This week we had a first discussion in Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development and Arts Committee on legislation I’ve sponsored to protect survivors of domestic violence from being held liable for damages incurred by an abuser, and to protect roommates and family members from categorical housing denials and evictions. I have been working closely with advocates with Washington Community Action Network and the Housing Justice Project to draft and advance this legislation.
Both of these bills were identified as priorities in the “Losing Home,” report. In several places, the report shows how domestic violence (DV) is often a “precursor to housing instability, especially for women” who may fall behind on rent after missing work due to domestic violence, or experience a change in income after reporting and/or separating from an abuser.
Another financial impact that survivors of DV face is outstanding costs of damages to a unit; under current law, tenants are responsible for paying for all damages, even if it was caused as a result of domestic violence, and outstanding debt due to damages can impact a persons’ credit and rental history, creating another barrier for survivors to leave a DV situation. Council Bill 119598 seeks to change that by prohibiting a landlord from holding a survivor liable for damages to the unit so long as:
- They are provided written documentation that the tenant or household member was a victim of DV, and that the damage was caused by a perpetrator of DV;
- The documentation is signed by a qualified third party and describes:
- the time, date, and location of the act of DV that resulted in property damage occurred;
- a brief description of act of DV that resulted in property damage; and
- that the tenant or household member informed the qualified third party the name of the perpetrator; and
- The tenant or household member informed the qualified third party of the name of the perpetrator of the act of domestic violence and property damage.
The top goal of this legislation is to ensure that survivors of DV aren’t held liable for damages related to the circumstances of their abuse. It makes more explicit the protections under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)—public housing organizations like the Seattle Housing Authority follow VAWA by explicitly prohibiting denial, termination, or eviction against people on the basis of being a survivor. The issue of liability during incidents of DV in rental housing also has precedence in the state legislature—current statewide protections permit a survivor to terminate a tenancy within 90 days of an incident of abuse without penalty.
That said, the ability to determine who should be held responsible for damages to a unit is still important to work out. As it’s currently written, the legislation doesn’t require that the name of the perpetrator be disclosed to a landlord so as not to put the survivor at risk of retribution. That said, if a landlord does have the name of perpetrator, they can seek recourse for damages. We are looking to see if this bill can create a path that facilitates the ability of a landlord to pursue damages against the perpetrator.
CB 119606 prohibits a landlord from limiting the number of people residing in a rental unit to fewer than the legal occupancy limit established by local, state, or federal law. The bill requires any rental agreement to allow occupancy by:
- A tenant;
- A tenant’s family or household members;
- One additional person who is not a tenant’s family or household member; and
- The additional person’s family and household members.
In a high rent environment, living with roommates and family members is necessary to help renters make rent and afford other expenses like food, health care, childcare, transportation, etc. The 2019 National Low Income Housing Coalition report shows that the average housing wage (what a tenant needs to make to afford a rental unit at fair market rate) is $36.52 for a 2-bedroom home in Seattle-Bellevue area. This is more than twice the minimum wage.
I appreciate how this bill ensures that our private housing market can be inclusive diverse household compositions. A constituent who came to testify in support spoke to the need to care for aging and disabled family members while renting—with this legislation they won’t have to worry about being denied from a home so long as they can meet their obligations as a lease-holder.
This bill also restricts a landlord from imposing additional screening criteria when a household member or roommate is added to the household, and protects the remaining tenants’ authority to bring on additional roommate(s) if one or more spaces of the legal occupancy is vacated.
|