City of Seattle Roundtable: Tools to Preserve Affordable Private Market Housing

The City of Seattle is convening a roundtable discussion of multifamily rental property owners to provide advice and feedback on several proposed and existing tools to preserve affordable private market housing. RHA has partnered with the Seattle Office of Housing to engage property owners in this conversation on a toolkit of strategies to preserve existing affordable housing as part of the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA).

HALA, convened by Mayor Murray, is a multi-pronged approach to increase the affordability and availability of housing in Seattle. Part of the HALA road map charges the City with developing a program to preserve existing housing in the private market that is affordable to low-income people. The City Council has also prioritized preservation by creating a new loan program as part of the 2016 Seattle Housing Levy on the August 2 ballot that can help property owners make critical repairs and keep rents affordable.

Topics to be covered at the roundtable include:

• New Ideas
  Share your ideas to preserve existing affordable housing.
• Rental Affordability and Rehabilitation Program
  Low cost financing to assist with property rehabilitation in exchange for affordable rents.
• Preservation Tax Exemption
  Tax exemption in exchange for reserving 25% of building as affordable to low-income renters.
• Sale of Property
  City financed purchase of privately owned building.
• Notice of Sale
  Required property owner notification to city 60 days before listing, if any unit in the building has a rent affordable to tenants earning 80% of Area Median Income or below (currently required).

Be part of the conversation.
Monday, June 13 | 4 - 6pm
Refreshments will be served.

Seattle City Hall, Bertha Knight Landes Room
600 Fourth Avenue, Seattle

Please register at: http://bit.ly/PrezTools

Inquiries may be sent to the Seattle Office of Housing at (206) 684 - 0721 or housing@seattle.gov.