CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to housing and building maintenance, amending Seattle Municipal Code Sections 22.202.080, 22.206.020, 22.206.040, 22.206.050, 22.206.080, 22.206.090, 22.206.110, 22.206.130, 22.206.140, 22.206.160, 22.206.170, 22.214.050, and 22.214.086; and amending Ordinance 124011.
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WHEREAS, the safety and maintenance of rental housing are City priorities, as represented by the Housing and Building Maintenance Code and the Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance; and
WHEREAS, the City Council directed the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections to convene stakeholders to identify opportunities to improve the auditing of private qualified rental housing inspectors performing inspections under the Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance; and
WHEREAS, rental property inspections by both City and private qualified rental housing inspectors should be conducted in a consistent manner to ensure that safety or maintenance conditions are not missed; and
WHEREAS, the Section 59.18.125 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) sets the framework for rental registration programs, which includes a requirement for private inspectors to submit inspection results to the local municipality; and
WHEREAS, three years of experience with the Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance has shown a need for more conformity with the safety and maintenance requirements of the Housing and Building Maintenance Code; and
WHEREAS, the dangers of lead paint were not widely understood when the Housing and Building Maintenance Code was drafted, and it contains no standards for remediation of lead hazards; and
WHEREAS, the requirements for carbon monoxide alarms now exist in state law but are not addressed in the Housing and Building Maintenance Code, and requirements for smoke detectors have become more stringent; and
WHEREAS, many other provisions relating to housing safety and ...
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