SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL - Record No: CB 120090

• Record No: CB 120090
• Version: 2
• Council Bill No: CB 120090
• Type: Ordinance (Ord)
• Status: Passed
• Current Controlling Legislative Body: City Clerk
• On agenda: 6/7/2021
• Ordinance No: Ord 126370
• Title: AN ORDINANCE relating to new residential rental tenancies; giving a tenant a right of first refusal of a new tenancy after the expiration of a tenancy for a specified time; requiring a landlord to have just cause for declining to give a tenant the right of first refusal; requiring notice in advance of asserting just cause; creating a private right for action for the tenant; providing a defense to eviction when a landlord fails to give a tenant a right of first refusal; allowing a tenant to rescind a termination agreement; and amending Sections 7.24.030, 14.08.050, and 22.206.160 of the Seattle Municipal Code.
• Sponsors: Kshama Sawant, Tammy J. Morales, Andrew Lewis
• Supporting documents: 1. Summary and Fiscal Note, 2. Central Staff Memo, 3. Proposed Amendment 1, 4. Proposed Amendment 2, 5. Proposed Amendment 3, 6. Proposed Amendment 4, 7. Signed Ordinance 126370, 8. Affidavit of Publication

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
6/18/2021	2	City Clerk	attested by City Clerk
6/18/2021	2	Mayor	returned
6/18/2021	2	Mayor	returned unsigned
6/16/2021	2	City Clerk	submitted for Mayor's signature
6/7/2021	1	City Council	passed as amended	Pass
5/25/2021	1	Sustainability and Renters' Rights Committee	pass	Pass
5/24/2021	1	City Council	referred
5/24/2021	1	Council President's Office	sent for review
5/24/2021	1	City Clerk	sent for review

CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
title
AN ORDINANCE relating to new residential rental tenancies; giving a tenant a right of first refusal of a new tenancy after the expiration of a tenancy for a specified time; requiring a landlord to have just cause for declining to give a tenant the right of first refusal; requiring notice in advance of asserting just cause; creating a private right for action for the tenant; providing a defense to eviction when a landlord fails to give a tenant a right of first refusal; allowing a tenant to rescind a termination agreement; and amending Sections 7.24.030, 14.08.050, and 22.206.160 of the Seattle Municipal Code.
body
WHEREAS, upon expiration of a fixed-term tenancy, a tenant does not always have the opportunity to begin a new tenancy in the rental unit they already live in; and
WHEREAS, finding replacement housing in Seattle's rental housing market is difficult; and
WHEREAS, 2018 Census data published by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2018 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates Data Profiles for Seattle shows that roughly half of Seattle residents are renters; and
WHEREAS, on January 5, 2020, the Seattle Times reported that 2018 Census data shows that out of residents in Seattle "renters pulled just about even with homeowners," and "assuming the trend continues, renters will soon be in the majority"; and
WHEREAS, the State of Washington and The City of Seattle have established a requirement for a landlord to have just cause before evicting a tenant; and
WHEREAS, the Seattle City Council believes that a landlord should also need to prove just cause for declining to offer an existing fixed-term tenant a right of first refusal of a new tenancy on reasonable terms for the same rental unit; and
WHEREAS, it is not necessary to create a new list of just causes to apply to declining to make that offer when the City has already legislated a list of just causes that are currently used for evict...