Bellingham landlord ordered to pay up after removing tenant organizing posters
A Whatcom County District Court judge ordered a local property management company to pay thousands of dollars to a Bellingham tenant advocate after its maintenance staff unlawfully removed tenant organizing posters around common areas of its apartment complex.
In December, tenant advocate Ethan Martez, on behalf of the Bellingham-based group Tenants Revolt, placed posters around the common areas of the Arise Bellingham Apartments in the Happy Valley neighborhood.
The posters said tenants “deserve more” than ignored maintenance requests, non-functioning laundry facilities, pest problems and mold, among other issues. The signage invited tenants of the apartments to join Tenants Revolt for an “emergency tenant meeting” where attendees could share their habitability concerns and “plan for positive change.”
A tenant of the apartments later witnessed maintenance staff removing the posters, according to court documents.
In response, Martez posted a cease-and-desist notice at the apartments and emailed a demand letter to property managers Sparq Living, requesting they stop removing the posters and “meet to resolve the issue,” court documents show.
When the property management company did not respond, Martez filed for $3,000 in damages against them in small claims court, citing “unlawful interference” under Bellingham Municipal Code 6.20 for removing tenant organizing materials.
The protections were recently codified after Bellingham voters in November 2025 approved the community-driven initiative “Protecting The Freedoms Of Speech, Assembly, And Association For Tenants Free From Retaliation.”
The code states that “no landlord shall interfere with or prohibit” protected tenant activities such as “speech, assembly, and association.” The right to engage in “tenants’ rights advocacy” is specifically protected, as well as the rights to “inform others about their rights” and “discuss with others, including other tenants, issues related to the tenancy, building affairs, and related issues.”
Landlords are also specifically prohibited from “any form of retaliation against tenants for exercising their rights under this initiative,” according to the city of Bellingham.
“Through this lawsuit, not only did we prove that Whatcom County courts will indeed interpret the Bellingham Municipal Code and follow it, but it also proves to tenants that any of them can go out and take their landlord to court if they violate their freedom of speech rights protected by this law,” Martez said in an interview with The Herald.
At a Feb. 12 trial, a judge ruled in favor of Martez and ordered the property management company to pay the $3,000 requested and an additional $50 filing fee. The payment is required to be issued within 30 days of the trial, according to court documents.
The Herald was awaiting a response from a representative of Arise Bellingham and Sparq Living at the time of publication.
The city of Bellingham provides resources for tenants and landlords to resolve disputes and access legal services. The city also offers opportunities for tenants to report “basic life and safety issues” in a rental unit when their landlord fails to adequately address them.
Basic life safety requirements include:
- Functional smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.
- Operational egress escape windows and doors.
- A non-leaky roof and plumbing.
- Functional stairs, handrails and egress components.
- Non-hazardous electrical systems.
- Functional heat sources and ventilation.
This story was originally published February 20, 2026 at 5:20 AM.
