Seattle landlords on Tuesday sued the city over a law
requiring them to allow tenants to pay move-in costs in installments. The move
represented the latest pushback from property owners against a series of new
city policies protecting renters. “Our members provide safe and affordable housing," Sean
Flynn, board president at the Rental Housing Association of Washington, said.
The 5,400 landlords represented by RHA "set the
standard for ethics and best practices in our industry," Flynn said.
"Yet, this city council has never missed the chance to lambaste, demonize,
and hold landlords responsible for problems they did not create.”
RD House is an Affiliate member of the RHA.
The RHA took the city to court today, seeking to block a law
the Seattle City Council approved in December, which requires landlords to
allow tenants to pay their security deposits, fees, and last month's rent over
the course of a payment plan. The law, which passed unanimously under the
sponsorship of city council members Kshama Sawant and Lisa Herbold, also caps
the total amount of security deposits and nonrefundable fees landlords can
charge at no more than one month's rent. Nonrefundable fees can't exceed 10
percent of one month's rent unless the cost of the tenant's screening report
exceeds that amount.
Josh Whited, the lawyer representing the RHA, called the
requirements "onerous." He argued the law violates the state ban on
rent control, constitutes an illegal "taking" of private property,
and violates landlords' due process rights.
Court precedent in Washington, Whited said, has found that
“local governments are not entitled to shift the burden for solving societal
problems to individual property owners.”
We will follow this story with updates as they develop.
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