Joaquin Uy, Communications Specialist

March 11, 2015 was an important cutoff date for the Washington State Legislature. Most bills needed to be voted off of the floor of their chamber of origin in order to advance toward the eventual goal of becoming a law. Three bills that died would have helped protect vulnerable renters.

The Truth in Evictions Reporting Act or SSB 5376 would have fixed a flaw in the way evictions are currently reported. Tenant screening companies report all eviction lawsuits as equal, even lawsuits that have been settled to the landlord’s satisfaction or when the tenant has won in court. However, eviction court has many different outcomes: the tenant could have been wrongfully named, the tenant could have been a victim of their landlord’s foreclosure, or the tenant could have won. But, none of this matters as tenant screening reports list all eviction lawsuits as equal. The misleading and inaccurate tenant screening reports make accessing a rental home much more difficult in the future.

SSB 5376 would have ensured that tenant screening reports are fair and accurate and don’t report all eviction records as equal.

“SSB 5376 had significant bipartisan support, which makes it even more disappointing that it didn’t make the March 11 cutoff,” says Housing Alliance Director of Policy and Advocacy Michele Thomas. “This legislation was about basic fairness and justice for all renters. With affordable rental homes shrinking across Washington, we need to stop inaccurate and misleading tenant screening reports from blocking renters from obtaining housing.”

HB 1565 and SB 5378 creating statewide protections from source of income discrimination were other opportunities lost this session. These bills would have made it illegal for a landlord to deny housing solely because the household is relying on assistance to pay a portion of their rent. As more and more families in Washington struggle to pay rent, our state needs to ensure that vulnerable households have housing opportunities.

Despite the disappointing news, Michele Thomas sees opportunity. “While both legislative bodies should have done more to advance tenant protections, the Fair Tenant Screening Act - SHB 1257 (Walkinshaw) is still alive. The House of Representatives prioritized this important bill. And, lawmakers still have the opportunity to provide significant funding for affordable housing through the capital budget, to fully fund safety-net housing programs like Housing and Essential Needs, and to ensure final passage of the Homeless Youth Act.”

SHB 1257 will make the tenant screening process more practical and economically efficient for both tenants and landlords. In a housing search, tenants will be able to buy just one tenant screening report that they can provide to all prospective landlords requesting the data.

The Housing Alliance also supports funding the Housing Trust Fund at $100 million. The vast majority of state investments in affordable homes assist people who are extremely low-income and are otherwise unable to afford a home. Housing and homelessness advocates across the state will be watching the budget process closely to ensure legislators robustly fund this effective budget tool for shrinking the affordable housing gap.