Research/Policy Resources

Our strong advocacy program takes the time to educate elected officials about the challenges facing the industry. Provided below are various studies, surveys, and articles that center around the problems facing the rental housing industry.

Summary

  • Small rental operators provide a substantial portion of Washington’s below-market rate housing options. 
  • Small owner-operators have been disproportionately impacted by the extended eviction moratorium and simultaneous onslaught of new rental regulations. 
  • Below-market rate small rental properties (SRPs) are a resource for local governments that want to promote housing affordability.
  • No other small businesses in Washington have experienced so many fast-paced, complex new regulations, without any framework for legislative involvement or neutral third-party research.
  • The increased complexity, risk, cost, and lack of regulatory predictability are decreasing viability for local people to become or remain small landlords – decreasing opportunities for equitable small property ownership, community wealth building and anti-displacement.
  • Many small landlords are divesting from the market (selling their rental properties or repurposing them for other uses), which only decreases availability and affordability of rental units — especially of naturally affordable, family-sized rentals. 
  • Collaborative problem-solving, up-to-date research, and stakeholder feedback are critical components for healthy legislative outcomes. 

Recommended Reading

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)
  • City of Seattle “Accessory Dwelling Units Annual Report” April 2021 — no data on rental housing uses of ADUs other than brief mention of short-term rentals; no mention of Seattle’s landlord/tenant regulatory changes and how that is decreasing feasibility of individuals becoming (or remaining) small-scale landlords via ADUs.

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Market

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Pandemic/Eviction Moratorium

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Planning/Urban Development
  • Skyway-West Hill Community Service Area Subarea Plan: An Element of the King County Comprehensive Plan, 2021 draft
    • Located just outside Seattle city limits, another recent example of community planning that does not include any mention of supporting opportunities for individual and family equity building and anti-displacement through small rental property ownership.
  • Puget Sound Sage “Disaster Gentrification in King County” — only miniscule mention of small landlords; no recognition that rental income has traditionally been one option for small-scale property owners to avoid displacement and to build equity over time.

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Rent Control
  • Rent Control One-Pager - Seattle, RHAWA                                                                                   This Document provides a brief summary of the impact of rent control. This document was created to provide examples of the proven negative impact of Rent Control on the cities where it was implemented. We encourage members who are unfamiliar with the impact of Rent Control to read this document. 
  • The Welfare Effects of Eviction and Homelessness Policies, Boaz Abramson, Department of Economics, Stanford University, December 15, 2021
    This paper studies the implications of rental market policies that address evictions and homelessness. Policies that make it harder to evict delinquent tenants, for example by providing tax-funded legal counsel in eviction cases (“Right-to-Counsel”) or by instating eviction moratoria, protect renters from eviction in bad times. However, higher default costs to landlords lead to higher equilibrium rents and lower housing supply, implying homelessness might increase. I quantify these tradeoffs in a model of rental markets in a city, matched to micro data on rents and evictions as well as shocks to income and family structure. I find that “Right-to-Counsel” drives up rents so much that homelessness increases by 15% and welfare is dampened. Since defaults on rent are driven by persistent income shocks, making it harder to evict tends to extend the eviction process but doesn’t prevent evictions. In contrast, rental assistance lowers tenants’ default risk and as a result reduces homelessness by 45% and evictions by 75%. It increases welfare despite its costs to taxpayers. Eviction moratoria following an unexpected economic downturn can also prevent evictions and homelessness, if used as a temporary measure.
  • The Effects of Rent Control Expansion on Tenants, Landlords, and Inequality: Evidence from San Francisco, Rebecca Diamond, Timothy McQuade & Franklin Qian, NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH, 01/2018
    We exploit quasi-experimental variation in assignment of rent control to study its impacts on tenants, landlords, and the overall rental market. Leveraging new data tracking individuals’ migration, we find rent control increased renters’ probabilities of staying at their addresses by nearly 20%. Landlords treated by rent control reduced rental housing supply by 15%, causing a 5.1% city-wide rent increase. Using a dynamic, neighborhood choice model, we find rent control offered large benefits to covered tenants. Welfare losses from decreased housing supply could be mitigated if insurance against rent increases were provided as government social insurance, instead of a regulated landlord mandate.
  • Rent Control and Vacancy Control: A Spatial Analysis of Four California Cities, Allan D. Heskin, Ned Levine and Mark Garrett
    Rent control is always a controversial policy. Supporters frequently claim exceptionally beneficial effects to support the adoption of the policy, while opponents assert a myriad of negative effects resulting from the policy's adoption. In this study of rent control, four California cities (Santa Monica, Berkeley, West Hollywood and East Palo Alto) which had vacancy control on rental units were examined for changes between 1980 and 1990 to assess the effect on rental unit creation and the composition of tenants. Comparison of demographic changes in six border areas within the four cities were made with the border areas of the adjoining cities which did not have vacancy control. A spatial lag model was constructed to estimate the effects on change of regional, neighborhood, and vacancy control components.

    The results show that vacancy control regulation contributed to lower rents and longer tenure by tenants. However, there were also fewer new rental units created in these areas than in the comparison areas and apparent conversion of a portion of the housing stock from rent to ownership. Few other variables were different in the two areas although there was an increase in Latino renters and children under age 18 in the vacancy-controlled areas. There were no significant differences in the change in the distribution of Whites, Blacks, Asians, or seniors. Also, there were no differences in poverty levels, female-headed families, and the disabled population.
  • Housing Market Spillovers: Evidence from the End of Rent Control in Cambridge, Massachusetts, David H. Autor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and National Bureau of Economic Research, Christopher J. Palmer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Parag A. Pathak, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and National Bureau of Economic Research
    We measure the capitalization of housing market externalities into residential housing values by studying the unanticipated elimination of stringent rent controls in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1995. Pooling data on the universe of assessed values and transacted prices of Cambridge residential properties between 1988 and 2005, we find that rent decontrol generated substantial, robust price appreciation at decontrolled units and nearby never-controlled units, accounting for a quarter of the $7.8 billion in Cambridge residential property appreciation during this period. The majority of this contribution stems from induced appreciation of never-controlled properties. Residential investment explains only a small fraction of the total.
  • Missing Millions of Homes Preliminary Findings of the New Democrat Coalition Housing Task Force, Task Force Co-Chairs Denny Heck, Stephanie Murphy, Juan Vargas, and Scott Peters NDC Chair Jim Himes
    Crises and scandals dominate the news and crowd out coverage of other challenges we face, but it is impossible to escape the evidence that something is very wrong with housing in America. The struggles shared with us by constituents, the frustration voiced by homebuilders, the concern expressed by city and county leaders, and the disappointing data presented by economists all tell distinct aspects of the same story: housing is increasingly scarce and increasingly expensive. In the richest country in the world, millions of people are struggling to meet their most basic needs: a pillow, a blanket, and a roof.
  • Examining the efficacy of rent control: an empirical analysis for consideration of rent control in Seattle, Allison Conley
    This paper discusses the feasibility and downfalls of rent control where it has been implemented. It contains this very poignant point, "The primary downfall of rent control, as evidenced in these studies, is that it reduces supply. There does not seem to be much evidence that it impacts new construction, but it does remove units from the pool of rental properties. So long as Seattle relies on the private market to supply housing units, rent control will probably exacerbate extant [sic] housing shortages."
  • The impact of rent control: Investigations on historical data in the city of Lyon, Loïc Bonneval, Florence Goffette-Nagot, Zhejin Zhao
    The researchers looked at the City of Lyon and a property management company that managed both rent-controlled and uncontrolled units between 1890-1968. Through the enactment, revision and repealing of multiple rent control policies, they were able to study the real effects of rent control in the market. They observed that if tenants were incentivized to hide their desire to reside long-term, rent control leads to a decrease in tenant mobility, and that there were extremely similar rent drops in controlled and uncontrolled units.
  • RENT CONTROL IN WASHINGTON STATE The Impact on Housing and Affordability,  ECONorthwest
    ECONorthwest, in colaboration with the Partnership for Affordable Housing, created this report to discuss the potential impact of rent control in Washignton. The report uses information gathered by a study done by Stanford on San Francisco, as well as many other studies and research projects. ECONorthwest Highlights that rent control could reduce housing production, property tax levies, and sales tax revenues.
  • economic analysis of rent control, Tim Lawler, Portland State University
    This analysis was written shortly after the Oregon passed their statewide rent control. By observing the changes seen in other cities with rent control enacted, the report notes that many city's rent control does more harm than good.

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Small Housing Providers
  • Seattle Landlords and Housing: A Case Study in Crisis Creation, Rental Housing Journal, 1/13/21
  • Coalition of Small Rental Property Owners, Los Angeles, coalition of mostly BIPOC “mom and pop” owners
  • Seattle keeps making it harder for small landlords like us, Seattle Times, 2/9/20
  • City of Seattle’s 2018 Rental Housing Study (conducted by City Auditor and UW) — noted significant negative impacts and need for data and outreach, yet the Council and the City have actively ignored its recommendations. Findings included:
    • regulations are exacerbating housing scarcity, particularly for lower income renters
    • regulations are leading directly to fewer housing options, higher rents and more challenging screening criteria
    • a substantial amount of housing is provided by small-scale landlords; while they tend to offer the most favorable experiences for renters, they are also disproportionately impacted by many regulations as compared to larger, corporate operations
    • landlords could help contribute to more effective legislation, but they’re being excluded from the process
  • Spotlight on Underserved Markets: Single Family Rental — An Evolving Market, Freddie Mac Multifamily, 2018
  • Affordable Housing Without Public Subsidies: Rent-Setting Practices in Small Rental Properties, Journal of the American Planning Association / UC Berkeley, Nathaniel Decker, September 2020, Abstract, Full Article
    • Nearly half of small rental owners in this recent nationwide study set rents below market, often substantially so
    • Supporting below-market small rental properties (SRPs) could be a means for municipalities to realize housing affordability goals
    • “Naturally occurring affordable housing” is common among small rental properties (1- to 4-unit SRPs)
    • Most small-scale landlords are “turnover minimizers” rather than “rent maximizers”
    • Policymakers could begin by determining whether their jurisdiction’s current policy environment is fulfilling their community’s housing goals in the context of SRPs
    • Planners need to develop better understanding of the dynamics of this part of the housing stock and should consider the headwinds against below-market rent-setting when they consider small rental properties in their jurisdictions. 
  • The Space Between: Realities and Possibilities in Preserving Unsubsidized Affordable Rental Housing, Minnesota Preservation Plus Initiative, June 2013
  • SDCI Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance (RRIO) Annual Report, August 2021

    In SDCI's Annual RRIO Report delivered to the Seattle City Council, they announced that the number of rental properties registered in Seattle has declined 14.4 percent since 2019, that is a staggering loss of 4858 registered properties. The report posits "The decline in registered rentals may be attributed to more rental properties being sold and becoming owner-occupied..." A disproportionate number of the properties lost were single family rentals. Small housing providers are leaving the market in greater number than ever before.

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Research Driven Policy

RHAWA believes that public policy should be driven by the needs of the public. Observing the data gathered in focused studies and drafting policy based on that data. RHAWA creates and shares with lawmakers fact sheets on key legislative issues. Members can view these fact sheets at the links below.

  • SB 5079 (2022 LEGISLATIVE SESSION - DID NOT PASS) - Requiring manufactured housing community owners to provide three years notice for park closures.
  • HB 1904 (2022 LEGISLATIVE SESSION - DID NOT PASS) - Requiring housing providers to provide six months notice for rent increases, allowing tenants to break a lease after a rent increase notice, capping late fees.

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