FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 21, 2021
MEDIA CONTACTS
Tanisha Jumper, Media and Communications, tjumper@ci.tacoma.wa.us, (253) 591-5152
Megan Snow, Media and Communications, msnow@cityoftacoma.org, (253) 591-5051
Tacoma City Council Adopts Updates to the Rental Housing Code
The Tacoma City Council adopted Ordinance 28780 on September 21, 2021, which is effective immediately. The ordinance updates Tacoma’s Rental Housing Code (TMC 1.95) to align with the State’s Just-Cause Eviction provisions that went into effect on May 10, 2021.
The updates to the City’s code will provide better protections for tenants and allow enforcement of local and state law.
With these updates, the Rental Housing Code, which passed unanimously on November 20, 2018, outlines notice requirements including:
- 120-day notice to vacate and relocation assistance for low-income tenants authorized by RCW 59.18.440, when a landlord intends to change the use, substantially rehabilitate, or demolish a dwelling unit.
- 60-day notice requirement for rent increase
- Just-Cause Eviction requirement.
- Prohibit the use of illegal provision in rental housing agreements.
Additionally, the Rental Housing Code prohibits landlord retaliation, allows installment payments for various deposits and fees, provides City authority to enforce violations, codifies relocation assistance when a building is declared uninhabitable, and requires landlords to distribute tenant information packets.
The Rental Housing Code was created through collaboration with both landlords and tenants to craft policy that addresses tenant protection and landlord business needs.
More information about the City’s Landlord-Tenant Program is available at cityoftacoma.org/OEHR. More information about the City’s progress toward its Tacoma2025 goals is available on the Results253 page at data.cityoftacoma.org.
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