Wednesday night action planned on Spokane’s proposed emergency fire relief ordinance which has a documentation problem.
By Aaron Kirk Douglas
The Spokane City Council votes Wednesday night on an emergency fire ordinance, and the debate is not about whether displaced tenants deserve protection. It is about how a landlord is supposed to know a claim is real.
The Spokane Complex Fires started August 1st, and burned more than 5,000 acres and destroyed over 1,000 structures. Council members introduced the ordinance Aug. 25, days after Gov. Bob Ferguson’s temporary eviction moratorium for fire-affected renters expired.
The proposed ordinance comes before the full council Sept. 2 and needs five votes to pass as an emergency measure. The proposed ordinance lets a tenant claim eviction protection for nonpayment of rent by self-certifying financial hardship under penalty of perjury, no supporting documents required. If a landlord questions the claim, the ordinance puts the burden on the landlord to disprove it in court, under a “clear and convincing evidence” standard, the same bar used in cases far more serious than a rent dispute.
The Washington Multifamily Housing Association is asking the council to keep the protection but require actual proof, things like pay stubs or unemployment records the tenant already has. They also want the ordinary “preponderance of the evidence” standard restored and real consequences attached to a false claim.
Displaced tenants need a real safety net, and Spokane is right to build one. But a self-certification standard with no document requirement and no meaningful penalty for fraud is an invitation, not a safeguard. Every housing provider carrying rent losses on a false claim is a household that gets no help at all. The council can fix this without weakening protection for people who actually need it.
Spokane housing provider? Here’s how your voice can be heard
Housing providers who want to weigh in have several options. Sign up online at my.spokanecity.org/citycouncil/meetings/signup by 6 p.m. tomorrow to speak or submit written comment in advance, register in person on the clipboards at Council Chambers, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. (sign-ups start at 8 a.m., cut off at 6 p.m.), or call in at 1-408-418-9388, access code 2496-991-7004, meeting password 0320. Speakers are limited to three minutes. The meeting starts at 6 p.m.
A final vote on the ordinance could take place as early as September 9th.
About the author:
HFO Research (Aaron Kirk Douglas) from HFO Investment Real Estate’s Multifamily Marketwatch YouTube podcast, hosted by partner Greg Frick. Aaron Kirk Douglas is director of market intelligence for HFO Investment Real Estate In Portland. Have questions about what these trends mean for your property? Call HFO at (503) 241-5541.
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