Tag Archives: renters

First in the nation Renters’ Commission trying to pick up the pieces from pandemic including Seattle’s inspection backlog

Posted on by

(Image: CHS)

By Elizabeth Turnbull

Five years after Seattle became the first city in the nation to create a Renters’ Commission, the group of appointees and volunteers is focused on sifting through a pandemic world and addressing needs like securing funding to address a backlog of inspections in Seattle

“Renters have faced [many challenges] with losing jobs and being backed up on rent, and then having the moratorium, you know sweating that every time, not knowing if it was going to be extended or not,” Mac Scotty McGregor, a co-chair of the commission, said. “I know some people want to act like it’s over with, but it’s not.”

Since 2020, and the beginning of the global health crisis, McGregor and others on the commission saw apartment inspections put on hold while residents were also forced to spend more time at home. Continue reading →

Seattle weighs options after court strikes down ‘Eviction Defense for Renters’

Posted on by

A key component of Seattle’s efforts to protect renters from eviction as the city emerges from years of COVID-19 restrictions has been struck down by the Washington State Court of Appeals.

CHS reported here in May 2020 on Seattle’s “Eviction Defense for Renters,” a policy that was designed to provide renters with a six-month cushion after the lifting of COVID-19 eviction restrictions. The Seattle City Council legislation from then council president M. Lorena GonzĂĄlez was intended to create “a defense a tenant may use for six months should a landlord take their tenant to eviction court” and establish that renters can use “non-payment of rent for any reason as a defense to eviction, as long as they submit a declaration of financial hardship to the court. Continue reading →

‘Has your landlord violated your rights?’ — Sawant office preparing legislation to strengthen penalties for landlord violations

Posted on by

Kshama Sawant’s office says the District 3 representative on the Seattle City Council is preparing legislation “to strengthen the City’s enforcement procedures when tenant rights are violated” and is calling for tenants across Capitol Hill and the Central District to share their stories.

Has your landlord violated your rights?

  • Ignored necessary repairs, such as for heating and hot water, addressing infestation, or fixing broken appliances?
  • Unjustly withheld security deposits? Threatened retaliation for tenants speaking out?
  • Attempted to unjustly evict? Increased rent without the legally-required notice? Charged extra fees?
  • Other abuses?
    Tell us your story! Fill out the form here.

“My office has heard from renters who have gone months without heat, without hot water, with mold or roach infestations, with holes in the ceilings, windows, and walls, and many other unacceptable housing conditions,” Sawant said in the announcement sent by her City Hall office last week. “We have seen a landlord attempt to intimidate renters into signing away their right to relocation assistance after their building was gutted by fire. We have seen landlords retaliating against renters who contact building management to request basic repairs, and many other abuses of renter rights. Continue reading →

City Council to vote on Sawant’s bid to extend Seattle’s pandemic eviction moratorium — UPDATE: Rejected

Posted on by

The City Council will decide Tuesday whether to adopt a resolution brought by District 3 representative Kshama Sawant that would legally change the date the city’s prohibition on residential evictions end in Seattle.

UPDATE 4:25 PM: Following council president Debora Juarez’s recitation of two years of passed legislation involving pandemic renter protections, the body rejected the Sawant resolution in a 3-5 vote. Only Teresa Mosqueda and Lisa Herbold joined Sawant in yes votes on the extension. Tammy Morales was not present for the vote.

The rejection followed an attempt at compromise in sorting out an extension on the city’s eviction restrictions as Herbold proposed an amendment that would have extended the restrictions only through April 30th. But that path was rejected with Sawant joining the “no” voters setting up the vote rejecting her proposed longer extension. Before the final vote, Sawant thanked the dozens of speakers who had commented in favor of the resolution and told the council the rejection would be part of a spike in evictions after February 28th.

Original report: The move would reset the clock on Mayor Bruce Harrell’s plan to end the restrictions on February 28th leaving residential tenants behind on their rent around six months more of pandemic protections. Commercial tenants, meanwhile, will only have their own negotiating skills to fall back on.

Sawant’s resolution would modify the civil emergency order that is the legal framework for the restrictions to be in effect “until the termination of the COVID civil emergency” which was proclaimed on March 3, 2020 and “affirmed and modified” previously via resolution.

Sawant is calling on supporters to speak out in support of the extension. “If the City Council does not vote yes on our resolution to extend the COVID-19 pandemic eviction moratorium, it will result in a spate of evictions and homelessness,” she said in an email to supporters. Continue reading →

Sawant marks ‘Renters’ Bill of Rights’ victories with passage of 180-day rent increase notice, relocation assistance legislation

Posted on by

District 3 representative Kshama Sawant is celebrating two more planks of a “Renters’ Bill of Rights” approved Monday by the Seattle City Council.

The first will require landlords to provide earlier notice of rent increases from 60 to 180 days while the second bill approved Monday requires landlords to pay three months of rent for low-income renters who relocate after rent increases of 10% or more.

CHS reported on passage of Sawant renters rights legislation this summer as she said the notice and relocation bills would be her next push. The summer bills provided tenants “right of first refusal” rights, and bans on school-year and pandemic evictions. Continue reading →

Sawant celebrates Renters’ Bill of Rights progress, says earlier rent increase notification and relocation cost legislation next

Posted on by

Sawant office volunteers and staff collecting signatures in support of her Renters’ Bill of Rights (Image: Office of Kshama Sawant)

The District 3 representative for Capitol Hill and the Central District celebrated a suite of renter protections passed by the Seattle City Council Monday with a call for more.

“Today’s bills put people before profits. They put the rights of renters above the interests of corporate landlords. They prioritize housing stability instead of racist gentrification,” Councilmember Kshama Sawant said in an announcement of Monday’s full council votes. “I especially want to congratulate the hundreds of community members who wrote letters to City Councilmembers in the days leading up to today’s votes, and to the dozens of community members who spoke out in public comment against watering down the bills with pro-corporate landlord amendments that were introduced two weeks ago.” Continue reading →

County expands $125M Eviction Prevention and Rental Assistance Program for landlords and renters

Posted on by

Capitol Hill and Central District property owners with renters struggling to pay during the ongoing economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis could be eligible to receive financial assistance as the first phase of King County’s Eviction Prevention and Rental Assistance Program begins. The first phase is starting with landlords with five or more units with tenants in need of assistance:

Outreach to landlords, property managers, and property owners is underway now, and enrollment of properties will happen over the next three weeks. Information for property signup is available on the EPRAP Landlord page.

Individuals and families living in properties signed up and approved for the program will be covered for rental assistance and will not have to apply independently in May.

By mid-May, the second phase including property owners with five or fewer units kicks in. Continue reading →

Seattle City Council approves Sawant plan to fund lawyers for tenants facing eviction

Posted on by

The Seattle City Council unanimously approved “right to counsel” legislation Monday that will entitle residential tenants facing eviction to an attorney at no cost.

The vote on this legislation, sponsored by District 3 Councilmember Kshama Sawant, was originally scheduled for two weeks ago, but was delayed via council vote to sort out possible legal concerns. The original bill could have faced a lawsuit since it looked to give everyone the right to legal counsel regardless of income. Washington’s state constitution prohibits cities from giving money to people “except for the necessary support of the poor and infirm.”

Sawant hailed the “historic renter and socialist movement’s ‘Right to Counsel’ victory” in a press release from City Hall after Monday’s vote.

“Today’s historic vote in the City Council to approve our movement’s Right to Counsel legislation from my office is a huge step forward for renters rights in our city,” Sawant said in the press release. “No longer will renters have to fear going to eviction court without the legal aid that they desperately need and justly deserve.”

She thanked several groups for helping push for the legislation including Socialist Alternative, Be:Seattle, the Tenants Union of Washington, UAW 4121, and the ACLU despite “calls from Democrats on the City Council to water down our bill.”

Sawant also filled the public comment session prior to Monday’s full council meeting with speaker after speaker in support of the legislation.

To satisfy concerns about possible legal challenges, the council overcame objections from Sawant and added an amendment to exclude tenants who are not “indigent.” Legislation from 2017 defines “indigent” as a person who is “unable to pay the anticipated cost of counsel… because the person’s available funds are insufficient for the retention of counsel.”

“I believe that this language is going to minimize legal risks of having this law survive the legal challenge, which again I believe is almost going to certainly happen, while also providing access to a right to counsel to those who need it,” said Council President Lorena González, the sponsor of the amendment.

Sawant was the only council member to vote against the GonzĂĄlez amendment, arguing that it makes tenants “jump through some kind of hoop before they qualify.” Continue reading →

Stymied on right to counsel legislation, Sawant opens up new fronts in fight for Seattle tenants rights over ‘just cause’ loopholes and credit checks

Posted on by

Sawant’s fight for renters has ramped up as Seattle expands its reopening — and as the recall effort against the councilmember awaits the state Supreme Court (Image: Kshama Solidarity Campaign)

With her tenant right-to-counsel legislation delayed at the Seattle City Council pending legal questions, Councilmember Kshama Sawant announced Tuesday a slew of new measures she hopes to pass to aid renters.

The centerpiece would look to strengthen the city’s just cause eviction ordinance, which requires landlords to give a reason for kicking a tenant out. Sawant argues that it has stopped a lot of evictions since its passage in 1980, but needs to be strengthened to further protect renters.

The loophole with the current law, Sawant says, is that landlords do not have to renew a six-month or year long lease, effectively evicting tenants. The current just-cause protections shield renters from no-cause evictions in the middle of their lease, but not when it expires.

“The legislation that my office wants to bring forward will contain no loopholes, no exceptions,” Sawant said during a Tuesday afternoon meeting of the council’s Sustainability and Renters’ Rights Committee. “Every tenant should be covered by just-cause protections.” Continue reading →

‘The most precarious situation that we’ve ever seen’ — Seattle considers right to counsel and extending COVID-19 crisis eviction moratorium through 2021 — UPDATE

Posted on by

Items left outside after a past Capitol Hill eviction (Image: CHS)

The Seattle City Council is set to vote Monday on “right to counsel” legislation that would entitle anyone facing eviction to an attorney at no cost.

Under the bill, sponsored by Councilmember Kshama Sawant, the city’s Department of Construction and Inspections would contract with a group of local attorneys and would be required to educate tenants about the new right to counsel in various languages. Similarly, landlords would be required to let their tenants know in eviction notices that they have this right.

Tenants would not have to accept counsel, but the measure would require that they be offered an attorney at no cost.

The councilmember and others are also calling for extension of the city’s eviction moratorium through 2021.

UPDATE 2:55 PM: Monday brought a mixed bag for Seattle tenants rights advocates with Mayor Jenny Durkan announcing the city’s ban on evictions will be extended through June while the City Council opted to hold off on Sawant’s “right to counsel” bill citing concerns about legal issues around the proposal. The council voted 6 to 3 to move a vote on the bill to the March 29th session. Teresa Mosqueda and Tammy Morales joined Sawant in opposing the delay. Sawant was vocal in her frustration, accusing council president Lorena GonzĂĄlez and opponents of trying to weaken the bill.

Meanwhile, Durkan said “while there is hope on the horizon, the work of recovery is just beginning,” in extending the moratorium. “Seattle residents and businesses continue to feel the economic impact of this pandemic, and we will not successfully recover if we do not include the recovery needs of low-income communities and small businesses,” Durkan said. “Extending the eviction moratorium provides housing stability for our neighbors as new federal funding arrives.”

Original report: Sawant, “eviction defense experts,” and renter advocates were part of a Monday morning press conference where the District 3 rep’s office says they will explain “why the Seattle City Council should strike a double blow at evictions today, and vote for the Right to Counsel legislation without loopholes” and the moratorium extension resolution.

With Seattle and the state’s moratorium on all evictions during the COVID-19 crisis slated to end this month, Sawant is championing a resolution calling on the city to extend the prohibition through the end of the year. 50 community groups and tenants rights organizations have also called on Durkan to extend the restrictions. In February, a King County Superior Court judge upheld the city’s ban.

To provide eviction defense services, the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections has contracted with the King County Bar Association’s Housing Justice Project since 2019. Edmund Witter, the project’s senior managing attorney, said they handle about 2,500 eviction cases per year across King County and the legal assistance usually costs between $300 and $500. Continue reading →