Residential landlords in Bellingham will be required to give tenants a four-month notice of any rent increase, after the city council passed the stricter notification requirement Feb. 27.
Council voted unanimously to change the city code to require 120-day notice of a rent increase, doubling the existing 60-day requirement.
Council members Hollie Huthman and Dan Hammill proposed the notification requirement in January, noting that significant rent increases coupled with a tight market can create a dilemma for tenants.
“You and I have probably all heard from constituents who’ve had some pretty substantial rental increases recently,” Huthman told fellow council members on Jan. 23. “And in a market where it’s so difficult to find another place to live, that can put people in quite a bind.”
Bellingham’s rental vacancy rate is around 3%, according to the city website, which says that a “healthy” vacancy rate that doesn’t lead to rapid rent increases would be 5–7%. Planning officials have said Bellingham’s median monthly rent has increased 41% over four years, not adjusting for inflation, from $1,200 in 2018 to $1,693 in 2022.
The new ordinance will have a far-reaching effect in the city, as 54% of households are occupied by renters, according to census data.
Also on Feb. 27, council considered a broader range of tenant protections, and at this point, everything is on the table.
Planning staff briefed council on protections offered in other jurisdictions, everything from caps on move-in fees and pet deposits to an escrow account that withholds rental income from landlords until repairs are made. Council members said, in so many words, they wanted all of the above.
“We need to do everything that we can as a city council and a city to provide the best rental and tenant supports that are possible in the state of Washington,” Hammill said on Feb. 27. “Our neighbors deserve it.”
Mayor Seth Fleetwood injected a note of caution into the discussion: How far the city goes in providing tenant protections may be limited by the cost and staffing required to implement and enforce any new programs.
Planning Director Blake Lyon warned of unintended consequences: If rental protections become too onerous for landlords, they might be less willing to lease to people without a strong rental history, including people who were recently homeless.
Council deliberations on rental protections will continue later this year.
