CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to the Tenant Relocation Assistance Ordinance; clarifying that a tenant relocation license is required before the removal of a rent or income restriction; and amending Sections 22.210.020, 22.210.030, 22.210.040, 22.210.050, 22.210.070, 22.210.080, 22.210.090, 22.210.100, 22.210.110, 22.210.120, 22.210.130, 22.210.136, 22.210.140, and 22.210.160 of the Seattle Municipal Code.
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WHEREAS, The City of Seattle and other government and non-profit organizations provide funding and incentives for rent- and income-restricted housing which ensure housing stability for vulnerable low-income households; and
WHEREAS, in September 2018, the Seattle Women's Commission and the King County Bar Association jointly published Losing Home: The Human Cost of Eviction in Seattle, finding that households who are evicted face material hardships that make it more difficult to secure safe and affordable housing and that the most disadvantaged groups face the highest likelihood of displacement; and
WHEREAS, the tax exemption and other federally assisted government programs set aside units within eligible properties to provide affordable rents to families with slightly higher incomes, typically between 60 percent to 90 percent of area median income (AMI) with some properties serving tenants earning 50 percent of AMI; and
WHEREAS, even for rent restricted units at 50 percent of AMI, rent can be unaffordable for tenants receiving social benefits such as supplemental security income; and
WHEREAS, tenants living in income restricted units are already extremely rent burdened; and
WHEREAS, over the past decade the average Seattle metro area rent has increased 91.8 percent according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development; and
WHEREAS, rent and income restrictions moderate rent increases that would otherwise be experienced in Seattle's high-co...
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