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The number of registered rental properties in Seattle has declined consistently since 2019.  This according to a December 2023 audit by the Seattle City Auditor titled Understanding Seattle’s Housing Market Shift from Small to Large Rental Properties. The audit was performed at the request of several councilmembers in hopes of explaining a decrease in rental properties registered with the city. The audit relied on data derived from the Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance (RRIO) passed in 2012, which requires all rental properties to register with the city and undergo regular inspections to “ensure basic safety maintenance requirements are met.” Although the inspection goal evidently isn’t being met, RRIO provides useful data on rental market trends in Seattle. [1] Ironically, the Read More ›

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Grants Pass v. Johnson that city ordinances against public camping do not constitute “cruel and unusual punishment” under the Eighth Amendment. The Court’s decision is a win not only for the small Oregon city of Grants Pass, but also for dozens of Western localities that had been hamstrung by the Ninth Circuit as they grapple with record high rates of homelessness. In response to the ruling, Robert Marbut, Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute and former Executive Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, said, “The Supreme Court’s reversal of the Ninth Circuit’s opinion in the City of Grants Pass v. Johnson is a great first step in giving authority back to local Read More ›