"that dysfunction is mainly about restrictive permitting and zoning. "

Which is exactly our problem as well. It is the problem in other cities across the United States too. Allow builders to build enough housing and you end not needing rent control. Add rent control to areas with overly restrictive zoning and you end up with dysfunction.

The overall problems with housing are not restricted to rental prices. When a 1 bedroom is about $2K per month, as a minimum, and home ownership clocks in at $900K for a house, that means most renters are consigned to renting forever.
Renters can barely afford to rent, let alone stairstep themselves to gain equity through home ownership.

If you are from the Bay Area, you must be familiar with Berkeley. Tell us about how rent control worked there. Start with how professionals stayed in their rent-controlled apartments forever and young people/those new to the area were not able to live there.

@1, 100%. You either embrace the “free market” for housing supply or you don’t. I also question what true rent control does to apply coming online - a 7% cap is pretty tame - but a moratorium on rental increases altogether would make developers think twice about juicing supply.

Er meant supply, not “apply”

Tldr- while these policies have failed everywhere they’ve been tried and in some cases like San Fran have made things worse we think they will work in Seattle because apparently the rules of economics don’t apply to us. Right.

@7: The only reason extremist policies have failed in the past is because those previous practitioners were not extreme enough. We, however, will be totally dedicated to total extremism. We will refuse all compromise, ignore all practicalities, and (with loudly deep regrets and publicly heavy hearts at having been pushed to this) absolutely destroy anyone and everyone who does not constantly and completely demonstrate our total dedication to our extremist cause. Only then WILL we succeed.

Shitty 1 bedroom apartments cost $3,500 in rent controlled Berkeley, CA

Shitty 1 bedroom apartments cost $3,900 in rent controlled Santa Monica, CA

Shitty 1 bedroom apartments cost $4000 in rent controlled San Francisco, CA

Shitty 1 bedroom apartment cost $5,500 in rent controlled NYC

And, you better have a 700+ credit score, great job, and incredible references if you even hope to qualify for a rent-controlled apartment

Be very, very careful what you wish for, or you may find yourself living in Auburn, WA for $2,500/month

No comments about the "successful" rent control reforms of 2019 in new york that have cause 10's of thousands of rent controlled units to be zombified - unrentable due to their condition and unrepairable owing to insufficient returns. Its so bad that banks that lent on primarily rent controlled buildings are going out of business and per-unit prices for rent control buildings are down 50-75%. Vacancy rates on rent controlled units are in the 1-2% range.

No comments about the "success" of recent rent control policy in St. Paul - which was so extreme that developers basically stopped and the city council had to come in and exempt new construction and allow self-certified increases in excess of the 3% cap. Developers are now demanding tax breaks in order to build anything there. Meanwhile Minneapolis has been in in the throes of a housing boom that has - not just in real but absolute terms - REDUCED rents and INCREASED supply dramatically. No. Rent. Control.

How about Portland, ME with their DSA authored rent control policy. Its caused landlords there to withdraw units and become far more selective in screening. And with its extreme cap of 60% CPI - guaranteeing landlords to earn less every year on a given tenancy - housing expenses continue to increase as low cost units disappear and only higher end units are being built.

If this passes "pro housing" (really pro tenant, because rent control clearly reduces quality and quantity of housing) groups will just be back next year to reduce the caps, or eliminate vacancy decontrol, or gain succession rights.

To date I generally give 3-5% increases on in-place tenants. This has alwasy been a little on the low side so if rent control of 7% passes, then going forward that is what I am going to be giving without fail.

I'm a fan of Futurewise, but I have a simple question. Will this measure increase or decrease our housing supply?

Should this bill pass, we’ll have articles complaining about how people are shocked and angry over how landlords are raising rents by 7% every single year.

It failed.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/02/26/plan-for-7-statewide-cap-on-rent-increases-fails-in-washington-legislature/