Condo Conversion Makeover
Recently, Seattle and much of the its Puget Sound neighbors have seen a proliferation of condo conversions. This has been a boon to first-time home buyers as conversions have been among the most, if not only, affordable in-city housing available.
The media, of course, focuses on the negative aspects of conversions - the displacement of tenants, particularly the elderly and low-income tenants. And, they have a point. Current laws only require developers to provide a 90 day notice, and for low-income tenants, $500 towards moving costs.
That imagery and special interest groups help get several bills into the legislature this year. I favor more compensation to displaced tenants but the early version of the bills were drastic - increased assistance payments to $2,500, implemented conversion caps, increased the notification period to 120 days, and banned construction work during the 120 day notification period.
According to the Seattle PI, the legislature and community interests have come to a compromise on legislation to place restrictions on condo conversions. The compromised version is watered down from the initial bills but still provides more assistance to dislocated tenants. Some of the changes include:
- Caps required payments to no more than 3 months rent (currently $500)
- Allows certain cities & counties to cap conversions if rental vacancy rates fall below 5% & with a net loss of rentals the previous 12 months
- Allows cities & counties to increase required payments to elderly & special needs tenants
For more info: Substitue House Bill 2014 & Substitute Senate Bill 5031
Related post: Cost of Conversions
[…] However, the Senate’s version of the the condo conversion bill (SB 5031) is far more restrictive than the earlier compromised bill in the House (SHB 2014). Under the Senate’s bill: […]