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Tenants Union of Washington State Tenants Union of Washington State

Tenants Union of Washington State - PowerPoint Presentation

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Tenants Union of Washington State - PPT Presentation

Spokane Homeless Coalition June 1 2017 Preventing Homelessness Through Housing Stability and Tenant Protection History and Mission of the TU Founded in 1977 Look for our 40 th Birthday Celebration in the Fall ID: 603012

tenant housing spokane rental housing tenant rental spokane tenants rent move income rights june community pay city costs monthly

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Slide1

Tenants Union of Washington State

Spokane Homeless Coalition

June 1, 2017

“Preventing Homelessness Through Housing Stability and Tenant Protection”Slide2

History and Mission of the TU

Founded in 1977 – Look for our 40

th

Birthday Celebration in the Fall

Mission Statement

Tenant education and organizing

Walk-In Tenant Education Clinics and Tenants’ Rights Hotline

HUD Project Based Housing Tenants

Local, State and Federal Rental Housing PoliciesSlide3

Spokane Tenant Issues

45% of Spokane residents

r

ent

t

heir

h

ome, of those 47% pay more than 30% of monthly income on rent Many P. (U.S. Census)

Vacancy rate for rental

h

ousing in Spokane is less than 1%, 0% in subsidized

h

ousing

Over 75% of rental

h

ousing is over 80 years

o

ld. (city of Spokane data)

No rental

r

egistry or inspection in Spokane.

No regulation of fair market rental housing conditions and/or costsSlide4

Spokane Tenant Issues (cont.)

Little safety net and resources for at-risk and low income tenants

Limited rental assistance

Limited relocation assistance

Landlords

living outside of Spokane, difficult to contact and respond.

High poverty rate and not enough affordable housing programs.

Due to limited funding only 12 out of 100 tenants who are otherwise eligible for housing subsidies receive them leaving 88% to live in market rate “affordable” housing. (Spokane Low Income Housing Consortium)Slide5

Common Tenant Concerns in Spokane

Requests for Repairs Including Bedbugs and Other Infestations

Washington State Residential Landlord Tenant Act- remedies

Tenant’s rights, landlord’s

r

esponsibilities

Expectations and remedies

Failure to Repair

Tenant’s rights and realities

Who enforces the law?

Notices to Terminate Tenancy

Notices for Cause

No Cause NoticeSlide6

Common Tenant Concerns, (cont.)

Evictions

Little or no available legal representation for tenants who cannot pay an attorney

Fear and anxiety cause tenants to avoid appearing in court resulting in a default judgment

How to remove an eviction from public records

Sub-standard Housing Conditions

Few city resources, tenants must pay for inspections that could result in their being evicted

Without permission inspectors cannot enter the home

Excessive Move-In Costs

Notices to Increase Rent

Refusal to return damage depositsSlide7

Why Tenant Empowerment?

Without an attorney, the tenant must represent themselves in court

Tenant must initiate the actions for repair

Power imbalance in landlord-tenant relationship

Rental housing policies need the voices of tenants

Housing is a human right and vulnerable communities live at risk of homelessness more than others

Becoming powerful and confident can overcome fear and shameSlide8

Moving Toward Housing Justice

End No Cause Evictions

Current law allows for a tenancy to end with a 20 day written notice for

no reason whatsoever.

This means that a tenant who is current in rent and never in violation of the rental agreement may be forced to move out of their home.

A 20 day notice to terminate will become a no cause eviction if the tenant does not move

.

This leads

to unnecessary homelessness (short timeline, high moving costs, low vacancy rates

)

Since no reason is required for termination it provides a legal screen to hide discrimination and retaliation.

Fear of eviction is the number one reason tenants do not seek repairs or report substandard housing conditions. Tenants are afraid to organize and make complaints.

No cause terminations render other tenant protections such as rental inspections and nondiscrimination of source of income less effective. Slide9

Moving Toward Housing Justice (cont.)

Fair market rental housing accountability

Rental inspection and registry that will identify rental property owners to aid in notification to landlords and establish housing quality standards for rental housing.

Rental housing relocation as described in the Landlord-Tenant Act to hold property owners responsible for condemned property.

Ending discrimination against source of income

The city of Spokane enacted a Human Rights chapter to the municipal code ending discrimination against tenants who use vouchers or other source of income to pay rent. The calculation of income must not allow this practice to continue.Slide10

Moving Toward Housing Justice (cont.)

Allow tenants more time to pay move in costs

There are no laws limiting fees and deposits required to move in

Low vacancy rate is causing an increase in monthly rent

Excessive move in costs lead to increased homelessness

Allow more notice when rent is increased more than 10

%

Rent is on the increase in Spokane due to severe shortage of rental housing

Tenants occupying an entire building are being served 20 day notices to move to upgrade units and increase rent

Ending

discrimination against tenants with a criminal background

Slide11

City of Spokane and Rental Housing

Housing Quality Workgroup- Community Forums

Northeast Community Center: Tuesday, June 13, 2017, 4:00-6:00 p.m.

West Central Community Center: Wednesday, June 14, 4:00-6:00 p.m.

East Side Library: Thursday, June 15, 4:00-6:00 p.m.

Housing Forum: Thursday, June 29, Location TBD, 2:00-4:30 p.m.

Mayor’s Task Force on Affordable and Quality Housing

Spokane City Councilmembers Karen Stratton and Amber

Waldref

Spokane Human Rights CommissionSlide12

TU Walk-in Clinics, Hotline & Monthly Tenant Meetings

Walk-In Tenant Education Clinics:

Every Tuesday, American Indian Community Center at E. 610 North Foothills Drive 1:30-3:30 p.m.

2

nd

and 4

th

Wednesdays, Valley Partners E. 10649 Broadway 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Every Thursday, HFCA W. 19 Pacific Ave 1:30- 3:30 p.m.

Tenant Rights Hotline: 1-206-723-0500

Next Monthly Tenant Meeting: June 21, 2017 5:30 p.m. Community Building Lobby W. 35 Main Ave.Slide13

Thank You!

For More Information:

Terri Anderson, Community Organizer, Tenants Union of Washington State, (509) 464-7620 terria@tenantsunion.org