Thursday, November 6, 2025
The City of Olympia is encouraging residents — particularly landlords, renters and housing advocates — to share their perspectives on tenant screening practices through a public survey, which closes on Friday, Aug. 8.
The goal of the online survey, which has already drawn nearly 800 visitors, is to gather firsthand experiences about the rental application process. The city is seeking insights to help inform potential policy changes that address housing access barriers.
Tenant screening typically involves reviewing a person's criminal, credit and rental history, as well as verifying income and employment, and verifying identification documents. The criteria can be useful in assessing applicants, but city staff say they may also unintentionally exclude people who could be successful tenants. Saff believes some screening policies may be overly restrictive and not provide an accurate indication of whether someone would be a good tenant.
According to data shared by the city:
Formerly incarcerated individuals are nearly 10 times more likely to experience homelessness than the general public.
People of color, particularly Black and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander residents, are overrepresented in Thurston County's eviction filings and homeless response systems.
Credit disparities persist, with only 21% of Black U.S. households holding a FICO score above 700, compared with 50% of white households.
More than one-quarter of residents in low-income neighborhoods are considered credit invisible, meaning they have no credit score at all.
The survey is available in two versions — one for renters, housing advocates and case managers, and another for landlords and property managers.
City staff previously presented background on tenant screening and policy options at the Land Use & Environment Committee's meeting on May 22. The city council is expected to receive a briefing on the issue at a study session on Sept. 16.
Olympia has been considering tenant protections since 2018. The city's Rental Housing Code has already incorporated several protections since 2022, including limits to move-in fees, 120 days notice for rent increases over 5% and 180 days notice for increases over 10%, and a pet damage deposit.
The city wants to revisit the tenant screening issue. Recent federal guidance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development urges housing providers to consider the discriminatory impacts of certain screening practices on protected classes.
To participate in the survey, residents can visit https://engage.olympiawa.gov/tenant-screening.
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Honestyandrealityguy
As a prior CPA, many clients invested their retirement into a rental property or properties. If the rent isn't paid they are foreclosed on. And people feel sorry for deadbeat tenants who don't pay rent and spends their rent bill on themselves. Common sense please.
Monday, August 4 Report this
BobJacobs
Our state and local governments are creating a very unbalanced situation regarding residential rental properties. So much concern for a few unfortunate tenants is driving landlords and potential landlords away, thus reducing the number of rental units. Not good public policy.
Bob Jacobs
Monday, August 4 Report this
jimlazar
Private investors will not provide housing to high-risk tenants. The returns are not high enough to justify that risk. If the City wants private investors to provide quality rental housing, the City's policies must respect their legitimate need.
Yes, there are people who will not pass muster. We have a public agency, the Housing Authority of Thurston County, charged with providing housing to lower-income tenants. It has about $50 million in assets. Perhaps it should be enlarged.
But it's not reasonable to ask a local retiree to let someone occupy a half-million-dollar investment without reasonable tenant screening practices.
Tuesday, August 5 Report this
SecondOtter
I no longer rent out my small residence. I had three sets of renters, all of whom had to be evicted due to trashing the house and refusing to pay rent.
The government makes it sound as if landlords are scumbags, slumlords, but I was not. When they put a moratorium on renters having to pay rent, they did NOT also give landlords the same moratorium on paying property taxes, doing maintenance, paying business taxes, etc.
One set brought in a pair of unhousebroken pit bulls despite the lease..which they signed...saying no pets. The dogs destroyed what the humans didn't.
And I can't even evict the squatters? Because poor things, they were irresponsible, or didn't feel the need to pay rent?
My boot. I won't ever rent a residence out again. Never. I don't care what sobstory the renter tells me, it ain't going to happen. Deadbeats get a pass, the landlord gets it in the a$$
Tuesday, August 5 Report this
BettyVerdammt
There are more sensitive ways to inquire if it is, in fact, blood dripping from the prosthetic hook-hand of a prospective tenant. Olympia's city council offers a helpful eighty page guide for screening tenants and improving landlords' customer service skills.
Thursday, August 7 Report this