No Evictions, Less Affordable Housing

That’s what happened in Tacoma, and even public housing is suffering.

WSJ editorial. Excerpts:

"“Since the moratorium has taken effect, people are going a year or more without paying rent,” April Black, executive director of the Tacoma Housing Authority, told the local press this month. Some 38% of the public housing authority’s tenants have fallen behind on the rent, up from 15% before the ballot measure, the Seattle Times reports.  

Before the restrictions, landlords could start eviction proceedings to nudge tenants into repayment agreements. But now “when we get to eviction, the debts are so high that they can’t resolve those debts and they do get evicted,” Ms. Black said.

The housing authority has had to tap more than $400,000 in reserves to cover losses—“dollars that could have otherwise been spent to serve households on our waiting list” for affordable housing, Ms. Black said."

"The eviction rules have regulated the small providers that we represent out of the market" 

"more than 80% of Tacoma’s remaining landlords said they are tightening their tenant screening."