(The Center Square) – Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant’s proposed rent control bill has been rejected by the city council, with the city’s divide on the topic evident throughout the meeting.
The public comment section of the council meeting on Aug. 1 lasted over an hour, and included tenants and landlords speaking for and against Council Bill 120606. The council meeting revealed a growing disdain from some residents who feel neither political party represents them. A couple people voiced their opinion through song, others called out members of the Seattle City Council. Advocates for the rent control trigger law also chanted “dump the elephant, dump the ass, we need a party for the working class.”
Sawant’s denied proposal would establish the city’s intent to prevent monthly rent from increasing by more than the rate of inflation. However, the legislation would not be permitted in the city due to the State of Washington prohibiting any local municipality from regulating the amount of rent that a landlord can charge.
If the state-level prohibition were to be repealed, the ordinance would then go into effect between the time of the repeal and 18 months after, according to the council bill.
A central staff memo on Council Bill 120606 cites data from the American Community Survey that revealed that the median Seattle rent increased by 15% between 2017 to 2021 from $1,555 to $1,787. The median Seattle rent increased by 80% between 2010 and 2021, with 2010 rents at $990.
Those opposed to rent control say that it would cause housing supply to go down within Seattle, causing the local rental market to become distorted, as previously reported by The Center Square.
During the city council meeting on Aug. 1, Sawant spoke on how the bill would only affect landlords who hike up rent for their tenants.
“This rent control regulation would not affect any small landlord who isn’t already gouging their tenants – but if you, as a landlord, are exploiting your tenant, then I don’t care if you’re big or small, you don’t have the right to exploit anyone,” Sawant said in the council meeting.
According to Seattle City Council Chair Debora Juarez, there have been 10 attempts at implementing rent control ordinances into Seattle law. Four made it to the full council and were passed, including a resolution supporting the lifting and preemption of rent control, a resolution regulating rent increases on properties that do not meet basic maintenance standards and two that temporarily restrict increases in commercial rents.
Workers Strike Back, an independent, rank-and-file campaign, had members speak out in favor of rent control during public comment. Following the bill’s failure out of the city council, the campaign posted a statement on “X,” formerly known as Twitter.
“Democrats on [the Seattle City Council] just voted against the rent control bill from[Sawant] – this is a slap in the face to 360,000 renters in Seattle who face skyrocketing housing costs.”
Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Washington Business Properties Association, Chester Baldwin claimed the bill’s rejection as a victory in a separate statement.
“Our association believes that the city can directly help people unable to afford their rent through robust rental assistance programs, rather than enshrining a massive and costly bureaucracy that wouldn’t actually help the housing insecure,” Baldwin said.
