05/09/05
Governor Christine Gregoire Signs "Slumlord Accountability Act"!
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PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact: Michele Thomas, The Tenants Union
Governor to sign “Slumlord Accountability Act”
Tuesday, May 10th, 9am in the Governor’s Conference Room
The Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire will sign HSSB 5577 into law on Tuesday May 10th. The legislation will ensure that relocation assistance is provided to tenants who are forced from their homes when they are shut down due to dangerous and unhealthy conditions.
The bill passed the Senate unanimously and enjoyed bi-partisan support in the House of Representatives when it passed there, despite persistent opposition from the Rental Housing Association of Puget Sound.
The bill will require negligent landlords whose property is shut down by local officials to pay relocation assistance to tenants who are forced to leave. The relocation assistance will be $2,000 or 3 times the rent, whichever is greater. Cities and counties will also have the option of paying the assistance to families up front to help prevent homelessness and relieve the burden on local service agencies, and then collect the cost from the property owner.
Laurie Strong, grandmother of 3, was forced from her home with her family last year when the City of Burien shut down the Juanita Apartments. “The most important thing about this legislation is that it will give these irresponsible landlords a real incentive to keep their property up. Maybe they’ll keep their places healthy and safe and people won’t have to go through what we went through.”
Attending the signing with the Governor will be; representatives of the Tenants Union, Columbia Legal Services, the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, the city of Olympia, and tenants who lobbied for the bill after being displaced when their home were shut down.
Director Siobhan Ring put today’s event in perspective. “This legislation is one tool to help ensure that people in Washington have healthy, affordable housing. To really meet that goal we’ll need more effective tenant protections, dedicated local funding to create and preserve affordable housing and the federal government must step up and fully fund the Section 8 and public housing programs that are now under attack.”
Local jurisdictions including Olympia, Burien, Lakewood, Federal Way and Puyallup have all recently closed down properties where tenants were forced from their homes.