The practice of hidden or specious fees tacked onto rent requires action from the Legislature. As Washington grapples with a tight housing market and increasing homelessness, lawmakers should place their attention on the junk fees that landlords use to gouge renters.
That need was made clear in an article from Columbian reporter Alexis Weisend. Focusing on Vancouver renter Cheyonna Lewis, the article details how fees are used to wring additional funds from people who often are struggling to remain housed. For example: Last year, a $45 fee for pet rent and a $50 charge for a “Residents Benefit Package” were added to Lewis’ monthly payments.
Rather than defend the charges, landlord Invest West Property Management responded with no comment when contacted by The Columbian. The reason: They can get away with it. Washington places no restrictions on the fees that property managers can pile on top of rents.
As one housing advocate said: “Nothing even requires a landlord to tell the tenant what it’s for. You can just charge a fee, and you can get away with it because the state has failed to regulate this.”
As another said: “Somebody got wise to the fact that this is kind of an untapped market, increasing your profit margins. These are predatory fees. There’s no question about that.”
Lewis, who has been disabled since a car accident two decades ago, said: “I can’t afford my life. I used to be a work-abled adult. People say, ‘Why can’t you figure it out and pull yourself up by your bootstraps?’ At this point, I don’t even have boots.”
Landlords may not evict a tenant for failure to pay fees, which by definition are different from rent. But that does not prevent them sending letters demanding payment and adding a seemingly endless string of requirements.
As Weisend reports: “Clark County renters have received fees for notice delivery, potted plants on their porch, having dry grass in summer, hooking up laundry and dishwashing machines, paying rent through a required online portal and swimming pools with no water, according to lawyers, advocates and renters interviewed by The Columbian.”
President Joe Biden last summer announced efforts to reduce junk fees for renters, saying: “It’s about basic fairness. Folks are tired of being played for suckers.” He since has introduced initiatives to reduce fees tacked onto concert tickets and hotel rooms, in addition to excessive overdraft fees levied by banks.
But providing expedient help for renters and adding some fairness to Washington’s stressed housing market will require action from the Legislature.
A bill directly addressing fees tacked onto rent was introduced this year in the Senate (SB 6064) but failed to advance out of committee. House Bill 2114, meanwhile, proposes a limit on rent increases and includes provisions to also limit extraneous fees. That legislation has passed the House of Representatives; it was co-sponsored by Vancouver Democrats Sharon Wylie and Monica Stonier and was opposed by Southwest Washington Republicans.
As The Columbian has argued editorially, government restrictions on rent increases could have negative consequences that skew the rental market. But unrestricted fees are a different matter and should be considered separately.
Several states have laws prohibiting certain fees for renters and requiring that all fees be included in leases. To best protect the public, lend some common sense to the situation and help keep rent-paying tenants in their homes, Washington should adopt a similar approach.
