In early-July, Tacoma City Council voted in favor of new rules to add to its set of Rental Code Provisions. TPCAR is hosting a free webinar for its membership on August 9 to share more about the changes outlined below, and answer any questions.

The changes, which take effect July 24th, 2023, include, but are not limited to, the following changes:

• Distribution of information to applicants, which included information on the tenant's right to pay deposits, non-refundable fees, and last month's rent in installments (payment plan).
• Payment Plans
  • Tenancies of 6+ months must allow the tenant to pay the security deposit, non-refundable fees, and last month's rent in six consecutive, equal monthly payments.
  • Tenancies of 3 - 5 months must allow the tenant to pay three consecutive, monthly installments for the security deposit, non-refundable fees, and last month's rent.
  • Month-to-month tenancies must allow the tenant to pay the security deposit, non-refundable fees, and last month's rent in six consecutive, equal monthly payments.
• 120 days' notice for rent increases. The notice must specify the percentage and amount of rent increase, the effective date of the increase, and the landlord must provide a copy of a resource summary as outlined in TMC 1.95.030 when serving the notice of rent increase.
• Restrictions on tenant screening requirements, including no requirement for a social security number, no blanket bans on an applicant's criminal or arrest records history. Individual assessments must be used which consider the type and severity of the offense and how long ago the offense occurred.
  • Landlords cannot deny tenancy for criminal history solely based on an arrest that did not result in conviction, participation in or completion of a diversion or deferral of judgment program, a conviction that has been judicially dismissed, expunged, voided, or invalidated, a conviction for a crime that is no longer illegal in the State of Washington, a conviction or any other determination or adjudication issued through the juvenile justice system, a criminal conviction for misdemeanor offenses for which the dates of sentencing are older than 3 years from the date of the application, excluding court-mandated prohibitions that are present at the property for which the applicant has applied, or a criminal conviction for a felony offense for which the dates of sentencing are older than 7 years from the date of the application, excluding court-mandated prohibitions that are present at the property for which the applicant has applied.
  • Landlords can deny only for sex offenses under RCW 9A.44, violent offenses under RCW 9.94A.030 against a landlord, employees, or other tenants, arson under RCW 9A.48, or manufacturing, sale, or distribution of controlled substances under RCW 69.50.
• Income-to-rent ratios:
  • For units rented at amounts below fair market value (as set by HUD), applicants may be required to earn gross income in the amount of up-to 3 times the amount of monthly rent.
  • For units rented at amounts at or above fair market value (as set by HUD), applicants may be required to earn gross income in the amount of up-to 2.5 times the amount of monthly rent.
  • All legal sources of income must be factored in when determining an applicant's gross income.
  • This provision includes an allowance for tenants to determine which adults are financially responsible for the lease and are therefore screened for financial qualifications.
• Late Fees are capped at 1.5% of the monthly rent, not to exceed $75.