‘Is she just assuming everybody’s an idiot?’ Jake says Seattle’s rental junk fee ban will just raise everybody’s rent

While the Seattle City Council voted unanimously to ban add-on rental junk fees, KIRO host Jake Skorheim said all the legislation will do is raise everyone’s rent.

Jake said on “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio that landlords aren’t going to eat the cost of banned fees. They’re simply going to fold them into base rent, meaning every tenant pays more whether they have a pet, use the gym, or pick up a package.

“Overall, this is a loss,” Jake said. “This is making it more expensive for renters.”

He questioned why the city feels the need to intervene on behalf of tenants who are capable of reading their own lease agreements.

“Is she just assuming that everybody’s an idiot and not reading contracts?” he said of Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, who championed the legislation as a centerpiece of her affordability agenda.

The council voted 8-0 Tuesday to ban charges such as pet rent, common area usage fees, package fees, and fees for paying rent by check. Seattle City Councilmember Dionne Foster sponsored the bill.

Junk fee ban won’t lower rent, it’ll just hide it, KIRO hosts say

KIRO host Spike O’Neill acknowledged the intent behind the legislation, an effort toward transparency so renters aren’t blindsided by surprise charges that can inflate housing costs by 10% to 30%. But he said the end result will be the same amount of money, just relocated.

“Since they eliminate these fees, you’re not going to be paying $2,000 a month. You’re going to be paying $2,400,” Spike said. “With no additional fees!”

Jake said the ban effectively forces everyone to subsidize costs they may never use.

“You essentially just got yourself a pet, even if you don’t enjoy having a pet,” Jake said. “You just got a pet because now you’re going to pay enough rent that you have a pet.”

‘You want stability’: Landlords may lose interest in Seattle, Jake warned

Councilmember Bob Kettle tried unsuccessfully to introduce an amendment that would have allowed landlords to charge up to $25 per month per dog, plus inflation. That proposal was voted down.

Jake pointed to the practical enforcement tools that landlords lose under the new rules, citing a housing developer who defended pet rent as a way to make sure pet owners, not all tenants, cover wear and tear.

“The pet deposit covers wear and tear in apartment units and ensures pet owners are the ones who pay, instead of passing that cost on to other renters who choose not to have a pet,” the developer said.

Beyond pet fees, Jake said the ban removes landlords’ ability to charge penalties for things like pets using common areas, a tool he said helps keep tenants accountable.

Both hosts argued the legislation could also discourage housing investment in Seattle. Jake said anyone with $1.5 million to put into a rental property would think twice about buying in a city that keeps adding regulations.

“If I was somebody who was a landlord, I would want to make sure that I could count on what things were going to cost,” Jake said. “You want stability. You want to make sure that your places don’t turn into a junk heap. You want to make sure that you’re the one who’s protected more than the renter who could essentially just stop paying rent to you and squat in your place.”

By that logic, ban parking tickets too, Jake says

Jake said the logic behind the junk fee ban should, by Wilson’s own reasoning, also apply to parking tickets, another surprise charge that disproportionately hits people who can’t afford it.

“If she’s going to ban rental fees, she should also ban parking tickets,” Jake said. “Parking tickets are very expensive, and they affect people very negatively who don’t have a ton of money. And they come about when you least expect them. Not everybody knows how to read the signs out there, so it feels to me like it’s unfair for the average person who’s just trying to get downtown for a job, just trying to park their car out in front of their apartment. I don’t think parking tickets should be allowed in the city of Seattle.

“Katie Wilson, by her own argument, should not be charging parking tickets in Seattle,” he continued.

The legislation does still allow landlords to collect pet deposits and charge for certain services at actual cost, including application screening fees and key replacements.

The ban takes effect July 1, 2027.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3