Tenant Stability Policy Position
At a glance
Based on auto-generated captions; names, numbers and details may be misheard.
- What: A proposed staff position on landlord and tenant policy and planning in the 2027-2028 budget, developed by the council's tenant protection subcommittee.
- Where it stands: the subcommittee previewed it on October 13; the council gave thumbs-up direction to keep working on it. It appears in the mayor's proposed budget as "housing navigator administrator" (page 93 as captioned), with classification options such as principal planner or senior planner.
- Next: a written proposal for the council before budget deliberations; hiring timeline to be included.
The proposal
- Duties: study and recommend tenant stability policies and programs, track state and local tenant law, lead stakeholder processes, build relationships with landlords and property managers, give technical assistance and strengthen communication of tenant rights. The position would sit in the human services division of planning and community development.
- Prakriya presented the update following the July presentation to council; Kritzer said the subcommittee wanted to preview it to confirm direction and to prepare a write-up, including salary level based on scope.
- Kritzer said the subcommittee also looked at a pilot with the legal assistance program (captioned "ELAP") to serve people above its income limits, which would be a new service and probably cost more than one full-time position; they plan to ask neighboring cities about partnering. A longer-term idea is a housing ombuds to support enforcement once policies exist.
- Parsi had mixed feelings about a permanent position for policy work with a clear end date and asked whether a contract was considered; subcommittee members said staff felt the work is ongoing and dynamic and that the council asked for a hiring timeline after community feedback.
Sources
Discussion time
About 9 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-13 - City Council Study Session | 9 |
Log
- 2026-10-29 - City Council Study Session Meeting - Council supported a principal planner classification for the position, with hiring targeted for early 2027.
- 2026-10-13 - City Council Study Session — Council talk time: subcommittee previewed the tenant policy position in the proposed budget; Parsi asked about a contract alternative; council directed the subcommittee to continue.
- 2026-11-05 - City Council Study Session Meeting - Council deliberations #4: the subcommittee presented a short budget proviso for the position at principal planner level ($442,000 for the biennium, hiring to begin early 2027 and be complete by June 2027, savings from delayed hiring stay with the tenant policy work, at least quarterly updates). The council agreed by thumbs to replace the word landlord with property owner, to refer to the full council rather than the subcommittee, to reference the Housing and Human Services Action Plan, and to tie the approval date to the November 10 budget vote. Title stayed "rental services and rental housing policy". Related legal aid funding was deferred: ELAP Tenant Legal Services Funding.