Seattle Grassroots Landlords
About
We're a network of local, independent, small-scale housing providers working to support each other and to prevent the ongoing degradation of rental housing options in Seattle. The political environment continues to polarize and limit both the viability and opportunity to provide rental housing in favor of providers who have the scale and resources to keep up with regulations that have steeply increased business risks, costs, complexity and unpredictability. We work together with other housing providers, renters and everyone in the community who understands that housing is a major issue and a shared responsibility — and that small-scale rental housing plays a valuable role.
Objectives
To provide a voice and advocacy for the thousands of small-scale Seattle rental property owners who provide a large portion of Seattle's affordable, independent rental housing
To encourage a rental housing environment where more people are able to become small landlords and remain small landlords — Seattleites offering residential housing to other Seattleites
To prevent ongoing depletion of independent rental housing options in Seattle (as evidenced by dwindling RRIO registrations)
To inform legislative activity, local research and media coverage with authentic Seattle “mom-n-pop” (indie housing provider) perspectives
To advocate for small-scale Seattle rental housing that isn’t disproportionately owned by corporations, government and non-profits — individual property ownership brings the benefits of community wealth-building, equity opportunities, and anti-displacement/gentrification
To provide a forum for peer support and information sharing among Seattle small housing providers
A Brief History
Seattle Grassroots Landlords organically formed at the beginning of 2020, when an assortment of small landlords from throughout the city began chatting outside city council chambers after giving independent public comments opposing the winter eviction moratorium. Several of us collaborated on a Seattle Times Op-Ed in February 2020, which resonated with many others. After years of council passing myriad new city regulations (and dismissing strong feedback from more than 4,000 of us who participated in the long-awaited 2018 Seattle Rental Housing Study), more and more independent small housing providers realized Seattle legislative action and rental housing strategies have consistently excluded our input as stakeholders, with serious negative consequences. This style of politics continued through the pandemic eviction moratorium and post-pandemic period.
In December 2023, we prepared a Seattle Rental Housing Policy 10-Year Timeline (2014-2023) to recap the whirlwind. It is a helpful 3-page read for small housing providers, legislators, city staff, courts and attorneys, media, tenants, housing advocates, and the general public.
Please see our Information page for a wealth of other resources (including Seattle City Auditor's RRIO Program Audit).
Connect with Us
Facebook -- Our group began and is still active as a private Facebook group for local, independent Seattle small housing providers. If you fit that description, you can request to join our Facebook group. As of December 2023, we have more than 680 members sharing constructive information and peer support.
Email -- You can reach us at: SeattleGrassrootsLandlords@gmail.com. Please note we are a small group of volunteers helping to connect a broad, organic network of housing providers. Response times may be slow.