Olympia amends rental housing ordinance

Olympia City Council adopted amendments to the rental housing code that limit move-in fees, rent increase notification, and pet damage deposit during the ordinance’s second reading Tuesday, August 16.

Before the city council approved the amendments, Olympia Housing Program specialist Christa Lenssen suggested some substitute language on Olympia Municipal Code (OMC) Chapter 5.82 discussing rental housing codes.

According to Lenssen, the ordinance allows landlords to charge a security deposit equal to one month's rent or last month's rent. It prohibits other non-refundable move-in fees, such as administration fees.

Lenssen said they have made a date effective for 5.82.040 subsection A, which requires 120 days' notice for a rent increase over 5%, 120 days after the ordinance's adoption.

Amendments for 5.82.040 subsection B, which requires the landlords 180 days' notice for rent increases over 10%, will take effect 180 days after the ordinance's adoption.

"By making it 120 days and 180 days, respectively, that allows the landlords time to make those increases that they have deemed if they were already planning a rent increase, such as if a tenancy term lease was ending during this next few months. So we've remedied that by making the dates that the ordinance is effective later for those provisions specifically," Lenssen told the councilmembers.

She added all provisions in pet deposits and limits to move-in fees would take effect 30 days after the adoption, Lenssen said.

The amended ordinance include:

82.040 Rent Increase Notification

• requires 120 days' notice for rent increases over 5%
• requires 180 days' notice for rent increases over 10%

82.050 Pet Damage Deposits

• capped at 25% of monthly rent
• allows for three consecutive monthly installments

82.060 Limits to Move-in fees

• prohibits collection of non-refundable fees at the beginning of the tenancy

Appeal from a landlord

Brandon Smith, a Tumwater resident and a landlord in Olympia, appealed to the council members that prohibitions on administration and hold fees would cost more money to existing residents.

"Removal of the administration fee would pass costs onto existing residents, not future residents. To recapture that income, we would raise rents for all the existing residents. Prohibition of hold fees would limit consumer choice. We would require people to lease that day and start paying rent instead of holding the unit for several weeks," said Smith, who made his public comment in person.

Addressing Smith's concern, Mayor Cheryl Selby said the ordinances are "not static." "We monitor and adjust as we put new rules into place. If we find unintended impacts that are detrimental outcomes, then we amend that down the road."