Know your rights

The right to organize

Who is in the Lockhaven Tenants Union? You, if you live here and want to join. Please check back here for info about the next meeting. We've only just begun, so you haven't missed very much.

And don't be afraid.  The right of tenants to organize is expressly protected by Seattle law:

SMC 22.206.180(7): Prohibited acts by owners

Under the Seattle Housing and Building Maintenance Codes, Seattle landlords are prohibited from preventing or discriminating against tenants who are organizing in their buildings. Organizing activities include passing out flyers and information to your neighbors, posting information in common areas, creating connection with your neighbors and inviting them to get involved, and holding meetings that are unattended by management or agents of the landlord in the building. If the landlord takes any undue negative action against a tenant who has participated in one of these organizing activities, it is automatically assumed to be retaliation and is illegal. If you would like more information or want to report retaliation by your landlord for organizing in your building, contact the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) at 206.615.0808.

The right to compensation

Tenant Relocation Assistance Law mandates that if the Lockhaven owners kick you out, you may be able to get 3000+ bucks if your household earns less that 50 percent of the median. Here is a PDF with details about this law.

And more

You've got more rights and power than you might think. Find out more:

• Solid Ground
• Tenants Union of Washington State

Our story

The short version of our story: This summer, the Lockhaven Apartments were sold to the Pinnacle Family of Companies. Shortly thereafter, construction on the siding of some buildings started. This construction has been done in a shoddy and unsightly fashion by a no-name contractor. Walls of some buildings have been ripped off and left hanging in strips for weeks at a time, and garbage and equipment has been left strewn about the grounds.

20-day vacate notices were then issued to the tenants of three buildings (all the tenants of one building, and half the tenants of two others). That's right: With no warning, these people were given less than three weeks to get themselves and all their belongings out. A complete lack of empathy added to the stress of this situation. When asked about it, Lockhaven management freely admitted that the plan is to displace ALL residents, renovate the units, and raise rents by as much as double. But it turns out that those initial 20-day vacate notices were blatantly illegal, and the new owners were compelled to rescind them. The plan to evict all of us is apparently still intact.

The Lockhaven is home to many elderly residents who have lived here for decades, cultivating gardens and friendships. This is their home. The Lockhaven is the last bastion of affordable housing in Ballard for them, and for all of us. What Pinnacle has planned is nothing less than the destruction of a community. 

But a group has formed. This group. The Lockhaven Tenants Union. We will share information, address legal concerns, and provide help to those who need it. We have power when we stick together.

This is the short version. Details, documents, and resistance to follow.

Welcome

The purpose of this site is for tenants of the Lockhaven Apartments to share information and empower each other. We are strong when we stick together.