Lawmakers must pass rent increase caps, improve legal support for tenants to slow the eviction crisis

By Terri Anderson

Spokane, like the rest of Washington, is experiencing an eviction crisis. Historic eviction rates are disrupting the lives of individuals, families and entire communities – worsening the tragic homelessness crisis.

Renters have lost COVID-19 and eviction prevention programs that kept them in housing. Rent increases and inflation outpace wage growth. The “tsunami of evictions” that was anticipated to happen when the eviction moratorium ended is occurring right now, especially in Spokane. This crisis is especially harmful to communities of color, which are more likely to rent than own homes.

Spokane nonprofit service providers and mutual aid programs are helping but can’t match the needs of renters. State programs to provide legal support to tenants have expanded but remain overtaxed, with insufficient legal resources to meet the needs of the record number of people facing eviction.

As the executive director of the Tenants Union of Washington State, based in Spokane, I hear tenants’ stories every day. I see the pain of families separated because they cannot afford their apartment or rental home. I meet with renters scared to stay in shelters asking for recommendations for a safe place to sleep in their car. I hear from employers who are worried about losing valuable workers because unsustainable rent increases are causing them to lose their housing.

Something needs to change.

This legislative session, our state can support renters by passing legislation to limit rent increases and fund Right to Counsel programs for low-income tenants.

House Bill 1217 caps rent increases to 7%, creating predictability in the rental market and reigning in unsustainable rent increases. In addition to capping rent increases, HB 1217 would extend notice periods for rent increases and cap late fees and move in costs.

Later this session, the Legislature will consider funding Right to Counsel at its current level and not cutting funds to the state’s program providing free legal representation for low-income tenants facing eviction.

Collectively, these bills provide important safeguards for renters and progress towards housing justice.

Rental housing is essential in Spokane. Nearly half of all households in the city rent their housing. Among renters, more than half of tenants are rent-burdened – meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. This precarious position means people are one major life event away – like a broken-down car, medical expense or major rent increase – from not being able to afford their housing.

Lawmakers can provide stability for renters by capping rent increases. Making this change, and providing predictability around housing expenses, would bring renters closer to the housing stability enjoyed by homeowners.

Providing similar policy support for renters is a matter of not only housing justice, but racial justice. In Spokane County, two-thirds of white households are homeowners, while less than half of people of color own their homes. Statewide the statistics tell a similar story.

This reality reveals the continued impacts of racist housing policies. It should be a call to action for lawmakers to adopt policies that not only improve homeownership opportunities for people of color, but support housing stability for renters who are disproportionately people of color.

Capping rent increases doesn’t cost the state any revenue. In fact, it may cut costs by preventing people from entering cycles of homelessness and incarceration, both of which are terrible burdens on individuals experiencing those hardships and come at a high cost to taxpayers.

An important policy that compliments rental price caps is legal defense. Washington has a legal fund for low-income renters facing eviction, but that program can’t meet the current demand, especially here in Spokane, where lawyers are traveling from the West Side to meet the local need.

Despite this need, legislators have been considering adding barriers to the program and reducing funding. This would be a major blow to renters. Right to Counsel is a powerful tool to keep people housed when facing eviction. “About 81% of tenants in (defended through the Right to Counsel program) ended up in permanent housing, and about 56% remained in the home subject to the eviction proceeding, according to the Office of Civil Legal Aid,” said a recent article in the Washington State Standard.

In Spokane and across Washington, renters face an uncertain future. Decisions beyond our control can mean the difference between having a place to live or not. We owe it to our people and communities to ensure housing stability for all. This is a matter of housing justice and racial justice. It’s a decision to support healthier, stronger communities. The Senate must pass rent stabilization to keep Washington renters housed.

Terri Anderson is executive director of Tenants Union of Washington State, based in Spokane.