top of so many others that is pushing small operators out of the Seattle market.
“It's creating an us-versus-them policy landscape where it is more and more difficult for someone to be a private, locally-owned housing provider in the market,” said Kevin Schilling, the government affairs and advocacy director for the Rental Housing Association. “That's why you're seeing the small housing providers leave the market over time."
Schilling said the prohibition on pet rent is just one way of making all fees paid equally be everybody, regardless of whether they use the service or not.
“Every one of my neighbors who doesn't have a dog is now going to have to pay to help cover the costs, maintenance, wear and tear, whatever, of a pet,” Schilling said, “because that fee is now collectivized. It's no longer an individual service."
Schilling predicted the new ordinance would backfire with unintended consequences.
“It's not reducing rent and in fact I guarantee you it's probably going to raise rent. Quality will go down because housing providers can't utilize a fee for individualized service, and there's going to be less choice because there's not going to be as many developers choosing to build housing in the city of Seattle anymore," Schilling said.
The legislation is one more way to nickel and dime small businesses, Schilling said, to the point where only large-scale housing providers will be viable.
“The regulatory landscape is making it more and more difficult for small businesses to operate in the city of Seattle,” Schilling said. “The only organizations and companies that are going to be able to handle it are the corporate, private equity-backed folks."
Landlords who violate the junk fee ban could face legal action from the Seattle City Attorney's Office.
The city could recover three times the amount of fees found to have been illegally charged.
"This is a significant step forward in making Seattle a more affordable place to live and work, and giving renters the clarity and confidence they deserve," City Attorney Erika Evans said. "Good landlords who play by the rules will benefit, too, as we hold bad actors accountable by making the housing market fairer and more transparent for everyone."
City leaders said the legislation builds on Seattle's existing tenant protections and is intended to make the city's rental market more transparent and predictable.
