Seattle Caps Security Deposit. Tenants Can Pay in Installments

Frank Au, whose family inherited homes from his mother-in-law, was in the group urging the council to squash the legislation.

Au said he recognizes some renters are struggling to stay in Seattle. “They have a good point. They don’t have the money,” he said.

But some landlords work harder, longer hours than their tenants, and some renters don’t need the help, he said.

“My mother-in-law, she came over from Vietnam, six children, didn’t know how to speak English. She bought her first rental,” Au said.

“Walk around on a Saturday and a Sunday. Look at all the tenants who have big-screen TVs … Look at all the tenants buying these goodies, while all the landlords are working.”

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Haha. Nice try Frank. Also, didn’t know Washington state forbids rent control.

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RCW 35.21.830
Controls on rent for residential structures—Prohibited—Exceptions.
The imposition of controls on rent is of statewide significance and is preempted by the state. No city or town of any class may enact, maintain, or enforce ordinances or other provisions which regulate the amount of rent to be charged for single-family or multiple-unit residential rental structures or sites other than properties in public ownership, under public management, or properties providing low-income rental housing under joint public-private agreements for the financing or provision of such low-income rental housing. This section shall not be construed as prohibiting any city or town from entering into agreements with private persons which regulate or control the amount of rent to be charged for rental properties.

My security deposit was the $10 application fee. They didn’t even charge me the $300 refundable + $300 non-refundable deposit per dog. They didn’t add on the monthly dog rent either. I always find the term “non-refundable deposit” funny. Just call it a fee, because that’s what it is.

This is pretty cool:

http://www.marysplaceseattle.org/blog/amazon-marys-place-announcement/

Was this from private LL or management company?

Btw, you didn’t buy yet in Seattle :sunglasses:

It’s a management company.

I didn’t buy yet. I honestly wasn’t sure about the different areas or traffic. I knew the company bus pilot was ending soon, and they wouldn’t commit to anything beyond April. It turns out they expanded it a lot, so I’ll have more options if I want to go that route. Plus, I get to make sure renting my place in CA goes smoothly. I definitely plan to buy next year. The big question is where.

http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2018/09/court-upholds-seattles-pro-renter-cap-on-move-in-fees/

Isn’t this just going to lead to landlords rejecting questionable tenants vs. giving them a chance with enough security deposit?

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Yes, quite odd. Sound like tenants want to have the cake and eat it. No way :wink: