Washington Multifamily Update (December 17, 2025, Edition)
o owners: In this issue: Tacoma eases its winter eviction ban and adjusts rental laws to support housing providers. Plus, a spotlight on Oregon’s latest moves. All news is from the week of Dec. 10–17, 2025, keeping you up to date on policies and trends of interest to Washington State apartment owners, property managers, and developers.
Tacoma Scales Back Eviction Ban to Aid Landlords and Nonprofits
Tacoma, WA – The City of Tacoma has enacted major reforms to its tenant protection code this week, aiming to strike a better balance between renters’ rights and landlord sustainability. On December 9, the Tacoma City Council voted 7–2 to amend the Landlord Fairness Code (a package of renter protections originally passed by voters in 2023). The amendments, backed by Council Member Sarah Rumbaugh and others, were driven by data showing the strict rules had some unintended effects – particularly on nonprofit housing providers and small landlords.
One big change is a shorter “cold weather” eviction moratorium. Under the 2023 law, landlords were barred from evicting tenants for nonpayment from November 1 through April 1 – essentially all winter. The revised ordinance narrows that window: now evictions will be paused only from November 15 through March 15 each year. This roughly 30-day reduction gives housing providers back the ability to address evictions in early November and late March if needed. Who is protected by the winter ban is also narrowing. The council added an income eligibility criterion: only tenants at or below 120% of Area Median Income (AMI) will be covered by Tacoma’s winter and school-year eviction protections. In other words, higher-income renters won’t be able to cite the winter ban to avoid eviction – the city wants the focus on truly vulnerable households.
Who must comply
Perhaps most significant is who must comply. The new amendments exempt certain landlords from the eviction bans altogether. The Tacoma Housing Authority and nonprofit low-income housing providers will no longer be subject to the cold-weather or school-year eviction prohibitions. These organizations had warned that the prior rules were leading some tenants to stop paying rent for months (knowing they couldn’t be evicted in winter), which in turn drained resources from programs serving very low-income residents.
Now, if a tenant in a nonprofit-run affordable housing project refuses to pay rent or violates their lease, the provider can proceed with eviction even during winter – a tool they say is necessary to keep their buildings financially viable and fair for other tenants.
Additionally, small private landlords get relief: those who live on-site in an owner-occupied home with an ADU, or landlords with 4 or fewer total rental units in Tacoma, are now exempt from the winter eviction ban as well. This recognizes that mom-and-pop landlords often operate on thin margins and can’t sustain long periods of nonpayment.
Additional components
Other components of Tacoma’s update include expanding relocation assistance requirements (landlords must pay assistance if they raise rent by >5% and the tenant chooses to move), simplifying rent increase notice rules (a single 180-day advance notice for any rent hike), and adjusting late fee caps (capped at 1.5% of monthly rent, up to $75) to ensure landlords can recoup some costs without overburdening tenants.
Implications: For Washington state property owners and managers, Tacoma’s course-correction provides a case study in mid-stream policy adjustment. The immediate impact in Tacoma is that landlords – especially affordable housing operators and small landlords – will regain some control over managing non-paying tenants during winter months. Public and nonprofit housing providers can enforce leases year-round now, which may prevent situations where tenants accumulate impossible debt by April (something that ultimately helps neither tenant nor landlord). Small landlords, who often lack cash reserves, are likewise shielded from having to potentially provide free housing all winter in worst-case scenarios. However, most private landlords in Tacoma still face a winter ban for lower-income tenants (November 15–March 15), so planning is essential: screening for ability to pay, utilizing payment plans, and engaging with tenants early if financial issues arise will remain critical.
Will Tacoma’s move influence others?
More broadly for Washington developers and investors, Tacoma’s move could influence other cities or even state-level discussions. It shows a willingness to adjust tenant laws when evidence suggests they may be overly rigid. Stakeholders might see this as an encouraging sign that policy can evolve to support the viability of rental housing while still protecting at-risk renters.
Watching how Tacoma’s changes play out (will payment rates improve for nonprofits? Will there be any spike in winter evictions?) will offer valuable lessons. In the meantime, those operating in Tacoma should update their compliance practices before the January 2026 effective date and ensure any eviction decisions align with the new rules (including documenting tenant incomes if planning a winter eviction under the AMI carve-out). The city has indicated additional refinements could be on the table in 2026, so ongoing dialogue is expected. (Sources: City of Tacoma Press Release, December 9, 2025; KNKX News, December 10, 2025.)
Portland Redirects $21M to Rent Assistance and Eviction Prevention
Portland, OR – Just south of the Washington border, Portland’s new city council is tackling its housing crisis by investing in rental assistance and homelessness prevention. In a development that Washington housing observers are tracking, Portland councilors discovered $21 million in unspent housing funds and moved this week to dedicate it to keeping people housed. On December 9, a committee of Portland’s 12-member council unanimously advanced a plan (dubbed “Slow the Inflow to Homelessness”) that would invest $21M in programs such as emergency rent assistance, eviction legal defense, and housing vouchers for vulnerable households. The money comes from past tenant safety program fees that the prior Housing Bureau leadership had quietly failed to spend – a situation now under public scrutiny.
Portland Councilor Candace Avalos, who spearheaded the resolution, said the goal is to prevent new homelessness before it starts by intervening when renters hit hard times.
Various Priorities and Plans
The plan’s menu spans eight initiatives, including: rent relief for tenants in arrears, funds for rapid rehousing those on the verge of eviction, a pilot providing tenants with a right to counsel in eviction court, and a one-time $9 million boost to Portland’s housing authority to expand housing voucher capacity in the face of federal aid cuts.
Mayor Keith Wilson supports the priorities behind the plan, according to his office. Wilson’s spokesperson noted that the mayor’s focus on “supporting renters and preventing evictions” is a critical strategy to reduce homelessness. However, turning this vision into reality depends on budget action.
The resolution effectively instructs the mayor to include these allocations in Portland’s next budget (to be finalized in spring 2026), and a formal vote to appropriate the $21M is expected in January.
Implications: For multifamily developers and owners in Washington State, Portland’s move is noteworthy as a policy trend. It reflects a West Coast city doubling down on rent assistance as a tool to combat homelessness – an approach that could gain traction elsewhere if successful. In practical terms, should Seattle, Tacoma or other Washington cities face similar budget surprises or surpluses, there may be growing pressure to channel funds into rental assistance programs, emergency housing vouchers, or eviction prevention grants. Such programs can directly benefit landlords by reducing unpaid rent and costly evictions.
Portland’s initiative also bears watching because if it successfully stabilizes thousands of at-risk households, it could validate public-private collaborations in keeping renters current.
A reminder to owners: don’t take your eyes off City Hall
For now, Washington housing stakeholders might find opportunity in Portland’s challenge: the $21M injection could translate to grants or contracts with nonprofits (some of which operate regionally) to administer rent relief, potentially opening partnership roles for experienced housing organizations.
At the very least, Portland’s situation is a reminder to property owners to stay engaged with local policy. Sometimes, as this shows, funds to help renters (and, indirectly, landlords) can appear unexpectedly, and being part of the conversation about how to use them can shape more balanced housing outcomes. (Source: Portland Mercury, December 10, 2025.)
Federal Policy Watch
The Housing for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 6644) is a newly introduced bipartisan House package (introduced Dec. 11) aimed at increasing housing supply by reducing development friction and modernizing parts of federal housing programs. It’s not law—it’s currently in House committee review (Financial Services + Veterans’ Affairs).
Why this matters: Even before passage, bills like this can shape lender/investor expectations for 2026–2027. If it advances, it could influence entitlement timelines, federal program rules, and overall development feasibility, which ultimately feeds into underwriting assumptions (deliveries, competition, and exit cap sentiment).
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