Seattle Housing Policies Lead to gain of only 4,455 Rentals Since 2018

According to a report posted on the Rental Housing Association of Washington website, while Seattle's population grew by about 50,000 people between July 2018 and May 2021, the city added only 4,455 rental housing units. 

This is far below the council's stated goal of 4,500 new units per year to meet a 25-year goal of 112,000 new rental units. 

Meanwhile, the association reports that registrations with the city of rental units decreased by 14.4% from 2018 with 4,858 units lost. "It's anticipated even more rental homes will disappear next year when rental registration reporting is due because 80% of single-family unit registrations will expire in 2021 and 2022."

The Rental Housing Association of Washington places the blame on the city's anti-housing policies, stating that Seattle chose to enact a number of policies that reduced housing creation and drove rental homes off the market, including:

• First in time: which increases property owner risk by forcing them to rent to the first qualified applicant.
• Winter eviction ban: which forces property owners to provide housing for free without any assistance.
• School year eviction ban: which forces property owners to provide housing for free without any assistance.
• De facto rent control: which caps rental rates at 10% under penalty of paying tenant moving fees.
• Long-term COVID-related eviction protections: such as extended defenses to eviction beyond the eviction moratorium, and other contract infringement ordinances.

"These anti-housing policies increase housing costs for renters and reduce the availability of rental housing. They are having the opposite effect of the City Council’s stated intentions, but the results were entirely predictable," the report states.