HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOW 2026-07-13 Item 5.C. - Ordinance - Rental Housing UpdateCity of Tukwila
Thomas McLeod, Mayor
Marty Wine, City Administrator
ITEM NO.
AGENDA BILL
Agenda Item Rental Housing Update
Sponsor Nora Gierloff, DCD Director
Legislative History June 22, 2026 Planning & Community Development Committee
July 13, 2026 Committee of the Whole
July 20, 2026 Regular Meeting
Recommended Motion
☐Discussion Only ☒Action Requested
MOVE TO adopt the ordinance amending the Residential Rental
Business License and Inspection Program to include an inspection
incentive program as Codified at TMC 5.06.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Ordinance to provide reduced inspection requirements for well-maintained residential rental properties.
DISCUSSION
The rental housing program has drafted an ordinance that would provide an incentive that would allow
well managed properties (no unit failures and minimal corrections) to reduce the number of units that
need to be inspected at their 4-year inspection cycle. This will help staff to focus on the properties with
significant health and safety concerns and provide a financial incentive for landlords to proactively
maintain their properties. An insightful article about the value of proactive rental inspection programs
can be found here.
The proposed incentive will replace an older, unused one linked to the Police Department’s prior Crime
Free Rental Housing Program that has been replaced by Crime Prevention Through Environmental
Design (CPTED). The CPTED program focuses on exterior building and site design, not on living
conditions within the units, so isn’t a good measure of residential unit maintenance.
In addition, there are also a few housekeeping items such as: •Requiring private inspectors to send their reports directly to the City rather than to the property
owner,
•Increasing the size of properties eligible to use the City's inspector rather than a private inspector
from 5 to 13 units, and
•Changing the inspection deadline from December 31 to September 30.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Most of the waived inspections would have been performed by private inspectors, not City Code
Enforcement Officers, so no significant changes to revenue generated by the Rental Housing
Inspection program are anticipated from this ordinance.
ATTACHMENTS
Draft Ordinance
5.C.
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AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, UPDATING THE CITY OF
TUKWILA'S RESIDENTIAL RENTAL BUSINESS LICENSE
AND INSPECTION PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS TO INCLUDE
AN INCENTIVE-BASED PROGRAM; AMENDING ORDINANCE
NOS.2284, 2049, 2496, 2519, AND 2600, AS CODIFIED AT
TUKWILA MUNICIPAL CODE SECTIONS 5.06.140, AND
5.06.210 TO; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND
ESTABLISHING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City maintains a Residential Rental Business License and
Inspection Program, pursuant to Tukwila Municipal Code (TMC) Chapter 5.06 , which
requires rental unit owners to obtain a residential rental business license a s well as
periodic inspections; and
WHEREAS, the program has significantly improved and maintained the condition of
the City's rental housing stock; and
WHEREAS, in response to property owner requests the City would like to extend
the option to use City inspectors to complexes of up to 12 units; and
WHEREAS, references to the Police Department’s Crime Free Multi-Family Housing
Program should be deleted as that program is no longer active and did not focus on living
conditions within the units; and
WHEREAS, the City would like to incentivize pro-active property maintenance by
reducing the number of inspections required in subsequent cycles for properties where
all units meet safety and health standards; and
WHEREAS, the ordinance amendments are procedural in nature, and are therefore
categorically exempt from the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) review pursuant
to WAC 197-11-800(19);
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA,
DRAFT
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WASHINGTON, HEREBY ORDAINS AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. TMC 5.06.050 Inspection Required Amended. Ordinance Nos. 2281
§1 (part); 2459 § 2; 2519 § 3; and 2600 § 1, as codified at Tukwila Municipal Code
(TMC) Section 5.06.050, are hereby amended to read as follows:
5.06.050 Inspection Required.
A. The property owner is responsible for obtaining an inspection of each rental unit
and submitting the Inspection Checklist to the code official no later than September
30 of the year the Certificate of Compliance expires. If a non-City inspector is
utilized the inspector shall submit the Inspection Checklist directly to the Code
Official.
B. When a unit changes from owner occupancy to a rental, the inspection must occur
before the unit is occupied by the tenant. An inspection is not required the year a
Certificate of Occupancy is issued for a newly-constructed building, and thereafter
the building will be inspected according to the quadrant in which it is located.
C. Owners of complexes with 13 or more units are required to utilize a non -
City inspector. Owners of rental properties with fewer than 13 units may
utilize a City inspector or a non-City inspector. Non-City inspectors must meet the
qualifications defined herein, be preapproved by the City, and may not have a financial
interest in the property. The City shall provide the Inspection Checklist to the owner
with the application form.
D. The code official shall issue a Certificate of Compliance for rental units that comply
with applicable laws based on a submitted Inspection Checklist. If using a non-City
inspector, the owner shall be responsible for making the inspection arrangements
with the non-City inspector.
E. The code official shall audit Inspection Checklists submitted by private inspectors
and based on audit results may reinspect units on that property or inspected by that
inspector.
F. Submittal of an Inspection Checklist that the owner knows or should have known is
false may result in revocation of the residential rental business license and penalties
defined in TMC Section 5.06.200.
G. An Inspector may be removed from the City’s approved list for reasons including,
but not limited to:
1. Submittal of an Inspection Checklist that the inspector knows or should have
known is false.
2. Conviction for any crime that occurs in connection with an inspection.
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3. Failure to hold a valid Tukwila business license.
H. Incentive-Based Inspection Program.
1. Purpose. The purpose of this subsection is to establish a performance-based
inspection incentive for rental properties that consistently demonstrate full
compliance with applicable housing, maintenance, and life -safety standards,
while maintaining the City’s inspection authority and tenant protections.
2. Applicability. This program applies to all rental properties subject to this chapter,
except rentals containing only one dwelling unit.
3. A property shall qualify for the incentive under this subsection only if all units on
the property receive a passing inspection score (24 or fewer deficiency points),
and the average number of rental inspection deficiency points across all units is
15 or fewer.
4. Modified Inspection Incentive. Any property that meets all qualifications for
incentive status under TMC 5.06.050(H)(3) shall be entitled to receive a
modified inspection at the next scheduled four-year inspection cycle. The City
shall conduct the modified inspection consisting of twelve (12) randomly
selected units, or fifty (50) percent of the total units if the property contains fewer
than twenty-five (25) units. Private inspections shall not be permitted for
modified inspections under this program.
5. Inspection Outcomes. If all inspected units receive a passing inspection score
(24 or fewer deficiency points), and the average number of rental inspection
deficiency points across all units is 15 or fewer, no further inspection shall be
required for that cycle, and the property shall continue within the standard four-
year inspection rotation. If any inspected unit fails (25 or more deficiency points),
the incentive status shall be revoked for that cycle, the property shall be required
to complete a full inspection of all units, and standard enforcement and
reinspection requirements shall apply.
6. Courtesy Inspection Safeguard. Nothing in this subsection limits the authority of
the City to conduct inspections in response to complaints or tenant requests for
a courtesy inspection. If a property participating in the incentive program fails a
courtesy inspection, the incentive status shall be revoked, and the property shall
be required to complete a full inspection of all units at the next scheduled
inspection cycle.
7. Requalification. A property that loses eligibility under this subsection may
requalify at the next inspection cycle if all units on the property receive a passing
inspection score (24 or fewer deficiency points), and the average number of
rental inspection deficiency points across all units is 15 or fewer.
8. No Limitation on Authority. Nothing in this subsection modifies or limits the City’s
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inspection authority, enforcement actions or penalties, tenant complaint
processes, or the standard four-year inspection cycle structure.
Section 2. TMC 5.06.140 Certificate of Compliance Validity and Renewal
Amended. Ordinance Nos. 2281 §1 (part); 2459 §8; and Ord. 2519 § 4, as codified at
Tukwila Municipal Code (TMC) Section 5.06.140 are hereby amended to read as
follows:
5.06.140 Certificate of Compliance Validity and Renewal
Certificates of Compliance expire on September 30thDecember 31, four years from the
date of issuance by the City. Failure to renew the Certificate of Compliance every four
years shall result in the non-issuance or revocation of the rental business license for
that unit. Rental properties that are registered and continue to meet all the requirements
of the City’s Crime-Free Rental Housing Program, or other City-administered program
to certify rental properties as working proactively at crime prevention, may extend their
required rental inspection schedule to once every 8 years. If participation in such
program is terminated due to failure to meet program requirements or for any other
reason, the rental inspection shall be due at the end of the calendar year of the year of
termination or 4 years from the last inspection, whichever is later. Furthermore, if a
property registered in the Crime-Free Rental Housing Program, or any other City-
administered program to certify rental properties as working proactively at crime
prevention, is the subject of 3 or more code violation complaints verified by the City in
any 6-month period for violations affecting the habitability of a residential unit, the
property will revert to a 4-year inspection cycle.
Section 3. TMC 5.06.210 Appeal Amended. Ordinance Nos. 2281 §1 (part) and
2496 § 7, as codified at Tukwila Municipal Code (TMC) Section 5.06.210 subsection B
are hereby amended to read as follows:
5.06.210 Appeal
B. Upon timely filing of a notice of appeal, the Finance Community Development
Director shall schedule a hearing on the appeal before the City’s Hearing Examiner or
other hearing body. The hearing shall be conducted no later than 30 business days from
the date of the notice of appeal, unless an extension is agreed to by the appellant or
otherwise ordered by the Hearing Examiner or other hearing body for good cause
shown. Notice of the hearing will be mailed to the owner.
Section 4. Corrections by City Clerk or Code Reviser Authorized. Upon
approval of the City Attorney, the City Clerk and the code reviser are authorized to make
necessary corrections to this ordinance, including the correction of clerical errors;
references to other local, state or federal laws, codes, rules, or regula tions; or ordinance
numbering and section/subsection numbering.
Section 5. Severability. If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or
phrase of this ordinance or its application to any person or situation should be held to be
invalid or unconstitutional for any reason by a court of competent jurisdiction, such
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invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of the
remaining portions of this ordinance or its application to any other person or situation.
Section 6. Effective Date. This ordinance or a summary thereof shall be published
in the official newspaper of the City, and shall take effect and be in full force five days
after passage and publication as provided by law.
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUKWILA, WASHINGTON, at a
Regular Meeting thereof this _______ day of ___________________, 2026.
ATTEST/AUTHENTICATED:
Andy Youn-Barnett, CMC, City Clerk Thomas McLeod, Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM BY: Filed with the City Clerk:
Passed by the City Council:
Published:
Effective Date:
Ordinance Number:
Office of the City Attorney
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