Contribute to this campaign: Join the Tenants Union!

The Tenants Union is on the move, organizing tenants in Washington State for housing justice. We're winning important victories, but we're limited by our financial resources. Help build the movement to protect and expand tenants rights and make the promise of safe, healthy, affordable housing a reality:

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Share Your Story!

The Tenants Union’s history is made up of thousands of stories; the stories of the thousands of tenants who’ve turned to the TU for help or organized alongside the Tenants Union for justice. If you’ve been a part of the TU, or been helped through a problem by the TU, we want to know your story.

The information gathered in this form will not be shared without your permission.















How did you get involved with the TU? (check all that apply)














Share your story

If we helped you with a housing problem tell us about the problem, how the TU helped you, and what happened after you contacted the TU.

If you’ve been part of organizing for housing justice, tell us how you got involved, why you got involved, and what it has meant for you to be a part of organizing for housing justice and anything you are proud of or that made an impression on you. Tell us the good and the bad, the successes and the challenges, because that is how we can learn from our work.



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Volunteer!

The Tenants Union operates with a small budget and a small, dedicated staff—so volunteers are always welcome.

Are you interested in volunteering? Call us at 206-722-6848 or fill out our volunteer form and we’ll get in touch with you when we have volunteer opportunities that fit your interests.

Take Action to Limit Late Fees

Please take a couple minutes to contact your elected officials and tell them to support Senate Bill (SB) 6227. This bill would limit the amount of rental late fees landlords can charge, which is urgently needed. However, the limit it would set—$50 or 10% of the rent, whichever is greater—is too high. The bill would also make it illegal for a landlord to evict a tenant for not paying a late fee.

Please take action to fix this important bill and to get your elected officials to support it.

Call the toll-free State Legislative Hotline at: 1-800-562-6000 and ask to leave a message for both of your Representatives and your Senator:

“Please support SB 6227 to regulate the amount of late fees landlords can charge tenants, but please ask Senator Franklin to lower the cap from $50.00 to a more affordable fee.”

If Senator Franklin (29th district), Senator Fairley (32nd district) or Senator Kline (37th district) represent you, please also thank them for their sponsorship.

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Currently, State law does nothing to limit late fees, and many tenants find themselves paying excessive amounts of money to their landlord. Some tenants have even been evicted over late fees. This legislation as proposed will do the following:

  1. Prevent a landlord from charging a late fee within the first five days after rent is due.
  2. Limit the amount of late fee to 10% of the total rent or $50.00, whichever is greater.
  3. Prevent a landlord from charging interest, penalties, or any other fees associated with the failure to pay rent, that is not otherwise authorized by this legislation.
  4. Prevent a landlord from evicting a tenant for not paying a late payment fee.

The Tenants Union feels that the proposed cap is too high and that a lower amount is reasonable and fair. Because this bill addresses an important issue, we hope that elected officials will take action to improve it and then get it passed.

You can get more information on this and other legislation on the web at http://www1.leg.wa.gov/legislature.

Join the Tenant Action Team

The Tenant Action Team consists of TU members who commit to take action in support of tenants who organize to improve their homes. For more information about the Tenant Action Team, contact Michele at 206-722-6848, ext. 114, or sign up below:

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Join the Tenant-Alert e-mail action list

We send occasional e-mails to the Tenant-alert list to keep members up to date on issues and actions affecting Washington State tenants.

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Volunteer!

The Tenants Union operates with a small budget and a small, dedicated staff—so volunteers are always welcome.

Are you interested in volunteering? Call us at 206-722-6848 or fill out the form below with your name, contact information, and any special skills you may want to offer, and we’ll get in touch with you when we have volunteer opportunities that fit your interests.


















Get Involved in the Struggle for Housing Justice

Learning about your rights is the first step in protecting and expanding tenants rights. Joining the Tenants Union is the next step—the TU depends on the grassroots financial support of one thousand members across Washington State.

But if you’re committed to the principle that everyone deserves safe and healthy housing they can afford, you can also do more by getting active with the Tenants Union.

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