Bellingham council advances revised drafts of landlord-fee ordinances after public-engagement review

The Bellingham City Council on May 5 held work sessions on two related ordinances that would prohibit unfair or excessive fees in residential rental agreements and in manufactured and mobile-home lease agreements.

Council members heard staff presentations and discussed multiple amendments to the drafts, and council directed staff to seek additional public feedback and prepare a new amended draft to return for further consideration at a future meeting. Staff had previously summarized public engagement findings at the March 24 council meeting and posted an executive summary and full report at engagebellingham.org.

The drafts under review define which rental fees would be permitted, set limits on some fees and require greater fee transparency in lease agreements. Council members and staff spent considerable time on specific definitions and on how to balance tenant protections with landlord administration costs; several amendments were proposed and discussed during the work sessions. No formal vote was taken; the council moved to continue refining the ordinances and to solicit more public comments before a final vote.

The ordinances are listed on the agenda as agenda bill 24501 (residential rentals) and 24502 (manufactured/mobile home leases). The council’s next steps are to incorporate revisions from today’s discussion and the public feedback into a new draft and schedule it for a future meeting.

Community members who want to review the background materials and engagement report can find them online at engagebellingham.org.