With Measure 1, proponents seek to “unionize” tenants and tighten the regulatory restraints of proving rental housing, while tenants strike against utility payments.
October 28, 2026
Background. In 2023, Tacoma voters narrowly passed the Tenant Bill of Rights, by fewer than 400 votes. It limited winter evictions, lengthened notice periods for rent increases, and required relocation help when a large rent hike forces a tenant to move. Anti-landlord activists claim the city does not enforce the Law.
What Measure 1 would do. Landlords in violation of the 2023 law now would owe the tenant at least $500, and up to five times the monthly rent for serious violations. A per-unit rental licensing fee would pay for enforcement. The measure would also create a public landlord database and fund outreach and education for landlords and tenants.
Enforcement Cost. City Manager Hyun Kim puts the enforcement cost at $8–10 million a year, including 43 staff positions and $4 million in legal costs. The city already has a $40 million general fund deficit, and Kim warned that police, fire and library budgets might have to be cut. The city says it will do a fuller analysis only if the measure passes.
Opposition. Landlord groups say the new rules and fees would push small landlords out and raise rents. Kevin Schilling of the Rental Housing Association reads the lack of citations as a sign that landlords are following the law, and says courts already handle bad actors. Anti-landlord group counter that tenants routinely face illegal fees and rent hikes, mold, and broken heat.
Tenant unions. Since January, at least six Tacoma complexes have voted to unionize, but their landlords have refused to negotiate. Tenants have pushed back with a "slumlord art gallery" of photos showing mold and damage, and with coordinated waves of maintenance requests. Measure 1 would require landlords to "engage in good faith bargaining" with any union backed by at least half of a building's occupied units. Landlords would also have to post notices of tenants' right to organize. No other Washington city has a rule like this.
Money. Opponents have raised more than $569,000, a Tacoma record for opposition spending. That includes $291,000 through the Rental Housing Association of Washington, $175,000 of which came from an LLC tied to Goodman Real Estate. A PAC linked to the Washington Multifamily Housing Association raised another $277,899. Supporters have raised about $254,700. Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson headlined a fundraiser for the measure.
What's next. According to KNKX Public Radio, tenant advocates say they'll keep organizing whatever the result. Tenants at the McIlvaine complex in Tacoma reportedly started what they call a first-of-its-kind utility payment strike, withholding utility payments until their landlords negotiate on how utilities are billed.
Based on an article published by KNKX.org: https://www.knkx.org/politics/2026-10-27/tacoma-ballot-measure-1-safe-homes-for-all-dramatically-reshape-tenant-renter-protections
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