Seattle City Council to vote on tenant protection bills as eviction moratorium set to expire

The Seattle City Council will vote on a package of bills Monday afternoon meant to expand tenant protections as both the city and statewide eviction moratoriums are set to expire at the end of June.

The set of three tenant-rights bills were passed out out the Sustainability & Renters' Rights committee, which is led by Councilmember Kshama Sawant, earlier in May.

Council Bill 120046 would prohibit the eviction of children, their families and educators during the school year. According to a study cited in the bill text, 87.5% of evicted families with school-age children reported school performance suffered as a result of the eviction.

Sawant said the legislation also addressed a racial justice issue as Black youth and other students of color disproportionately face homelessness in Seattle — 40% of homeless students in Seattle were Black, despite only making up 14% of Seattle's public school student populations. The legislation has been supported by the Seattle Education Association, the Martin Luther King, Jr. County Labor Council and School Board Director Zachary DeWolf.

"As many parents and educators have said to us, 'Just imagine trying to focus on your schoolwork as a child while losing your home,'" Sawant remarked during Monday's council briefing. 

Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda said her office is considering an amendment to the bill that would allow property owners to move back into their rental units during the school year.

"This amendment would add an owner move-in exemption for owners to give 90 days notice prior to the move as in the just cause legislation to make sure that if they move that this is their principle residence ... meaning they actually have to live there," Mosqueda said.

The second bill, CB 120090, would give tenants the right of first refusal and require landlords to give a just cause for refusing to renew a lease. The bill is being co-sponsored by Councilmembers Tammy Morales, Andrew Lewis and Sawant. There are currently 18 approved reasons listed in the city's Just Cause Eviction Ordinance.

The final bill, CB 120077, would prevent evictions based on non-payment if the rent was due during the city's COVID-19 civil emergency.

In committee, Councilmember Alex Pedersen voted against all three bills. He did not indicate during the morning council briefing whether he would similarly oppose the bills in full council.

The council will also be voting on a resolution urging Mayor Jenny Durkan and Gov. Jay Inslee to extend the city and state's eviction moratoriums through 2021, a move which has been supported by over 50 organizations in the city. Under the current moratorium, people can be evicted on issues of health or safety, but not because they're unable to pay their rent. Renters also can't accrue late fees or other charges.

Once the orders are lifted, people will still be expected to pay the rent they owe and can face eviction. Housing advocates have warned for months about the potential for a wave of evictions and homelessness once the moratoriums are lifted.

Some landlords and property owners who own one or two properties have organized against the passage of the bills and oppose the extension of the moratorium. In public comment, Charlotte Thistle of the Seattle Grassroots Landlords group said that the council was "recklessly endangering both residents and owners of rental housing" by refusing to include safety protections in the just cause eviction legislation.

Another landlord, Jeffrey Flogel, said the legislation would cause smaller landlords like him to stop listing privately-held properties for rent, exacerbating the city's housing shortage.

"If you're a renter, who do you want your housing provider to be five, ten, fifteen years from now? With this city council pushing small landlords out of the market, you'll have the choice of a small corporate-owned apartment, public housing if you qualify or moving elsewhere," Flogel said during public comment.

During the morning council briefing, Sawant said that larger corporate property management companies use these smaller landlords as a "figleaf" to prevent renter's rights bills.

The pandemic has already prompted the passage of other key tenant-rights bills in the city. Earlier in the spring, the council unanimously passed a bill providing residents facing eviction the right to free legal counsel if they can't afford it.

"With a lawyer, far fewer people are evicted. This is because unjust evictions are overturned in court," Sawant said. "Eviction defense attorneys can and do help connect people with social services when they are needed. Statistically, even for people who are ultimately evicted, having an attorney still improves the outcomes."