Skyrocketing rents are forcing thousands of renters to move out of their homes, sometimes every year as rent increases of 10%, 50%, and higher become increasingly common. The Affordable Housing Alliance is working to build a movement of tenants to fight for massive investment in publicly owned affordable housing, and rent control. We are also […]

Join Seattle’s Affordable Housing Alliance! Fight for affordable housing, rent control, and economic eviction assistance! Skyrocketing rents are forcing thousands of renters to move out of their homes, sometimes every year as rent increases of 10%, 50%, and higher become increasingly common. We know the cost to tenants and communities is enormous, but our stories […]

On January 17, 2017, I sent a letter to Washington State House Speaker Frank Chopp and the House Local Government Committee, calling on them to reject HB 1082, an unjust bill that would have prohibited multiplicities from enacting commercial rent control. Cities like Seattle, where small businesses and working families face skyrocketing rents, need to […]

On December 12, after nearly a 1/2 year of struggle by Washington CAN and tenants’ rights advocates, the Seattle City Council passed our move-in fees legislation, 8-0! My remarks motivating the council bill below. I am excited to introduce again this ordinance that would limit the exorbitant move-in fees that tenants are expected to pay in […]

On December 9, 2016, 26 community, labor, and faith organizations sent a letter to the Seattle City Council and Ed Murray, asking them to pass our move-in fee reform legislation without exempting any landlords or passing other amendments that weaken the legislation. The full letter can be read below. Dear Members of Seattle City Council and […]

Dear fellow housing justices advocates, Congratulations to you all! Our affordable housing movement scored a major victory yesterday! We forced the City Council to approve $29 million for affordable housing in the 2017-2018 Seattle budget.  Let’s be clear: We won this because we built our Coalition and a movement. We made it impossible for corporate […]

From the People’s Budget Town Hall to the public hearings on the budget, one thing is clear: When ordinary people in Seattle have the opportunity to weigh in on the budget, they point to the urgent need for affordable housing and human services. At the heart of our demands is an amendment to reallocate the $160 million […]

Councilmembers May Try to Kill our Tenants’ Rights Bill by Sending it Back to Committee Come tell Council: “Tenants Can’t Wait!” We Need to Limit Move-In Fees Now! On September 27, our legislation limiting move-in fees unanimously passed through committee with a 5-0 vote! This legislation limits security deposits and non-refundable fees, and requires landlords to give tenants […]

My staff have produced this FAQ to explain why you should join fight to Build 1,000 new affordable homes for Seattle’s poor and working class families and individuals. Sign the petition, then come rally with us for the Council’s first vote on the budget! The vote will take place Tuesday or Wednesday, November 15 or 16 at 9:30 […]

Recently, the Mayor and his staff have said that the City cannot allocate the $160 million in Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) funding that was previously attached to the development of a new North Police Precinct building to affordable housing. They’re wrong. On September 22, 2016, the Legislative Department’s Central Staff published a memo (summary here) which explains, at […]