BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Changes to rental protections in Bellingham will be discussed at an upcoming city council meeting.

Staff members have submitted suggestions to the council on how the city can improve rental and safety inspections.

Some of the recommended changes include adding an audit process for inspectors, tweaking the appeals process and hiring code compliance officers when necessary.

It comes as Bellingham has gotten stricter with its overall rental processes over the past few years.

My Bellingham Now previously reported that the city removed “declarations of compliance” in their rental ordinance in 2024, which allowed landlords to skip regular inspections. A recently-launched dashboard has a comprehensive map of rental units in the city with their date of inspection and status. In some spot-testing My Bellingham Now conducted, some rental properties are not listed, nor has every property listed been inspected by city officials.

Last year, ordinances also went into effect that eliminated excessive “junk fees” for renters.

The rental protections will not be subject to a public hearing during Monday’s city council meeting.