Junk fees are unfair and excessive fees or charges that disguise the true cost of housing, undermine fair competition between housing providers, or unnecessarily hurt vulnerable and at-risk young people, working families, and retirees.

Junk fees are a growing problem across industries, including manufactured home communities and residential rental markets all over our country.

Instead of playing whack-a-mole with ridiculous fees, when Ferndale voters adopt this Initiative, a short list of reasonable kinds of mandatory fees and all fair, optional fees will be permitted. All other costs will be required to be included within the monthly rent, upholding transparency and fair market norms.

Yes, voters in Ferndale are building on successes across Washington State and around our country, including in nearby Bellingham. To learn more, you can read reports from the National Consumer Law Center, National Low-Income Housing Coalition, the AARP (for manufactured homes) and American Economic Liberties Union.

This Initiative follows rules outlined by Washington State law, which allow us to gather signatures in-person, and place a proposed local law on your ballot to be voted on by the people.

Petitions from sites like Change.org are non-binding, and are meant to show mass support for a particular issue. They cannot change the law.

No. When 15% of the voters of Ferndale sign this petition, Ferndale City Council will decide whether to send it to voters or adopt it into law. This Initiative will likely be on your ballot this November.

First, check and update your registration status at VoteWa.Gov. All registered voters within the City of Ferndale are eligible to sign! Then, shoot us an email at andrew [at] ferndaletenantsunion.org to coordinate a time and place that works for you. You might also find us gathering in a public square or door-to-door.

And please also get in touch if you know a business owner willing to host a petition signing station or if you would like to help gather signatures from your friends, family, co-workers, or neighbors.

While launching the Ferndale Tenants Union, discussions with hundreds of renters and manufactured home owners over the course of almost a year made it clear that junk fees are a growing issue in our community.

Tenants, landlords, local non-profits, and policy experts in Ferndale and all over the country, all contributed to making sure this Initiative was strong, legally sound, and fair to both tenants and landlords. 

This campaign is powered by donations from people like you and so far, our largest financial supporter has been Community First Whatcom, a coalition of community and labor organizations in Whatcom County. 

You can also check out our endorsement page here and you can join the growing list of people contributing donations, big and small, here.

After voters like you adopt this initiative this November, there will be several clear and fair processes to resolve issues of non-compliance from landlords. Tenants will be able to address violations in small claims court or with the help of local low-bono attorneys or legal aid organizations. In some cases of extreme violations, tenants will be able to report violations to the city. The initiative also provides for strong protections against retaliation, so that Ferndale tenants can more confidently uphold their rights as consumers.

No. There is no evidence that the overall housing market trend toward corporate ownership  and property management is made worse by common-sense protections for renters. In fact, that trend toward corporate ownership and management is driving the spread of junk fees and normalizing unfair practices across the entire industry.

On top of that, junk fees make corporate landlords look more affordable than their more honest competitors. Housing providers should be competing on the basis of better quality and lower prices, not who is better at hiding the true cost of housing.

No. Builders need to demonstrate sufficient returns to access financing.  They can do this through transparently charging adequate rents, rather than junk fees.

When voters like you sign the petition and later adopt this measure, the benefits to the most vulnerable and at-risk young people, retirees, and working families in Ferndale will be immense. Cost-burdened tenants will have several fewer sources of financial strain, helping stem the increase of Ferndale residents, especially seniors, becoming homeless.  The rental market will be more fair and transparent, preserving honest competition in the housing market.

Not including county and statewide ballot measures, this will be the first time in Ferndale’s history that voters will adopt a Citizen’s Initiative at the ballot box!

Your help will make this historic campaign possible. Signature gathering, door-knocking, phone banking, office tasks, and postcard writing will all be crucial. Over the next four months, signature gathering is the most urgent goal. By signing up even once, you can help reach the goal of 3,000 signatures. Sign up here!