Tacoma City Council passes an ordinance Tuesday that expands protections for tenants.
The new ordinance provides tenant protections, such as requiring a landlord to give 60 days’ notice before terminating tenancy and paying relocation assistance in certain circumstances.
Council members acknowledged the new ordinance was “not perfect,” but said it was a start.
“Twenty days is not a reasonable amount of time for any human to be asked to move their family, themselves to anywhere else. That’s just bright as the sun to me,” said Councilmember Conor McCarthy. “But the second one, and we got to be honest with ourselves, this code is going to increase the cost to landlords in this community, and they’re likely going to pass that on to tenants.”
A representative of the Rental Housing Association of Washington earlier mentioned concerns about the impact on single-family home rental properties. Several small business owners also spoke out against the cost.
The measure was sparked by a group of low-income Tacoma residents at the Tiki Apartments who petitioned the Council after receiving 20-day eviction notices last spring.
In April, the Council passed legislation requiring landlords of month-to month renters to provide 90 days’ notice before evicting tenants.
