From Newsgroup: alt.law-enforcement

This is so canked.
"OK the laws we passed went too far, well we will exempt the government
owned and NGO run housing from the law.
Private housing - screw you!"

the original Seattle Times Editorial is here: https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/editorials/tacoma-amended-its-landlord-rules-for-affordable-housing-seattle-take-note/

Tacoma amended its landlord rules for affordable housing. Seattle, take note Dec. 17, 2025 at 8:00 am Updated Dec. 17, 2025 at 8:01 am
Last year, the Seattle Office of Housing released $14 million in
emergency funds for housing operators bleeding money from maintenance
and other costs while rents went unpaid, writes the editorial board.
Pictured is the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. (Ken Lambert / The Seattle Times, 2024)

By The Seattle Times editorial board
In two cities, tenant protections caused unintended problems for
affordable housing operators.

Tacoma changed direction. So far, Seattle has not rCo opting instead to
try to get out of trouble by spending more tax money.

On this issue, the Emerald City ought to take a clue from its southern neighbor.

In November 2023, Tacoma voters passed the Landlord Fairness Code
Initiative.

Among other provisions, landlords were prohibited from carrying out
evictions between November and April. The rules also restricted
landlords from evicting families with children during the school year.

Upon reviewing the initiativerCOs real-life impacts, Tacoma determined
that low-income housing providers and other landlords suffered from
unpaid rents and an increase in damage to units.

rCLAfter two years of operating under the Landlord Fairness Code, we
continue to experience negative, unintended consequences that impede our ability to do our work and serve our community,rCY according to an Oct. 31 news release signed by the Tacoma Housing Authority and other providers.

It continued: rCLToday, due to mounting delinquent rent, our ability to
secure investments that would pay to build more affordable units in
Tacoma and improve our current stock of affordable housing is in jeopardy.rCY

On Dec. 9, the Tacoma City Council passed an ordinance amending the
codes. Among other conditions, the new law stipulated that the Tacoma
Housing Authority and some other nonprofit housing providers with income-restricted units would be exempt from the cold weather and school
year eviction bans.

Seattle currently bans evictions between December and March, and, if the household has school-age children, between September and June, among
other protections.

These measures contributed to a housing environment in Seattle where
folks donrCOt pay rent and eviction processes are long and costly rCo all trends that began during the pandemic.

Affordable housing providers have been pleading for relief. Instead,
they get short-term cash.

Last year, the Seattle Office of Housing released $14 million in
emergency funds for housing operators bleeding money from maintenance
and other costs while rents went unpaid.

In November, the Office of Housing announced that it was making another
$28 million available to affordable housing providers rCLto address the current difficulties caused by rising operational costs and revenue shortfalls.rCY

More money clearly isnrCOt the only answer.

Seattle City Hall needs to step up and finally tackle the hard
challenges of an affordable housing market that isnrCOt functioning
properly. Reforming tenant protections will surely bring out loud
protesters to council chambers, but problems with unpaid rent and
disregard for rules will not resolve themselves.

The Seattle Times editorial board: members are editorial page editor
Kate Riley, Frank A. Blethen, Melissa Davis, Josh Farley, Alex Fryer,
Claudia Rowe, Carlton Winfrey and William K. Blethen (emeritus).
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The fact they only do this for the affordable operators is ridiculous.
Just keep kicking the business owners of the city. Its so odd to have
your own cities, especially on the west coast keep kicking you in the gut.
So only government gets relief from the predictable negative
consequences of government overregulation? And the Times editorial board advocates for this? Sounds about right, on both counts
Did you even read the article? They are advocating that Seattle follow TacomarCOs lead in pivoting to reverse tenant protections that are
damaging to private property owners. In other words, advocating for
policies that support private business.,
Among other conditions, the new law stipulated that the Tacoma Housing Authority and some other nonprofit housing providers with
income-restricted units would be exempt from the cold weather and school
year eviction bans.
It appears to cover Tacoma Housing Authority and other non-profit
providers. I did not see any reference to private sector landlords.
How dare you use facts to counter someone's erroneous statements.
Did you even read the article?
It should also be easier to evict people who are actively harassing
others in the community.
Why change the rules just for government subsidized housing. Why not
also for market rate housing providers?
(Edited)
Yes. The rules need to hold Renters accountable too, not just landlords.
If a tenant does not pay rent, they should expect eviction. If the city
wants to put evicted people into shelters, fine. If it wants to lower
the rent on some housing, fine. If the city wants to deduct rent from paychecks or welfare payments (disability, etc.), so fewer people miss
rent payments, better still.
To the voters of Seattle, virtue and purity are more important than
common sense.
(Edited)
Yes, virtue, purity, and a whiff of sociopathy.
If you want less of something, tax it. DonrCOt be shocked if rental
housing gets screwed up by onerous rules. If one were trying to help
renters you would design policies to create more housing.
ItrCOs bad form to change a law that voters have passed, but carry on, Tacoma. (Edited)
Ah, idealistic liberalism lives on!
ItrCOs called responsible leadership.
ItrCOs called undoing the will of the voters. But ok, rCLleadership.rCY



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