Kudos to Marcia Kelbon for her well-presented and concise article on rental realities in Jefferson County. As a local ‘mom and pop’ landlord, for the first 20-plus years in Port Townsend, I deal with this issue on a daily basis.

Renting housing units is a ‘for profit’ business like any other business and hopefully provides enough income to care for the financial needs of the families of the landlord/landlady. We pay a number of monthly expenses including mortgage payments, property taxes, insurance, maintenance and repairs, as Ms. Kelbon listed in her article. In exchange, we receive rental payments from our tenants. Governmental restrictions, such as changes in the landlord/tenant laws, moratoriums or yearly caps on rental increases, and increased code and compliance enforcement will all affect the business profitability.

As Ms. Kelbon stated, landlords/landladies always have a chance to sell their property and invest their capital elsewhere if the rental income is not sufficient for their labors. According to the statistics from the Housing Solutions Network, the number of available long-term rental units in Jefferson County has declined by 17% in the last 12 years. What are the reasons for that decline? Does our community want to continue this trend?

Dan Harbin

Port Townsend