Seattle’s housing complaints. The City’s own record.
The City keeps records of housing complaints and enforcement. We bring those records together to show what is documented, what patterns emerge, and what questions remain unanswered.
About the data ↓ Every City record, citywide →
A blank date doesn’t prove no one came. It means the public record doesn’t say when anyone did.
The citywide record
What does the City’s record actually show?
This analysis brings together complaint records, inspection dates, notices of violation, and recorded outcomes. Each tells us something different about the City’s response to reported housing problems.
Start here: complaint trends, last inspection dates and notices of violation →What changed in 2018
Complaints climbed. Enforcement slipped.
The City of Seattle open data portal had no last inspection dates until July 2025. Until then that column held map coordinates, for example POINT (-122.33 47.60), instead of dates. In July 2025 the City backfilled it, including records back to 2003. Only then could these shares be measured, so the last inspection date line shows what the portal holds today for complaints opened each year. A blank date does not mean no one inspected. The last inspection date report tells that story.
Three measures, one chart
Landlord-tenant complaints, last inspection dates and notices of violation, open data portal
- Complaints opened that yearright-hand scale
- Last inspection date: out of every 100 complaints, how many have noneleft-hand scale
- Notices of violation for every 100 complaintsleft-hand scale
2003–2017 · 15 years
- 8,017
- complaints
- 15.6%
- with no inspection date (1,251)
- 5,842
- notices of violation, about 73 for every 100 complaints
2017 was the turning year: 1,095 complaints, 34% with no inspection date.
2018–2025 · 8 years
- 32,523
- complaints
- 89.5%
- with no inspection date (29,123)
- 4,119
- notices of violation, about 13 for every 100 complaints
Show the numbers for every year
| Year opened | Complaints | No inspection date | Percent | Notices of violation | Notices per 100 complaints |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 81 | 29 | 35.8% | 31 | 38.3 |
| 2004 | 437 | 117 | 26.8% | 390 | 89.2 |
| 2005 | 405 | 106 | 26.2% | 338 | 83.5 |
| 2006 | 544 | 114 | 21.0% | 411 | 75.6 |
| 2007 | 490 | 68 | 13.9% | 452 | 92.2 |
| 2008 | 439 | 53 | 12.1% | 374 | 85.2 |
| 2009 | 465 | 44 | 9.5% | 359 | 77.2 |
| 2010 | 468 | 53 | 11.3% | 352 | 75.2 |
| 2011 | 507 | 36 | 7.1% | 346 | 68.2 |
| 2012 | 555 | 28 | 5.0% | 397 | 71.5 |
| 2013 | 646 | 31 | 4.8% | 460 | 71.2 |
| 2014 | 623 | 49 | 7.9% | 470 | 75.4 |
| 2015 | 613 | 52 | 8.5% | 443 | 72.3 |
| 2016 | 649 | 93 | 14.3% | 473 | 72.9 |
| 2017 | 1,095 | 378 | 34.5% | 546 | 49.9 |
| 2018 | 2,808 | 2,269 | 80.8% | 401 | 14.3 |
| 2019 | 2,960 | 2,487 | 84.0% | 465 | 15.7 |
| 2020 | 2,812 | 2,519 | 89.6% | 627 | 22.3 |
| 2021 | 3,004 | 2,748 | 91.5% | 942 | 31.4 |
| 2022 | 4,828 | 4,469 | 92.6% | 720 | 14.9 |
| 2023 | 5,159 | 4,704 | 91.2% | 335 | 6.5 |
| 2024 | 5,210 | 4,676 | 89.8% | 343 | 6.6 |
| 2025 | 5,742 | 5,251 | 91.4% | 286 | 5.0 |
Source: City of Seattle open data portal, code complaints and violations. 56,258 landlord-tenant records, 2003–2025: 40,540 complaints, 9,961 notices of violation and 5,757 other records.
Show our work: Numbers by year (CSV)Every record (CSV)Recount scriptHow we counted (printable)
Dashboard charts, citywide
Follow the numbers.
These charts track Seattle’s complaint volume, enforcement notices, and the dates the City makes available to the public. Together, they show how the numbers changed over time, and where the public record leaves questions unanswered. Select a chart to open it.
Record types and enforcement
Complaints next to notices of violation, citations and unfit buildings, for each kind of record.
Open chartRecord types and inspection dates
How many records of each kind have an inspection date, and how many do not.
Open chartWhat tenants reported
Housing problems on one side, paperwork and law on the other.
Open chartDistricts compared
Notices of violation for every 100 complaints, district by district.
Open chartCompleted and closed complaints
Out of every 100 complaints opened each year, how many have no last inspection date.
Open chartNotices of violation by status
Completed, issued, under investigation and more, and which have an inspection date.
Open chart
Citywide maps
Where the complaints are, on two linked maps with filters.
Open chartRecord types and enforcement, citywide
Complaints next to enforcement for each kind of record. Switch the view above, or pick one group below to see its numbers.
Data: the City of Seattle open data export, Code Complaints and Violations, December 31, 2025: 233,543 complaints and violations. Landlord/tenant takes every description that names it anywhere, every blank description is shown on its own, and every other record goes under the first category in its description. Citations and unfit buildings are counted with notices of violation as enforcement.
Data: the City of Seattle open data export, Code Complaints and Violations, December 31, 2025: 233,543 complaints and violations. Landlord/tenant takes every description that names it anywhere, every blank description is shown on its own, and every other record goes under the first category in its description. Citations and unfit buildings are counted with notices of violation as enforcement.
Select a group above to dim the others and see its numbers here.
Land use: 62,020 records in citywide.
Complaints 45,715. Notices of violation 5,562. Citations 10,743. Unfit buildings 0.
Enforcement actions for every 100 complaints: 35.7. 22.7% of this group's records have no inspection date.
Weeds: 45,866 records in citywide.
Complaints 36,521. Notices of violation 2,075. Citations 7,270. Unfit buildings 0.
Enforcement actions for every 100 complaints: 25.6. 43.4% of this group's records have no inspection date.
Construction: 38,066 records in citywide.
Complaints 29,476. Notices of violation 8,580. Citations 10. Unfit buildings 0.
Enforcement actions for every 100 complaints: 29.1. 23.5% of this group's records have no inspection date.
Landlord/tenant (includes one-word Emergency): 22,361 records in citywide.
Complaints 20,804. Notices of violation 1,447. Citations 110. Unfit buildings 0.
Enforcement actions for every 100 complaints: 7.5. 88.9% of this group's records have no inspection date.
Noise: 13,825 records in citywide.
Complaints 13,231. Notices of violation 21. Citations 573. Unfit buildings 0.
Enforcement actions for every 100 complaints: 4.5. 63.2% of this group's records have no inspection date.
Vacant building: 11,970 records in citywide.
Complaints 8,477. Notices of violation 3,173. Citations 320. Unfit buildings 0.
Enforcement actions for every 100 complaints: 41.2. 26.7% of this group's records have no inspection date.
Emergency (with other categories): 2,193 records in citywide.
Complaints 885. Notices of violation 1,302. Citations 6. Unfit buildings 0.
Enforcement actions for every 100 complaints: 147.8. 21.7% of this group's records have no inspection date.
Tree, Shoreline, ECA: 3,345 records in citywide.
Complaints 2,586. Notices of violation 735. Citations 24. Unfit buildings 0.
Enforcement actions for every 100 complaints: 29.4. 32.3% of this group's records have no inspection date.
Blank record type description: 33,897 records in citywide.
Complaints 19,736. Notices of violation 8,514. Citations 1,284. Unfit buildings 318.
Enforcement actions for every 100 complaints: 51.3. 47.9% of this group's records have no inspection date.
Record types and inspection dates, citywide
“No inspection date” means the City’s record has no last-inspection date. It does not mean no one inspected.
Data: the City of Seattle open data export, Code Complaints and Violations, December 31, 2025: 233,543 complaints and violations. Landlord/tenant takes every description that names it anywhere, every blank description is shown on its own, and every other record goes under the first category in its description. Citations and unfit buildings are counted with notices of violation as enforcement.
Data: the City of Seattle open data export, Code Complaints and Violations, December 31, 2025: 233,543 complaints and violations. Landlord/tenant takes every description that names it anywhere, every blank description is shown on its own, and every other record goes under the first category in its description. Citations and unfit buildings are counted with notices of violation as enforcement.
Select a group above to dim the others and see its numbers here.
Land use: 62,020 records in citywide.
Complaints 45,715. Notices of violation 5,562. Citations 10,743. Unfit buildings 0.
Enforcement actions for every 100 complaints: 35.7. 22.7% of this group's records have no inspection date.
Weeds: 45,866 records in citywide.
Complaints 36,521. Notices of violation 2,075. Citations 7,270. Unfit buildings 0.
Enforcement actions for every 100 complaints: 25.6. 43.4% of this group's records have no inspection date.
Construction: 38,066 records in citywide.
Complaints 29,476. Notices of violation 8,580. Citations 10. Unfit buildings 0.
Enforcement actions for every 100 complaints: 29.1. 23.5% of this group's records have no inspection date.
Landlord/tenant (includes one-word Emergency): 22,361 records in citywide.
Complaints 20,804. Notices of violation 1,447. Citations 110. Unfit buildings 0.
Enforcement actions for every 100 complaints: 7.5. 88.9% of this group's records have no inspection date.
Noise: 13,825 records in citywide.
Complaints 13,231. Notices of violation 21. Citations 573. Unfit buildings 0.
Enforcement actions for every 100 complaints: 4.5. 63.2% of this group's records have no inspection date.
Vacant building: 11,970 records in citywide.
Complaints 8,477. Notices of violation 3,173. Citations 320. Unfit buildings 0.
Enforcement actions for every 100 complaints: 41.2. 26.7% of this group's records have no inspection date.
Emergency (with other categories): 2,193 records in citywide.
Complaints 885. Notices of violation 1,302. Citations 6. Unfit buildings 0.
Enforcement actions for every 100 complaints: 147.8. 21.7% of this group's records have no inspection date.
Tree, Shoreline, ECA: 3,345 records in citywide.
Complaints 2,586. Notices of violation 735. Citations 24. Unfit buildings 0.
Enforcement actions for every 100 complaints: 29.4. 32.3% of this group's records have no inspection date.
Blank record type description: 33,897 records in citywide.
Complaints 19,736. Notices of violation 8,514. Citations 1,284. Unfit buildings 318.
Enforcement actions for every 100 complaints: 51.3. 47.9% of this group's records have no inspection date.
What tenants reported, citywide
Housing conditions on the left, paperwork and landlord-tenant law on the right. Each bar is the number of complaints that name the problem.
Data: STLCA's landlord-tenant master file, the 56,258 landlord-tenant records built from the City of Seattle open data export, Code Complaints and Violations, December 31, 2025. This chart uses the 40,540 complaints in citywide; the problem is read from the words of each complaint, and one complaint can name more than one problem. 8,007 complaints could not be assigned a problem.
Districts compared: notices of violation for every 100 complaints
The lower the bar, the fewer notices of violation for the complaints received. District 7 is the lowest.
Data: STLCA's landlord-tenant master file, 56,258 records. Notices of violation divided by complaints, for each Council district, times 100.
Completed and closed complaints, citywide
Of the complaints opened each year that are now completed or closed, the percent that have no last inspection date in the record. Switch between the landlord-tenant records and every complaint and violation.
Data: STLCA's landlord-tenant master file: the 56,258 landlord-tenant records in citywide; 40,540 are complaints. Completed complaints: 16,682 of 26,338 have no inspection date. Closed complaints: 9,896 of 10,221. Years with fewer than 5 complaints are left blank.
Data: the City of Seattle open data export, Code Complaints and Violations, December 31, 2025: all 233,543 complaints and violations in citywide; 177,431 are complaints. Completed complaints: 57,986 of 150,591 have no inspection date. Closed complaints: 16,456 of 18,504. Years with fewer than 5 complaints are left blank.
Notices of violation by status, citywide
Where each notice of violation stands now (completed, issued, under investigation and so on), and whether it has an inspection date in the record.
Data: STLCA's landlord-tenant master file: 9,961 notices of violation in citywide. Status is the record's current status in the City file. 1,978 (19.9%) have no inspection date.
Data: the City of Seattle open data export, Code Complaints and Violations, December 31, 2025: 31,409 notices of violation in citywide. Status is the record's current status in the City file. 5,610 (17.9%) have no inspection date.
Citywide maps
Every complaint record on two linked maps: housing conditions on the left, paperwork and landlord-tenant law on the right. Each dot is a complaint record, colored by the problem named in its description.
Data: STLCA's landlord-tenant master file, complaint records with a map point from the City.
What tenants reported
In their own words: mold, leaks, moisture lead the housing problems, and evictions and termination lead the paperwork.
We read the description of all 40,540 complaints and counted the problems each one names. A complaint is counted in every group it names, so the groups add up to more than the number of complaints. This shows what tenants reported, not that a problem was confirmed.
Housing conditions
- Fire, smoke/CO alarms, gas1,4563.6%
- Structural, doors, windows4,45711.0%
- Heat, hot water, utilities3,7849.3%
- Mold, leaks, moisture6,61916.3%
- Plumbing, sewage3,1127.7%
- Electrical1,9774.9%
- Pests3,2538.0%
- Other housing conditions6,10015.0%
Paperwork and landlord-tenant law
- 3-day notices6441.6%
- Just cause eviction (JCEO)3,4148.4%
- Evictions and termination3,6759.1%
- Rent increases and fees3,3318.2%
- Deposits and refunds1,5653.9%
- Other notices (type not stated)1,2123.0%
- Lease terms and renewals2,2815.6%
- Other (retaliation, entry, relocation, lockouts)3,5128.7%
Other
- Other (noise, construction, public space)3,9469.7%
8,007 complaints (19.8%) are unassigned: no problem could be assigned from the words in the description. The City staff’s notes are not counted, except to find three-day notices and the JCEO label.
Show our work: Every complaint and its groups (CSV)The counting rules (script)Recount scriptHow we counted (printable)
Seven districts
The same pattern in every district. District 7 has the fewest notices per complaint.
In every Council district, 7 to 8 in 10 complaints show no inspection date, and about 9 in 10 of those opened since 2018. District 7 had 14.7 notices of violation for every 100 complaints, the lowest in the city. District 2 had 32.2, the highest.
| District | Records | Complaints | Notices of violation | Notices per 100 complaints | No inspection date, all years | No inspection date, since 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District 1 | 7,527 | 5,136 | 1,621 | 31.6 | 72.0% | 89.5% |
| District 2 | 8,873 | 6,128 | 1,976 | 32.2 | 70.3% | 88.5% |
| District 3 | 11,092 | 8,309 | 1,707 | 20.5 | 76.5% | 90.1% |
| District 4 | 6,676 | 4,659 | 1,232 | 26.4 | 73.7% | 89.6% |
| District 5 | 7,232 | 5,141 | 1,346 | 26.2 | 74.4% | 89.4% |
| District 6 | 6,295 | 4,203 | 1,064 | 25.3 | 76.4% | 89.9% |
| District 7 | 7,895 | 6,419 | 946 | 14.7 | 78.7% | 89.1% |
| No district on record | 668 | 545 | 69 | Not placed in a district by the City’s data | ||
Districts are as the open data portal records them. Click a district to open its dashboard.
Show our work: Every record (CSV)Recount scriptHow we counted (printable)
P.I.E.R. cross-reference · Elevators
113 addresses show up three times: tenant elevator complaints, Fire Department rescue calls, and elevators without a current certificate.
STLCA matched three City sources by address: Seattle Fire Department elevator rescue calls, tenant complaints that mention an elevator, and the City’s elevator certificate list. These 113 addresses show up in all three.
The 10 addresses with the most rescue calls
District 1: 11 · District 2: 19 · District 3: 21 · District 4: 14 · District 5: 11 · District 6: 8 · District 7: 29
| Address | District | Rescue calls | Last rescue | Elevator complaints | Certified units on file | Units on file without a current certificate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 913 S JACKSON ST | 2 | 142 | 2025-06-21 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 308 4TH AVE S | 2 | 52 | 2025-08-12 | 11 | 1 | 3 |
| 2024 3RD AVE | 7 | 51 | 2025-06-22 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 1911 22ND AVE S | 2 | 50 | 2026-01-22 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 9400 RAINIER AVE S | 2 | 25 | 2025-12-02 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 4515 BROOKLYN AVE NE | 4 | 23 | 2025-11-25 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 3621 33RD AVE S | 2 | 21 | 2025-12-28 | 19 | 1 | 1 |
| 710 CHERRY ST | 7 | 18 | 2025-03-10 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 1102 8TH AVE | 7 | 16 | 2023-10-09 | 14 | 2 | 1 |
| 1600 2ND AVE | 7 | 14 | 2025-06-20 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Limits. The complaint count is a word search for “elevator,” so a few may be about something else. The certificate columns are a snapshot of the City’s elevator certificate list from January 31, 2026; a building’s status today can differ. A rescue call shows the Fire Department was sent, not why the elevator stopped.
Show our work: All 113 addresses (CSV)How we counted (printable)
P.I.E.R. · Property Intelligence Enforcement Registry
One address, every City record about it.
P.I.E.R. is STLCA’s cross-reference of City records by address. It connects complaints, rental registrations and permits at the same address. The elevator match above came out of it.
Status. 25,917 of these addresses have a rental registration on file. P.I.E.R.’s property flags are still being checked, so none are shown on this page yet.
Data & transparency
About the data
What was counted, where it came from, what it can and cannot show, and how to check it.
Records and coverage
56,258 landlord-tenant records opened 2003–2025: 40,540 complaints, 9,961 notices of violation and 5,757 other records (4,045 tenant relocation, 1,394 citation, 318 unfit building). Each type is counted on its own.
Source and processing
City of Seattle open data portal, code complaints and violations, as enriched by STLCA on Jan 27, 2026. STLCA counted a record as landlord-tenant when the City’s type description names Landlord/Tenant (20,325 records), is the single word Emergency (2,036), or is blank (33,897). That is 56,258 of the 233,543 records in the City’s December 31, 2025 file.
Limits
Until July 2025 the portal’s last inspection date column held map coordinates, not dates. This page uses the dates the City backfilled in July 2025. A blank date does not mean no one inspected. The portal does not link a notice of violation to a complaint, so notices per 100 complaints compares counts, not cases. 668 records have no Council district.
Verification
Every number on this page is computed from one records file. Its SHA-256 fingerprint:
012d77ac41a4cde618a3b3ea9182310e83c0aa49ff0e2824240bfabca5f5cc9f