The Vancouver City Council on July 14 voted to adopt a rental-registration ordinance that will require rental property owners to register units annually and pay a $30-per-unit fee to fund administration and tenant relocation assistance.
Patrick Quintin, the city’s director of economic prosperity and housing, told the council the registration program is meant to create “an accurate database of the rental housing stock” that can be the foundation for future habitability work and inspections.
Housing Programs Manager Samantha Whitley said property owners would register each January–February (deadline Feb. 15) and the city would exempt short-term rentals, hotels, shelters, nursing homes and owner-occupied units; units restricted to tenants at or below 60 percent of area median income would also be exempt from the fee. Whitley said the city would waive the fee for the first 90 days after launch to encourage early compliance.
Supporters said the ordinance will protect vulnerable renters and create tools for enforcement. Benjamin Moody, housing programs managing attorney at the Clark County Volunteer Lawyers Program, said the registration “is an important protection” for low-income renters and described cases—mold, unremediated sewage, illegal subdivisions—where inspections could help tenants. Duanna Ricks Johnson, a tenant who said she was displaced in 2024, asked council for protections that would prevent predatory landlord practices and speed relocation support.
Opponents, representing many small landlords and the Washington Multifamily Housing Association, said the flat $30-per-unit fee will raise operating costs and be passed to renters. William Schneider, representing the association, said he was “respectfully opposed” and warned of “unintended consequences” for affordability and staffing burdens for providers.
Council discussion focused on exemptions, the scale of the fee and how to protect small landlords. Several councilors requested a tiered-fee analysis and promised to monitor the ordinance as it rolls out; staff said phase 2 (inspections) will be designed with additional community and stakeholder input and inspections are not expected to begin until 2027.
The ordinance passed on roll call 4–3, with Councilors Perez, Paulson, Stober and Mayor McInerney Ogle voting yes and Councilors Harless, Fox and Hansen voting no.
The city will run outreach this summer, procure online registration software, and aim to launch property registrations in January 2026; staff estimated the program will require ongoing staff support, finance and licensing coordination and initial outreach costs paid by the registration fees.