January 8, 2020

Greetings,

We know that some of our members and allies are being contacted and invited to sign on to a newly formed group called Partnership for Affordable Housing. The group is primarily made up of realtors, landlord lobby groups, bankers, business groups, and several construction unions.

They are describing themselves as an affordable housing coalition and incorporating language supporting things we all know are needed like rental subsidies and funding for the Housing Trust Fund. While we welcome support for these efforts, the real point of this coalition is to oppose any legislative efforts aimed at stabilizing rents.

The Housing Alliance encourages you to decline any invitation to join this coalition. By being a part of the Housing Alliance and/or your local housing consortium, you are already part of a powerful affordable housing coalition grounded in the values of expanding opportunity to affordable homes and ending homelessness. Even if this group shared these values, new groups like this don’t generally add value, but they do confuse and dilute our message.

The Housing Alliance believes that we should look to what Oregon and California have passed recently and consider legislation in Washington that places reasonable limits on rent increases. And we believe this should be combined with investments in housing that is affordable to low income people and eliminating barriers to housing production.

Partnership for Affordable Housing is fundamentally an anti-rent control lobbying and communications effort, not a welcome or needed partner.

For some thoughtful discussions on rent stabilization / rent control see:

Crosscut:

Who's Afraid of Rent Control

The Stranger:

The Need for Rent Control

The Case Against Rent Control

What Washington Can Learn From Rent Control Victories in Oregon and California

Rachael Meyers

Executive Director

Washington Low Income Housing Alliance