State Sen. Frockt sponsors tenants’ rights legislation

By Evan Smith

Democratic State Sen. David Frockt, who represents the 46th Legislative District, including Lake Forest Park, Kenmore and northeast Seattle, has joined Seattle Democratic Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles in sponsoring two bills that would support tenants’ rights and make housing more affordable to renters in Washington.

Democratic State Sen. Maralyn Chase, who represents Shoreline and the rest of the 32nd Legislative District, is among the co-sponsors of both bills.

A public hearing on both was Thursday, Jan. 23, in the Senate Financial Institutions, Housing and Insurance Committee.

One bill, Senate Bill 6291 would streamline the process of tenant screenings by potential landlords by allowing a prospective tenant to obtain a single standardized comprehensive screening report and use it when applying to rent housing for up to 30 days without being charged a tenant screening fee by the landlord. The comprehensive report would include consumer, criminal and eviction history. If landlords would want to use a different report, they would have to pay the expense themselves.

“One of the biggest costs of finding new housing is paying all the application fees for every prospective rental property,” Frockt said. “It’s especially tough in fast-moving rental markets where you might have to apply for many properties to find one that’s open. Moving into new housing is expensive enough as is, and it’ll make the process easier on people if we have a standard form and prospective renters only have to pay one screening fee.”

The other bill, Senate Bill 6292 would require notice of rent increases 90 days ahead, up from the current 30 days, as well as provide tenant relocation assistance to a broader base of renters.

Kohl-Welles said that 30 days is not enough notice to plan ahead if rent is going to go up and force a tenant to move. She added that the bill arose in part from what happened to tenants at Lockhaven Apartments in Ballard when they received eviction notices to allow the management to remodel or renovate their units followed by big rent increases.

In local jurisdictions that require landlords to provide assistance when a tenant must move, especially due to a rent increase or a change of situation, currently only those who earn up to 50 percent of area median income may receive this assistance. SB 6292 would increase the availability for those who earn up to 80 percent.

Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com