(The Center Square) – A lawsuit challenging the city of Tacoma, Wash., for its voter-approved tenants’ rights law has been sent back to Pierce County Superior Court where the legal challenge will continue.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Tiffany Cartwright denied motions from both the Citizen Action Defense Fund, or CADF, and Tacoma. The case, initially filed by CADF in Pierce County Superior Court, will now return there for further proceedings.
CADF, representing North Pearl Street, a Tacoma-based apartment complex, filed the lawsuit in August 2024 to challenge the city’s Landlord Fairness Code Initiative.
The initiative – approved in November 2023 by less than 400 votes – requires more notice for rent increases, as well as requiring Tacoma landlords to offer relocation assistance if the rent increases more than 5%. Landlords are also required to provide two notices before increasing rent. The first being between 210 and 180 days prior and the second between 120 and 90 days prior.
Proponents argue that the LFCI provides necessary regulations to ensure safe, healthy and stable rental housing in the city.
Originally temporary measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, these requirements are now permanent as part of the initiative. CADF Executive Director Jackson Maynard argues that the initiative creates a disincentive to enter into the Tacoma rental market.
“So you’re losing a significant rung in the ladder in terms of housing for people and that in turn causes rates to increase,” Maynard said to The Center Square in a phone interview. “It’s not just bad policy, it’s bad law.”
In her ruling, Cartwright stated that North Pearl Street lacks Article III standing to sue Tacoma in federal court, as it cannot demonstrate sufficient harm to pursue federal claims. Consequently, the court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over state law claims.
However the ruling does not extinguish the opportunity to challenge the law through other means. Cartwright suggested that a lawsuit involving a tenant invoking the LFCI to fight eviction could provide a legal on-ramp.
Maynard said CADF respectfully disagrees with the judge’s decision, arguing that the initiative allows Tacoma to find violations of its code as a basis for enforcement of the act.
“We appreciate the thoughtfulness of the decision and we’re going to take a close look at and then see if maybe adding some additional defendants is a good strategy,” Maynard said.
Since initially filing the lawsuit, CADF argues that the LFCI does little to solve the housing crisis facing Tacoma, Washington state, and the U.S., and instead, makes the situation worse. The nonprofit corporation added that the ballot measure was passed under the guise of protecting tenant rights, but the negative ramifications of passing the initiative far outweighed any described benefit.
“This initiative makes it so difficult for when a tenant is not paying rent to be able to use the proper remedy to evict them and free up that space for a tenant that is capable of paying the rent,” Maynard said.
A judge still has to be assigned for the case as it goes back to the Pierce County Superior Court. Once assigned, that judge will likely put out a scheduling order that would set new deadlines for the case.
