SEATTLE — City leaders are calling rent increases in Seattle a crisis of housing affordability, and at least one council member is calling for the state to lift its ban on rent control.
Quick facts:
- Average rent around Seattle is $1,850
- Rent surged 11 percent between 2010 and 2013
- Seattle residents voted against rent control in 1980, before the state created the ban.
Seattle City Councilman Nick Licata is leading an effort -- along with fellow Council Member Kshama Sawant -- to demand a repeal of the state law banning rent control, in hopes that Seattle can take government control of spiking rents.
Licata said if the state legislature won’t lift the ban for the whole state, he hopes it will happen at least for Seattle.
He said, “We’re also asking HUD to take a look at whether the existence of this ban is hindering the ability of the state to meet its affirmative obligation to provide fair housing.”
According to Zillow.com, as of March 2015, the average apartment rent within 10 miles around Seattle is $1,850.
In 2015, the average rent went up 5.8 percent. Rent surged 11 percent between 2010 and 2013, which is the highest rent increase in the country.
But critics of rent control said it could backfire.
Dr. Stephen O’Connor, director of the University of Washington Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies, said, “All of it is pretty unanimous, in terms of - it doesn’t work.”
O’Connor agreed that rent control would help some families.
But “meanwhile, all of your expenses don’t stay static. You still have to maintain that property. Your property tax is going to go up, your insurance is going to go up. The roof is going to need replacement, maybe the windows.”
In addition, O’Connor said there may be abuse of the system when an older family member lets younger generations continue to live in the rent-controlled unit, taking it away from those who truly need it.
Still, tenants told KIRO 7 something should be done.
“I have a salary, but it’s not enough to cover what rent is now becoming,” said Veronica Riffo, a restaurant manager.
Lindsay Gee said she’s from Ontario, Canada, where they have rent control.
"Here, it's kind of crazy that your lease is up, and you get, you know, $500 rent increase. But that doesn't happen in Ontario," Gee said.
Rent control has been an issue in Seattle for decades. In January 1977, the Seattle City Council considered rent control but thought it was not a good idea. It also was discussed by tenants in October 1978.
In November 1980, Seattle voters defeated Initiative 24, which would have created rent control here. At the time, it was the most costly campaign in Seattle history with opponents spending nearly $1 million to defeat it. Watch videos from 1978, 1980 and Licata's 2015 comments below or here.
According to a website attributed to Councilmember Sawant:
The lack of affordable housing has become a crisis. Rents are rising faster in Seattle than in any other major U.S. city and the annual One Night Count showed a 21percent increase in homelessness in Seattle, with 3,772 people living without shelter. The market has failed to solve this crisis while developers and politicians have systematically stood in the way of serious solutions.
Sawant and other housing activists will discuss rent control, tenants’ rights, and public investment in affordable housing at a Town Hall meeting at 6 p.m. in the Seattle City Council chambers.
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