Seattle City Council Unanimously Passes Winter Eviction Ban

SEATTLE, WA — Seattle city councilmembers voted unanimously Monday to approve a 3-month ban on most evictions during the coldest months of the year. The legislation, initially proposed by Councilmember Kshama Sawant in December, sought a moratorium on all evictions between Nov. 1 and March 31, citing a similar law implemented in Paris.

At an initial hearing in December, at least two councilmembers expressed concerns over potential litigation should the law pass in its original form. Neither ran for re-election.

According to the Seattle Times, the version passed Monday shrinks the eviction ban timeframe to three months, limits the rule to cover only low or moderate-income tenants, and does not include landlords who own fewer than five units. The newspaper reports Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, who opposed the legislation, has not explicitly said whether she intends to veto the measure.

Seattle's law would be among the first of its kind in the United States. Supporters of the legislation called the action a "no-brainer" that would help keep more people from living on the streets during frigid winter nights. According to numbers from an annual count in Jan. 2019, more than 11,000 people were experiencing homelessness in King County, with nearly half living unsheltered.

KING 5 reports some critics of the ban have argued the city should reduce evictions by expanding rental assistance programs for tenants in need.

Under Seattle's recently expanded tenant protection laws, landlords are required to give tenants two weeks' notice to pay rent or relocate and provide two months' notice for any rent increase.