Bellingham requires every residential rental to register and pass a periodic safety inspection under its Rental Registration and Safety Inspection Program (BMC 6.15). Unincorporated Whatcom County and cities like Lynden and Ferndale run no equivalent registry.
Bellingham operates a Rental Registration and Safety Inspection Program (RRSP) under Bellingham Municipal Code Chapter 6.15. Every residential rental must be registered, renewed each year with a fee, and pass a life-and-fire-safety inspection before it is rented, then roughly every three to three-and-a-half years during an assigned quarter. Inspectors check smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, egress, electrical safety, and general habitability. The program grew largely out of Bellingham's dense student-rental market around Western Washington University. Outside city limits, unincorporated Whatcom County has no rental registration; Washington authorizes local inspection programs under RCW 59.18.125, but the county has not adopted one.
Renting an unregistered or uninspected Bellingham unit can bring civil penalties and registration denial, suspension, or revocation under BMC 6.15. Uncorrected safety defects trigger re-inspection before a certificate issues.
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