The 10 percent war is on.

The new owners of the Qualman Apartments have imposed rent increases well above the 10 percent annual limit requested by Mayor Paul Schell; tenants have responded with meetings, picket lines, and now a plan to withhold a portion of their rent checks.

The situation heated up at the end of May, when the building’s new managers, the Tecton Corp., notified residents of rent increases averaging more than 25 percent. The Qualman, located at 1421 15th Avenue, has long offered modestly priced apartments in a modestly maintained older structure. (Modest maintenance led the city to order the building’s water heating system shut off for three days last month for repairs; Tecton president Peter Feichtmeir says most of the building’s problems were inherited by the new owners and will be repaired promptly.)

Feichtmeir says Schell’s 10 percent request was aimed at owners of stable, profitable buildings—and the Qualman doesn’t qualify on either count. The May purchase of the building (by Erwin Somerville and James P. and Grace Daly) was based on the assumption that the Qualman’s below-market rents would be increased significantly.

Residents say they are being gouged by a opportunistic landlord. Gavin Morgan, whose one-bedroom apartment will now cost $600 monthly (up from $485), calls the immediate rent hikes insulting. “You never met somebody and you want to establish a relationship with them and they slap you in the face—that’s how I see it,” he says.

With the aid of the Tenants Union, residents have mounted a media offensive, getting television and print coverage of a June 17 meeting and a July 1 picket line. Some residents say they will short the landlord by submitting rent checks for their old rent plus a 10 percent increase. Morgan and fellow residents Tony Jones and Kathleen McNeely also addressed Seattle City Council members at an informal session before the June 29 regular council meeting (Tecton wasn’t invited).

The three residents told council members they were looking for new homes—without much luck. Jones, who absorbed the largest rent increase (from $580 to $880 for a two-bedroom unit), says he and his wife have found competition fierce for lower-priced apartments. “Every time we find something, there’s 15 other people ahead of us. We’re probably going to have to move out of the city.”

The council is studying several possible legislative remedies, including a law that would give tenants the chance to collectively purchase their buildings. Other possibilities include upping the notice requirement for rent increases to 60 days and allowing tenants who receive increases of more than 10 percent to qualify for relocation assistance.

Although these changes would allow renters who can afford to purchase their units to do so, the reality of the hot real estate market doesn’t bode well for tenants of low-priced Seattle apartments—or for Schell’s 10 percent request. These days, tenants aren’t the only ones looking for bargains.