Mayor Katie Wilson has announced she will hold a “Rental Junk Fee Town Hall” series in neighborhoods across Seattle.
The mayor announced the town halls this week as she released a selective set of datapoints from her recent survey of renters in February. Wilson’s office says more than 8,300 people responded to the survey:
The mayor’s office has not made the full results of the survey public.
Tenant fees and additional charges for things like applications and inspections have come under increased scrutiny as advocates push for improvements in tenant rights and affordability.
A major target is the “Ratio Utility Billing System.” The RUBS formula used by landlords to allocate property utility costs like water, sewer, electric, gas, and trash to tenants has been roundly criticized by renter advocacy groups including the Seattle Renters Commission.
A tenant group on Capitol Hill recently organized a payment strike to protest the fees.
The upcoming town halls will renew a push for renters rights at City Hall after the previous administration and council tangled with the constituency. The last major renter protection passed by the council was last summer’s ban on “algorithmic rent fixing” and Kshama Sawant’s cap on late fee limits in 2023. The big recent win for renters came at the state level where 43rd District Rep. Nicole Macri helped win a 10% cap on annual rent increases.
The Wilson administration is also busy championing Seattle’s newest effort to create affordable housing and apartment buildings as the Seattle Social Housing Developer moves closer to acquiring its first property.
Meanwhile, the “town hall” format seems to be part of Wilson’s evolving approach after a few months in office. Friday night, she will be part of a “Town Hall on Security and Surveillance” held at First Hill’s Town Hall Seattle as the mayor has paused expansion of the Seattle Police Department’s camera system to Capitol Hill and the Central District.
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