Bellingham sets higher fees for rental registration and inspections. See how much
Bellingham is doubling the fees for landlords to register their rental properties, and increasing fines for failing a required inspection.
City Council members voted unanimously Monday night to adopt a new fee structure as proposed by the Planning and Community Development Department. A final vote is scheduled for Nov. 6 and the ordinance would take effect 15 days after that.
Funds raised with the higher fees will pay for a program administrator and a second inspector whose focus would be on properties that have failed an inspection, said Blake Lyon, director of the Planning and Community Development Department.
“The key goal is not necessarily to generate large amounts of revenue. It’s to incentivize and compel compliance,” Lyon told the City Council’s Planning Committee on Monday afternoon.
“The goal has to be compliance, and the safety of those residing in the rental units,” he said.
Annual rental registration fees will increase from $10 to $20 for each unit for owners of up to 20 rental units and from $8 to $16 for owners of more than 20 units.
Inspection fees will remain at $45 for landlords who hire a private inspector — an option required by state law — and $100 for those who use a city inspector.
Further inspections, which are required if violations are found, will rise from free to $100 and from $50 to $200 for a second inspection. A third inspection will cost $500 and the case could be forwarded for action through code enforcement division, Lyon said.
Councilman Dan Hammill said he was disappointed at the low failure rate for private inspections, which was disclosed to the council in an April report.
“I think we are failing our tenants when it comes to private inspections. To me, it’s egregious to have the low failure rate with private inspections” he said at the committee meeting.
This story was originally published October 31, 2023 at 10:24 AM.
