Landlords in Bellingham will be required to provide locking mailboxes for their rental units starting Jan. 1, 2025, after city council approved the new requirement at its Monday, Aug. 12 meeting.
All registered residential properties will fall under the requirement, with case-by-case extensions possible to March 2025 in the event of unique hardships. City staff said this was needed to reduce the risk of mail theft and connected identity theft. Half of Bellingham residents are renters, and locking mail receptacles will help contribute to “safe and secure housing for all residents,” according to a city report.
Council members at the Aug. 12 committee of the whole meeting pushed back on feedback they’d received from landlords that the cost of the locking boxes would cause them to raise rent. Director of Planning and Community Development Blake Lyon said at a July meeting the boxes can be from $100 for an individual mailbox to $2,500 for a 10- to 15-unit locking mail receptacle.
“If that’s how you’re looking at being a responsible land or property owner who is renting in this community, I just want to say, shame on you for that,” council member Lisa Anderson said. “Because we need to move forward with what’s going to help protect our community and this is a good example of that.”
Council member Michael Lilliquist said this is “nothing new,” as the city has previously required locking mailboxes in new apartment buildings.
“This is a really important way of protecting people, and we need to do that,” he said. “And to do that we need the landlords who actually own the property to take the responsibility. This is a one-time expense. You shouldn’t be raising rents significantly over a one-time expense.”
In 2021, Happy Valley resident Todd Lagestee began noticing increasing instances of people stealing mail from unlocked mailboxes. Lagestee, who now serves as interim commissioner for the Whatcom Public Utility District but did this work on his personal time before he was appointed, said he decided the best solution to the problem would be to require locking mailboxes. He wrote and sent the original ordinance to Lilliquist.
He said the issue of mail theft is a “social and economic justice” issue, as most people who rent units in older apartments without locking mailboxes are lower income.
“It’s about time,” Lagestee said about the passage of the ordinance.
The requirement will be added to the Rental Registration and Safety Inspection Program’s safety inspection checklist for all rental units in Bellingham, including single-family houses being rented out. The city requires rental inspections every three years.
The police department does not specifically track incidents of mail theft. Bellingham Police Public Information Officer Megan Peters said mail crime is often underreported because “many people don’t know if their mail is stolen.”
Peters said in July that in 2023, 23 “narratives” in the police system included stolen mail or mail theft, and 10 so far in 2024. In addition, in 2023 and 2024 to date, there were 71 police reports that included recovered stolen mail. As for identity theft, Peters said there were 50 cases reported in 2023 with 25 cases reported to date in 2024.
Charlotte Alden is CDN’s general assignment/enterprise reporter; reach her at charlottealden@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 123.
