Dwellings Seattle Landlord Impact Group
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Seattle Police Department

This is general information, not legal advice.

Why

Seattle Police have opened an investigation into Dwellings Seattle, and a detective has been assigned. Each affected owner still needs to file their own individual report — reports cannot be filed on behalf of a group — so that your own incident number is on record and can be connected to that investigation. The more owners who file, the clearer the pattern.

How (by phone, recommended)

  1. Call the SPD non-emergency line: (206) 625-5011. From the menu, press option 8, then option 3, to reach non-emergency dispatch.
  2. A dispatcher takes your report by phone. Report that trust funds collected for you were not paid to you: a property management company collected rent from your tenants, was required to hold it in trust, and did not remit it to you. Add that it operated at 3806 California Ave SW in Seattle, that many owners are affected, and that Seattle Police have opened an investigation into the company.
  3. After you give your statement, an officer may call you back from an UNKNOWN or blocked number — turn off call screening so you don't miss it. They typically try twice; if you miss both, you may have to start over.
  4. Ask the dispatcher or officer for your case/report number and record it.

Expect a wait — members report holding 20 minutes or more. Owners have had the best luck calling first thing in the morning Pacific time.

If you live outside Seattle or Washington

The company operated in Seattle, so SPD has jurisdiction. If you are told to file with your local department instead, you can do that as well; some owners have filed in both places.

If they say it's a civil matter: this is common, and you can politely push back. Say that you are reporting trust funds collected for you that were not paid to you, that Seattle Police have opened an investigation into Dwellings Seattle, and that many owners have already filed reports. If the call-taker still won't take it, thank them, hang up, and call back — a different call-taker often will. Owners have succeeded on the second or third try. File consistently, with the same core facts, so your report lines up with everyone else's.

Online option

SPD has an online reporting tool, but it is designed for incidents with no known follow-up information, so phone filing is recommended for this situation.

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