Many residents of public housing in Seattle are facing the possibility of steep rent hikes. They’ll have a chance this week at two public hearings to voice their concerns about the Seattle Housing Authority’s plan.
Seattle Housing Authority provides subsidized housing for about 13,000 low-income households. The agency sets the rent at 30 percent of the tenant’s income. But now, SHA is proposing to raise rent every couple of years. By the sixth year, it would have jumped more than fivefold. People with disabilities, the elderly and people under the age of 24 would be exempt.
The agency says this will bring in money to help more families get housing. But Denechia Powell with the advocacy group Tenants Union of Washington State says the plan is unrealistic and Draconian.
“It’s easier said than done to say these people are going to be able to find higher-paying jobs and move to self-sufficiency when there are so many barriers that don’t allow it and when we’re living in this post-recession economy,” Powell said.
Officials with SHA say they’d help residents get better jobs by connecting them with more training and job counseling. Executive director Andrew Lofton says residents eventually could earn $16 to $19 per hour.
“We think that over six years, with the workforce assessment and the training opportunities that someone can make that income progression,” Lofton said.
Lofton says the higher rents would generate extra income for the agency so that about 600 extra families could get housing by the time it’s fully implemented. People will have a chance to speak out at public hearings this Tuesday and Wednesday.
