Low Income Housing Institute — Local services in Seattle

I urgently need housing advocacy help. I was served with an eviction summons that was dismissed within two days, yet I just received a notice saying I owe $440. I have no income right now and cannot pay.

This has caused me extreme stress while I’m also battling with Social Security to restore my benefits. Please, if your organization helps tenants in crisis, I need support.

~ Laura Reynolds

As of today's date, March 29, 2025, the situation hasn't changed. You have tenants who do repair work on their cars day and night. You have dogs that are barking for hours, and still no security! So much drug and sex trafficking, where's the law?

11/05/2024: Lord help us! We have no case management, and apparently no maintenance. Tons of garbage in front of my unit. I cleaned it up... Currently, we are dealing with outsiders parking in our lot, apparent animal abuse, and a high level of insecurity. Time to file a complaint...

11/01/2024: It really does boggle the mind, as to why Martin Court Apartments is without some sort of security. Not only for the law-abiding tenants who are doing the right thing, but also for the management that's onsite. With the high-level of crime here, you figure this issue would be a no-brainer.

The weekends are the worst! Now, while I believe that every person deserves housing, not EVERYBODY deserves to be housed, if you can't follow the rules, then you shouldn't be allowed to live here.

July 19, 2024: It's another night of chaos, here at Martin Court Apartments. This is the one time that the Paramedics, and the Police were called. It's usually a tenant who brings in a visitor, who's ever destructive, or loud.

On this particular night, a woman who had a relationship with a tenant(s) refused to leave the precises. The ensuing arguments got so loud, that's when intervention was needed.

After that was resolved, you have animals that are not leashed. While they may not appear aggressive to its owner, it can when it comes to someone the dog doesn't know. Also, there is this cat, who is obviously in heat, that makes these wailing noises all night.

I can tell you what is the most scary is not having adequate security. You would think after the multiple murders that have happened here, the Director of Low Income Housing Institute would do more to adequately secure its properties, instead of acquiring more that will suffer the same fate.

It really puts everything into perspective, when even the Case Managers are afraid. Their cars are broken into, their lives being threatened. So, can you imagine what it must be like...

New elevators were promised ten years ago or so, but somebody embezzled the funds for their replacement during this recent renovation so my tenth-floor neighbor buddy who must be at least five or six hundred in girth will need at least five, maybe six beefy-muscled rescue crew members to carry him down the nine flights of stairs down to the lobby in effort to get him into the aid vehicle, in the event he has not already expired from the rough abuse intrinsic to such an option to save a life.

One can feel the tempers flare most evenings with folks taking their frustration out on each other.

This frustration has led three different people to ask me the same question upon joing me in the elevator going up, they pressing 5 or higher floor, myself less than fifth floor, only to hear them gurgitae, "Why don't you take the stairs to the

I've lived in 2 LIHI buildings now The Cate 2010-2012 and An Lac and it's been the best experience I've had on my sec 8 voucher honestly. The Cate also housed homeless at the time. so the rules were a bit much for me living there as a permanent residence- I needed less inspections and less gatekeeping and they allowed smoking which my neighbors did a lot of and it exacerbated my asthma so I moved. Unfortunately, at the time it was near impossible to find places to take sec 8 (and were nonsmoking) so I had no other housing options :/ That was 8 years ago. Now it seems there are a lot more buildings that will take it but I'm now in another LIHI building that is non smoking.I'm hoping that will be enforced. It was the best option for me as they were fast to rent to me and get me in. So far so good! They don't seem overly gatekeepy and it has a huge rooftop deck and looks like any other new apt building! It even came with Century link prewired in! It's hard to find buildings that will take sec 8 our vouchers don't pay as much for low income buildings either but they lowered the amount so my voucher would work and rented to me right away! I would def rather they kick people out who can't maintain housing and cause massive disturbances to the other tenants so that the building is livable and sustainable for the rest of us. If they allow too many people who create issues for others then I'll have to move again and this is a common issue for sec 8/low income renters, we shouldn't have to put up with the kind of disturbances that happen in shelters or we will never have peace in our homes. So I don't believe the high eviction rate is necessarily a bad thing, it just means the city needs other options for some folks who need more supported housing which isn't LIHI's fault. It's quiet and clean. People are respectful. My only complaint so far is the water quality in this new building tastes so chlorine that it's like drinking a swimming pool. I'm using a brita filter to see if that helps. I don't know if this is a new building issue or something else. I would def recommend living here though! Everything works so far and no one has bothered me. My neighbors seem really friendly. The units are very spacious and they have plenty that are ADA accessible....