Safe, Healthy & Affordable Homes For All

Bellingham does not have enough affordable homes. The current housing shortage has led to rising rents and home prices, pricing us out of town or onto the streets.

• Build affordable and sustainable homes funded by progressive revenue such as taxes on vacant buildings/land, mansions, the wealthy, and large corporations.
• Pass rent control/stabilization laws to prevent rent spikes, preserve affordable homes, and reduce displacement.
• Expand and allow housing that is more affordable to low and moderate income people, including duplexes, backyard cottages, and small apartments. These types of homes are currently illegal in 70 percent of Bellingham’s residential land.
• Prioritize homes for people over homes for cars. End mandatory parking in areas served by transit to reduce the cost of homebuilding and promote walkable and livable communities.
• Pass an inclusionary zoning ordinance that mandates homes affordable to low and moderate income people in every new development.

Protect & Expand Tenant Rights

Tenants are being exploited by predatory landlords and a failed housing system. We need to construct and pass into law a Tenants’ Bill of Rights to empower renters with stability and dignity.

• Stomp out the slumlords. Fix the private inspector loophole in the Rental Registration and Safety Inspection program to ensure honest and robust inspections.
• Cap move-in fees and application costs that landlords charge renters and offer renters the right to pay their move-in costs in installments with no interest.
• Update the definition of family to include families of adults, friends, elderly and young people, couples, and other non-traditional families.
• Enforce anti-discrimination laws.

Support & Defend Victims of the Housing Crisis

Many of our neighbors have been priced out of their homes and are now experiencing homelessness. The fight to end homelessness is intertwined with the fight for affordable homes. We support the demands of housing justice organizations focused on homelessness.

• Provide safe places for people to sleep outside without risk of being removed. Provide safe places for cars/RVs to park for those living in vehicles. Provide access to bathrooms and dumpsters for those without homes.
• Implement a Safe Storage Program that leases lockers to people experiencing homeless.
• End the criminalization of homelessness. Repeal the sit-in-line ordinance that criminalizes people who sit or rest on public sidewalks downtown. Invest in safe places for people experiencing homelessness.