Tacoma voters will decide Nov. 3 whether the city should take a more direct role in enforcing tenant safety and protection laws. Measure 1, called “Safe Homes for All,” would establish a city process for investigating certain rental complaints and issuing penalties when violations are found. Tacoma has scheduled the measure for the Nov. 3 special election.
As The News Tribune’s Becca Most reports, Tacoma’s existing tenant protections do not spell out an administrative enforcement process for the city. Under Measure 1, a credible complaint involving habitability or tenant safety would prompt a city inspection. Penalties would start at $500 per violation and could reach five times the unit’s monthly rent; the city would collect them and transfer them to affected tenants.
The proposal would also create a phased rental-licensing system and a searchable public database of landlords and affiliated companies. Large landlords and repeat offenders would face earlier licensing deadlines. The measure categorizes large landlords as those owning, controlling or managing 25 or more units; nonprofit housing providers and landlords with fewer than 25 units would be exempt from additional fees for repeated violations.
The campaign has attracted interest and money from outside Tacoma. The News Tribune reports that Seattle-based Goodman Real Estate contributed $175,000 through Shirley Tacoma LLC to the Rental Housing Association of Washington’s PAC, which opposes the measure. The company also owns apartment complexes in Tacoma. The report notes outside advocacy on the measure’s other side, including Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s appearance at a Seattle fundraiser supporting it.
Supporters say the proposal would give the city tools to address credible complaints and hold repeat violators accountable. Opponents argue the fees and requirements could raise housing costs and add bureaucracy. For the details behind the competing claims—and the people and interests involved—read The News Tribune’s full report. The City’s official text of Measure 1 is also available for voters who want to review the proposal itself.
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