Washington landlord takes out full page ad telling others to ‘refuse to rent anything’ in October

Gov. Jay Inslee announced last week that he is extending a statewide eviction moratorium “bridge” period another month to Oct. 31. Meanwhile, landlord Don Cullen is trying to rally support and get the attention of lawmakers in the form of multiple full page ads in the Seattle Times.

Rep for landlords says Seattle needs to focus on ‘real solutions’ to fix housing crisis

“In this particular ad, I’m trying to get the landlords to band together and refuse to rent anything in the month of October as a matter of protesting and showing what a necessity we are to the country,” he told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson Show. “My second part of the ad was to ask people that if they’re selling anything, sell it to private owners, owner occupants, to shrink the rental pool, again to get the attention of the brainless politicians.”

KIRO 7 TV reports that the ad in this week’s paper was the second Cullen purchased, and that he is planning to purchase a third.

One of his goals from the ads is to create a shortage of rental housing.

“I don’t know if it would necessarily drive up price but I want to get the attention of the brainless politicians that we serve not just a need but a necessity, just like the farmers,” he said.

“This governor has some single handedly ruined the credit rating of hundreds if not thousands of Washingtonians,” he added. “Who’s going to rent to a non-payer?”

Whether or not a renter is reported as a non-payer, however, is up to the landlord.

“If they’re not sure it’s getting reported on their credit rating, take them to small claims court, get a judgment, that will be on their credit rating,” Cullen suggested.

Cullen says that he actually only has one non-payer across his properties.

“This was a bachelor, who when he found out he didn’t have to pay his rent, he quit his job and is living on drug sales and theft,” Cullen said. “He hasn’t been charged with dealing drugs, but he has actually been arrested and charged with breaking into the apartment next door to his.”

So if he’s only had one non-paying renter, why is he invested in this?

“Well, because it’s a statewide problem, a countrywide problem,” Cullen said. “And I’m just taking a stand for all the landlords, not just me.”

“If we just stopped renting for a month, that would get their attention,” he added. “Without getting an attorney and going through all the court processes.”

As to whether or not other landlords can afford what Cullen is asking, he says: “We’ll see.”

Listen to the Dori Monson Show weekday afternoons from noon – 3 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.