On December 9, 2025 – after a year of community outreach, research, and careful deliberation in the Community, Vitality and Safety Committee – the Tacoma City Council passed Ordinance 29086, amending the Rental Housing Code and the Landlord Fairness Code Initiative to preserve access to housing and expand tenant rights in Tacoma.
“The review of the Landlord Fairness Code Initiative has been centered in the goals outlined in the initiative itself: to protect families and reduce homelessness and to balance the needs of the landlord, tenant, and Tacoma while creating a partnership to ensure safe, healthy, and thriving rental housing in Tacoma,” said District 2 Council Member Sarah Rumbaugh. “Despite the Landlord Fairness Code Initiative’s intentions, it has had dire consequences for our city, most notably on our low-income housing providers who provide housing to those with the greatest need.”
The City Council took a data-driven approach to inform a narrow slate of proposed changes to the Landlord Fairness Code Initiative. Data provided by the Tacoma-Pierce County Affordable Housing Consortium and the Tacoma Housing Authority demonstrated the Landlord Fairness Code Initiative ’s substantial drain on low-income housing providers’ resources and budgets, as well as an increase in staggering debts for tenants that will significantly hinder their ability to secure housing post-eviction.
“Tacoma’s affordable housing providers are committed to the mission of providing safe and sustainable housing for our city’s most vulnerable populations,” said Amanda DeShazo, Executive Director of the Tacoma-Pierce County Affordable Housing Consortium. “We thank Council Member Rumbaugh for her efforts in securing an exemption to the Landlord Fairness Code Initiative for our members, so that we continue to serve those most in need.”
The City Council’s amendment to the Landlord Fairness Code Initiative enhances renter protections by expanding relocation assistance options for tenants. Going forward, landlords raising rents by more than 5 percent in a 12-month period would be required to pay relocation assistance should a tenant request it. Additional changes clarify that if tenants request relocation assistance and then decide not to relocate, they would have 10 days to repay their landlord.
“I appreciate all the effort that has gone into the review of the Landlord Fairness Code Initiative, and Council Member Rumbaugh’s commitment to an inclusive and transparent process over the course of the year,” said At-Large Council Member Olgy Diaz. “Through authentic outreach and listening to community, we landed in a better place for tenants and a better place for affordable housing providers.”
Changes to the Landlord Fairness Code Initiative also seek to address the outsized impact eviction limitations have on individuals who own and rent out few units in the city. This includes exempting individuals who live on a property where they own both a single-family home and an accessory dwelling unit, as well as exempting landlords who own four or fewer units in the city from the cold-weather eviction prohibition.
“I came from a part of the east coast where there were robust and flexible policies that helped to balance the power dynamic between landlords and tenants, and so I recognized there was a need to reform landlord-tenant laws here in Tacoma with intention, research, outreach and thought.” said Council Member Sandesh Sadalge. “I’m happy to support these initial revisions to the Landlord Fairness Code Initiative because they are ones we cannot afford to put off. I look forward to additional discussions in the next year to tackle this issue in a more holistic manner. It is our responsibility to consider well thought out policies that balances the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords while providing for sustainable and responsible growth.”
Ordinance 29086 – sponsored by Council Member Rumbaugh and co-sponsored by Council Member Diaz, Council Member Walker, and Council Member Sadalge – goes into effect on January 1, 2026. The latest information on landlord-tenant policy in Tacoma will be available soon on tacoma.gov/rentingintacoma. The City Council’s Community, Vitality, and Safety Committee will continue to review and research landlord-tenant policy topics in 2026.