Bill aims to stop rent gouging in Washington state, provide housing stability to renters and manufactured homeowners statewide
For Immediate Release: Friday, January 10th, 2025
Contact: Kristin Hyde, 206-491-0773 kristin@powerhouse-strategic.com
Bill aims to stop rent gouging in Washington state, provide housing stability to renters and manufactured homeowners statewide
Olympia, WA – Today at a news briefing, legislative sponsors of a measure to limit excessive rent increases across Washington state joined affordable housing advocates, impacted renters and landlords to talk about the policy.
2024 Nancy Amidei Movement Builder Award
Congratulations to the powerful collective of Clark County advocates for being named the recipient of our annual Nancy Amidei Movement Builder Award!
Today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision will do more harm to those who are homeless
This is a disappointing decision that will do nothing to solve homelessness. In fact, it will make it worse by giving cities free rein to prioritize criminalization while neglecting and diverting funds from proven solutions like housing. And fines and arrests often extend people’s experience of homelessness by making it harder for them to access housing and services in the future.
Washington ranked 5th most unaffordable state for housing in new Out of Reach report
For the second year in a row, Washington was ranked with the fifth-highest hourly “housing wage” in the country. The state average “fair market rent” for a 2 bedroom is $2,097, meaning, in order to afford rent and utilities without paying more than 30% of one’s income for housing, one would need to earn $6,989 monthly.
Low income renters in Washington face a staggering shortage of affordable homes, contributing to housing instability and homelessness across the state
Washington continues to be one of the states with the largest gap between the number of low-income renter households and the number of affordable and available rental homes to meet that need.
Legislature Failed to Make Significant Progress on Housing Crisis
Affordable Housing Advocates Applaud Budget Investments, Say Lack of Action to Address Rent Gouging Leaves Hundreds of Thousands of Renters at Risk of Displacement
Relief for renters clears important hurdle with WA House passage of measure to prevent excessive rent increases
Olympia, WA – An outpouring of support statewide from renters, small landlords, small businesses, service providers, faith leaders, labor leaders, union members, students and voters buoyed state lawmakers who voted tonight to approve HB 2114, a measure to stop rent gouging practices that are displacing hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians and increasing homelessness.
Washington’s housing wage rises to $36.33 per hour – fifth highest in the nation
Full-time workers in Washington need to earn $36.33 per hour to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent. This is Washington’s 2023 “Housing Wage” – an increase of $5 per hour over the housing wage in 2022 – according to a report published today by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) and the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance.
My experience at the NLIHC 2023 Housing Policy Forum
Last month I had the opportunity to attend the 2023 Housing Policy Forum: Onward to Housing Justice, hosted by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and held in Washington, D.C. There were several hundred attendees, as well as the NLIHC Board of Directors and State and Tribal Partners from across the country. The Forum is an annual event, but due to COVID, they had not held it in person since 2019.