Title
Tenant Screening Outreach and Policy Options Briefing
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Hold a discussion on tenant screening community outreach and policy options.
City Manager Recommendation:
Hold a discussion on tenant screening community outreach and policy options.
Report
Issue:
Whether to hold a discussion on tenant screening community outreach and policy options.
Staff Contact:
Christa Lenssen, Senior Housing Program Specialist, Community Planning & Economic Development, 360.570.3762
Presenter(s):
Christa Lenssen, Senior Housing Program Specialist, Community Planning & Economic Development
Background and Analysis:
Development of Olympia tenant protections
The City of Olympia has been actively exploring renter protections since 2018. In 2019, the City Council and its committees identified and prioritized several potential policy options to support tenants and improve rental housing conditions.
In March 2020, the Council's Land Use & Environment Committee (LUEC) hosted a public forum to begin a broader community conversation around the challenges faced by renters and possible policy solutions. However, progress was temporarily paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Discussions resumed in mid-2021, when City staff were tasked with researching tenant protection policies and providing updates to LUEC. This included examining best practices from other Washington cities and gathering input from community stakeholders on a range of policy proposals.
LUEC used this research and community feedback to prioritize a set of tenant protections for future adoption. Since 2022, the Olympia City Council has enacted several measures under Olympia Municipal Code Chapter 5.82, known as the Rental Housing Code, strengthening protections for renters across the city.
Alignment with work plans
Establishing tenant protections to address housing instability is a priority outlined in Strategies 2.a and 2.f of the City's Housing Action Plan: "Identify and i...
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