SEATTLE — Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan will not sign a bill that aims to restrict evictions during winter months and instead proposed new legislation to provide help to those evicted tenants.
“Being progressive means more than slogans,” Durkan said in a statement Monday. “If City Council wants to accomplish our shared goals to prevent winter evictions, then they should pass a bill to actually help people facing winter evictions.”
Council Bill 119727, which Seattle City Council members unanimously passed Feb. 10, bans evictions between December and February with exceptions for landlords who own four units or fewer and evictions caused by behavior that impacts the health and safety of others.
Durkan had previously warned the bill did not address concerns from city directors. She also claimed the bill doesn’t protect the city’s most vulnerable populations and could put the city at risk for litigation.
Durkan argued the bill creates a legal defense an evicted tenant could potentially raise before a judge but cited a September 2018 report from the Seattle Women’s Commission and the King County Bar Association’s Housing Justice Project that found nearly half of evictions resulted in a default judgment, because those tenants failed to appear in court.
The bill will now go back to the council for consideration, and council members could still make it law with a two-thirds vote.
Durkan now plans to transmit legislation to the council that increases funding assistance to tenants evicted between December 1 and March 1 and facing homelessness. It would also require landlords to ensure those tenants are aware of available support.
The mayor hopes the funding will build on existing programs that work to prevent eviction, such as United Way of King County’s Home Base program. Home Base expects 150 Seattle residents will need their services between December 1, 2020 and March 1, 2021, costing the organization $706,000.
“An investment of $200,000 would leverage $506,000 in private funding to avoid winter evictions,” according to Durkan’s office.
The new bill will be sponsored by Councilmember Andrew Lewis.
In October 2019, Seattle updated its tenant protection laws to strengthen renter rights. Now landlords must give tenants 14 days’ notice to pay or vacate, which is up from three days, tenants must receive 60 days’ notice for all rent increases and eligibility to receive relocation assistance upfront was expanded.