If you’re new to Seattle, chances are you’re a renter. Renters occupy more than half of the housing units in this city. And many more are on the way—the city expects about 100,000 people to move here in the next 20 years. Although the city is in the middle of a housing construction boom, rents are continuing to steadily increase (the average one-bedroom apartment in Seattle costs $1,592 a month, according to RentJungle.com).
This is one reason that Seattle is, unfortunately, not the friendliest place for renters. Rent control is illegal in Washington State, so landlords are free to raise the rent as much as they’d like. No surprise, housing affordability has been a central issue in the city, and the mayor commissioned a Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda to come up with a plan to create more affordable housing…
