Friday, February 8, 2008
Action Alert: Ask Your State Senator to Enact Fair Rental Opportunities
Help Build the Movement for Tenants Rights: Join the Tenants Union!
Washington State tenants have won important legal protections, but these rights don't go far enough. Help build the movement to protect and expand tenants rights and make the promise of safe, healthy, affordable housing a reality: 
Contact your State Senator and ask them to:
“Enact Fair Rental Opportunities: Vote yes to outlaw discrimination based on a renter’s source of income, SB 6533”
Call 1-800-562-6000 (M-F 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM and Saturday 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM) to leave this message for your senator or to get their direct contact information.
Note: If you afford to call them directly in their Olympia office , it will have an even greater impact. If you don’t have their number, call 1-800-562-6000 to get the information.
This historic bill to outlaw discrimination based on a renter’s source of income has already passed the House and now must pass the Senate. When enacted, it will prohibit discrimination against renters based on their use of legitimate and important programs, like Section 8 vouchers or SSI payments.
Currently, it is legal for a landlord to not even let a section 8 renter apply for housing. This bill will force discriminatory landlords to take down their “no section 8” banners and put up the welcome sign for all renters.
“I didn’t know it was going to be this difficult. I got a message from a manager that said, ‘I accept small dogs but absolutely no Section 8.’ I just felt like scum. They’ll accept Fancey, or Pomeranian, but not us.”
—Reba Masterjohn, section 8 renter as quoted in the May 5, 2007 Seattle Times.
More background
Tenant-based rental assistance is Washington’s largest source of affordable housing. Renters from across the state rely on this support to stabilize their lives, raise families and engage in their communities. We should ensure that people in need of housing assistance are able to effectively use section 8 vouchers and other forms of assistance that help them pay the rent and to stabilize their lives.
Prejudice and discrimination are unfair roadblocks to safe, decent and affordable housing for too many Washington residents—SB 6533 will fix this and will ensure equal opportunity to apply and compete for housing.
Senators Kline, Fairley, Kohl-Welles, Weinstein, Kauffman and McDermott are all sponsors of this bill and deserve our thanks. If one of these people is your Senator, please tell them thank you!
Representatives Pettigrew, Miloscia, Santos, Sells, Ormsby and Hasegawa are all sponsors of the House bill and also deserve our thanks. If one these is your Representative, please give them a warm thank you!
To view the bill and keep up on its status, go to leg.wa.gov and type in “6533” in the bill search option or click here. You can also search for “1865”, which is the House version, or click here
Questions
Call Michele at the Tenants Union of Washington with any questions or to get more involved: 206-722-6848, ext. 114