City Council considers licensing rental units

City Council is looking at what other cities have done in regards to rental units and considering options for Bellingham.

At the Bellingham City Council meeting on Monday May 24, council members were briefed about licensing and requiring inspections of rental units.
However, this was not the first time the issue was presented to council. According to the City Council Agenda for the meeting, in 2008, council members requested research to be done on licensing and inspection programs in other cities.
The results from the research, done on Sacramento, California, were presented and discussed. According to the agenda, council members also reviewed the new Washington state law regulating rental inspections and they also discussed possible policy options for a Bellingham ordinance.

Why require licensing and inspection?

Bellingham resident, Dick Conoboy, said “[We] are asking the city government to do something we feel is necessary,” in regards to why rental units should be licensed as the businesses they are.
Conoboy adds, “We are of the opinion that there are a large number of rentals in poor condition and we are looking at what other cities have done. Why should Bellingham be any different [from them]?”

What would this mean for tenants and landlords?

According to a proposed report done by Mark Gardner for the May 24 council meeting, licensing fees would be put in place and that money would help go to costs for inspection on rental units, according to an article regarding the issue in the Western Front written by Katherine Garvey.
It would seem likely that the additional fee would then be included in rents that would then be raised.

The York connection

Licensing and requiring inspection of rental units will affect Bellingham as a whole. Some York residents have come out in support for it.
“We want to help clean up the slums and help with basic fire and safety concerns,” said Anne Mackie, York Neighborhood Association president.
Mackie said, many houses in Bellingham are sub-standard, old houses with a majority of them being rented by students. Some of which, those same students are afraid to report any problems they may come across.
Rental residents, not just those who are students, need protection from those landlords who are not doing their job, added Mackie.
All landlords would be licensed and inspected.

Help from students

A student club at Western Washington University called Viking Community Builders held a forum on Monday May 17, discussing rental licensing of units in Bellingham.
According to the University Communications website, the forum discussed both sides of the issue and looked at the benefits and consequences of licensing rental units.
The Viking Community Builders club was created to help bring awareness to students on issues that might affect them and also to help strengthen ties with the Bellingham community.
Also, the Associated Students Legislative Affairs Council (AS LAC) is a committee at WWU that works with legislative issues, such as this current rental licensing issue.
Morgan Holmgren, Associated Students Vice-President for Governmental Affairs, said, the committee has held several meetings where the issue has been discussed and a resolution had been written and approved by the LAC. At the June 2 meeting, the written resolution was given to the Associated Students Board of Directors for approval.
The AS Board of Directors did approve the proposed resolution.
Holmgren said, “We are hoping to see a well designed licensing program get enacted in Bellingham that would limit the costs to landlords and tenants.” He added, “We also are hoping to see the city council adopt a licensing program while ensuring that it does not lead to the city enforcing the “rule of three”.”
The LAC also would like to see that the licensing program include an educational element for tenants about the landlord-tenant law.

What happens now?

Now university students and neighborhoods are involved and ready to take action, it is up to the city to do something about rental units in Bellingham.
According to City Council Agenda from the follow-up meeting on Monday May 24, council members gave direction to staff to schedule a committee work session regarding the issue. The work session is to be held on a later date.
Council will continue to assess what to do and keep evaluating what other cities have done, according to Mackie.
“We are citizens working behind the scenes, working with neighborhood associations and with students to get something done,” said Conoboy. “Lots of different things are going on right now.”
“Bellingham’s culture is funky, old crummy housing and we need to bring it up to [a higher] standard,” said Mackie. “I’m tired of looking at it.”