Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Olympia City Council is set to vote on an ordinance addressing tenant screening practices at its meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 16.
Olympia’s Housing Action Plan identifies implementing tenant protections as a strategy to make it easier for households to access housing and stay housed. City officials note barriers in the screening process continue to prevent many households from securing a place to live.
One proposal seeks to reform traditional income-to-rent ratio requirements that many households have difficulty meeting.
In an Engage Olympia survey conducted in summer 2025, 55% of renters reported having housing applications rejected due to their income being low.
The proposed ordinance would prohibit landlords from requiring applicants to demonstrate their monthly gross income exceeds 2.5 times the monthly rent.
The proposal would allow households to combine incomes to qualify for rental units, providing more flexibility for multi-income families and households.
Another proposal seeks to address potential discriminatory practices in rental housing applications by changing how Social Security numbers are used in the screening process.
In the same survey, 69% of local landlords and property managers currently require a Social Security number from a prospective tenant.
Under the proposed ordinance, landlords could request a Social Security number although they would not be required to. It would allow applicants to provide alternative documents to establish eligibility.
In September, the city council expressed its intention to make changes to tenant screening practices that have marginalized low-income residents, immigrants and people of color.
The Engage Olympia survey, which had 283 respondents, also showed 89% of landlords check rental history, 84% verify income, 84% check credit and 75% conduct criminal background checks.
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Honestyandrealityguy
So many landlords have few rentals. They invested EVERYTHING they had and have big mortgage payments. Lesser disclosure by tenants will result in both tenant delinquencies and loss of landlord property/foreclosure. I believe landlords need to have rights to tenant information. If they don't like it, they can find another landlord. Common sense please.
Friday, December 12, 2025 Report this
mjdonovan
It seems folly to create intrusive policy for a problem that has not been studied nor quantified. At best, evidence of serious discrimination is anecdotal. I can’t believe city council is even considering adding yet more administrative burden to a housing office that can’t handle the workload they have.
Saturday, December 13, 2025 Report this
Patriot
Olympia is driving a freight train to get rid of rentals. Every time they add another condition or cost forces it more people out of the business. They claim they want to protect renters when really they are doing the opposite. If you can't properly screen tenants before you put them in your housing you are asking for problems. They have made it nearly impossible to evict tenants when they don't pay or destroy your property so why keep investing in Olympia?
Saturday, December 13, 2025 Report this
BobJacobs
Once again the city council is proposing legislation based on an unreliable survey. Standard practice.
And once again the city council is proposing legislation that favors tenants over landlords. We need a balanced approach, not one that favors either side. The Council claims that it values landlords but at every turn it increases their risks and drives them out of the market, reducing the housing supply and thus harming tenants.
How about this approach -- just allow landlords to use the same screening processes that banks use when they review loan applications. The two transactions are very similar -- entrusting a stranger with significant assets. Rental units are worth over $100,000 each, not including land, per county assessments. This is a big risk for landlords.
Small landlords are especially at risk. These are our neighbors who are just trying to supplement their retirement income in most cases. When small landlords exit the business, the rental market is more and more controlled by large corporations which view tenants only as sources of income, not as neighbors.
Bob Jacobs
Saturday, December 13, 2025 Report this
jimlazar
If the goal of the City of Olympia is to decrease the supply of rental housing, this will work very well. If the goal of the City of Olympia is to increase rents for tenants, this will work very well. And if the goal of the City of Olympia is to shift the rental housing market from individual owners of small numbers of rental housing to a smaller number of corporate owners of rental housing, this will work very well.
It will reduce the supply because some landlords will sell their rentals rather than comply. If they are sold to owner-occupants, then the rental housing supply will decrease. This will mostly affect single-family rentals.
It will increase rents because other landlords will place their properties in professional management, and those professionals know how to work the rules, and know how to extract every possible dollar from tenants. Instead of the landlords earning a modest profit, now the rents will be higher to give the property manager a share of the rental income, and still provide a modest profit to the owners.
It will concentrate rental housing in corporate owners because some landlords will sell their rental properties to larger corporate operators. These companies know how to work the rules and know how to extract every possible dollar from tenants.
Bob Jacobs has it right: treat the transaction the same as a loan from a bank of a $100,000+ asset -- allow the landlords to access the same information a bank would on a similar asset.
Saturday, December 13, 2025 Report this
MargaretDorothy
When a family member is an addict you need to let them hit rock bottom it seems. Same will happen with the City of Olympia.
Saturday, December 13, 2025 Report this
swvoltz
My two rentals barely break even. Loosing a month's rent because a tenant bolted puts me in the red. Replacing a roof, or dealing with a plumbing issue puts me in the red. I can see how more and more rules to follow could convince me to just sell the property and be done with it. BTW, I'm totally offended by the term "rent seeking scum".
Saturday, December 13, 2025 Report this
Quadlok
God willing a day will come when the other commenters here will experience first hand what happens to class traitors and renters when they lose control.
Saturday, December 13, 2025 Report this
PhyllisBooth
We desperately need safe, affordable housing. Tragically, a murder happened at the campsite located off Martin Way known as the Jungle. A few years ago, two murders happened when a tenant whom the landlord tried to help, but ended up having to give an eviction notice. The tenant killed his landlords.
While the Olympia City Council may think they are helping, they are not. Serious community conversations and soliciting ideas from all parties involved could generate solutions, but that takes time and a willingness to see all points of view. Would the Council like to invest in conversations that are truly open and not pre staged to deter to a predetermined point of view?
Sunday, December 14, 2025 Report this
HappyOlympian
"One proposal seeks to reform traditional income-to-rent ratio requirements that many households have difficulty meeting." More horrible policies from the incompetent Olympia city council. Why would anyone rent to someone who can't pay bills on time due to income issues? First criteria for making a loan or extending credit is that the debt will be repaid. Being a landlord the same with the additional risk of damage to the property increasing losses that will not be recovered either.
Did my part in trying to vote these folks out. Olympia possibly the worst run city in America.
Tuesday, December 16, 2025 Report this