SURVEY: Mayor Wilson has questions for renters

Mayor Katie Wilson, who lives in a rented apartment, has questions for other renters, and has launched a survey. It’s been out a day or two, so you might have heard about it and even responded to it already. If not, here’s the link. The survey will collect data on respondents’ rent, fees, and utilities, as well as asking questions such as this:

What would make you feel at home as a renter in Seattle?

-Reducing the amount that a landlord can raise your rent in a calendar year
-Restricting the kinds of fees that landlords require you to pay
-Timely responses to request for repairs and health and safety concerns
-Access to a tenants union or other similar organization

It has open-ended questions too. The survey will be open until next Friday night (February 13). It’s available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Amharic, simplified Chinese, and traditional Chinese, with all those links here.

Blbl February 7, 2026 (6:10 pm)

Landlord. What a weird word. Can we start calling them housing providers or something? I know lots of folks who rent out homes, but I can’t say I’ve ever met the lord or lady of a West Seattle manor.

Michael February 7, 2026 (6:37 pm)

Nice try, landlord.
ITotallyAgreeWithYou February 7, 2026 (7:06 pm)

We already have alternate words- no need to contort ourselves. Land owner, owner, lessor, manager… However, “housing provider” they are not and I find that more offensive than “landlord”.
k February 7, 2026 (7:53 pm)

“Housing providers” doesn’t really ring true, either. They don’t “provide” anything. Rather, they hoard a necessary resource and allow use of it to those in need for maximum profit. The term “landlord” is a holdover from feudal times when the serfs paid rent to the lords who owned their land, which honestly bears a lot more resemblance to the modern system than calling them “providers”. That’s some kind of Reaganomics nonsense.
- Anna February 8, 2026 (12:34 pm)
  
  Dear K,Re: “Rather, they hoard a necessary resource and allow use of it to those in need for maximum profit.”Feel free to work, sacrifice, save and purchase land that you too can pay maintenance and very high property taxes for, then rent out to those who need and want to live in a well-kept home. Life isn’t free.
  - k February 9, 2026 (9:24 am)
    
    Why on earth would I do that??
    I work, sacrificed, and saved so I can have my own home, not so that I can outbid other people for homes they would like to own. If I want to make money from a business, I’ll start a business that actually provides a service to people, not gobble up extra housing and profit off of the needs of others while calling it a “service.” That’s super gross, and I don’t know what part of my post lead you to believe there is any part of me that operates that way.
  - Scarlett February 9, 2026 (9:54 am)
    
    Really, Anna? You think that home appreciation is just a product of your thrift and hard work? People with assets such as a home or equities, have been the biggest beneficiaries of government monetary intervention on their behalf; they have profited from inflation while others have suffered. Life ain’t free but the same people who use this line still believe there are free lunches.

Mellow Kitty February 7, 2026 (6:30 pm)

I’d rather stop sterilizing language with euphemisms.

Nancy Conyers February 8, 2026 (9:31 am)

I’m with you on that….”politically correct” has gone overboard !

Eyerolling February 7, 2026 (8:59 pm)

Blbl I guess then you want to change the dictionary?Landlord: a person who rents land, a building, or an apartment to a tenant

Elijah February 7, 2026 (10:05 pm)

I hope they make all the responses public (after redacting the names and emails). A black box survey can easily be controted to fit presumptions about renter issues. Personally, I haven’t had any problems with my property managment company. But, the amount of money I pay for monthly garage parking is just crazy. Every apartment I have rented in the past would include parking spaces in the rent based on the number of bedrooms.

WestSeattleBadTakes February 8, 2026 (7:17 am)

You live in a city.
- Elijah February 8, 2026 (12:28 pm)
  
  I have lived in LA, Jacksonville, and Dallas too. It was easy to find apartments that didn’t charge for parking.

Adam February 8, 2026 (7:14 am)

Hang-wringing about the word “landlord” is so focused on the wrong problems. The best way to help renters is to have enough housing supply so they have to compete with each other on price and service. Perhaps any like-minded Abundance people can help flood this survey with suggestions that will actually help.

aa February 8, 2026 (9:30 am)

The options to the question ‘what makes me feel at home as a renter?’ have nothing to do with what makes me feel at home. I think the issues expressed in the answers are important but have nothing to do with what makes my home a home. As a renter currently searching for a new home it is frustrating to see the exorbitant fees at many of the newer buildings. The fact that one place will charge $300 ‘administrative fees’ and another $100 or even none shows they aren’t based on anything valid. What happened to the cost of doing business? And paying for the electricity in the common rooms is outrageous. I can’t even consider places with large parking fees with my budget. And don’t get me started on all the basement apartments! How did a person who has worked their whole life end up having to consider living in a basement? I refuse!

robyn February 9, 2026 (6:55 am)

can’t wait til the issue of homeless individuals with chronic health issues come up. it saddens me to see elderly/disabled people who may also be unemployed because of their health status sleeping in parks and bus stops.

AH February 10, 2026 (10:36 am)

This survey is for apartment dwellers. what about house rentals? and nothing about the safety around the house? shootings have the biggest impact on my familys life

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