Tacoma City Council passes new rent protections

TACOMA, Wash. — Tacoma renters have some new protections thanks to an ordinance just passed by the city council.

It includes requiring landlords to provide tenants with a 120-day written notice before increasing rent.

This allows tenants six months to pay move-in fees and deposits in monthly installments.

The ordinance also caps late fees at 1.5% of monthly rent with a maximum limit of $75 a month.

We covered Tacoma’s renter’s rights in May when residents were calling for a “Tenant’s Bill of Rights.” Renters were calling for local voters to say yes to Initiative 2023-01 which would:

• Require six months’ notice for all rent increases.
• Relocation assistance for rent hikes over 5%.
• Cap fees and deposits.
• Ban cold weather evictions: November – March.
• Ban rent hikes when code violations exist.
• No school-year evictions of children and educators.

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