Landlords sue to block Seattle's apartment eviction bans
Apartment tenants who don't pay rent are hurting their landlords' ability to pay mortgages, insurance, utilities, maintenance and taxes.
In Seattle, the tenants hold the cards, including one in the form of a City Council-approved ban on evictions that lasts until July 1 but could be extended. The council also has OK'd a ban on wintertime evictions.
The Rental Housing Association of Washington (RHAWA) and four landlords sued the city Thursday to block implementation of the bans.
In their Thursday announcement of the suit, the plaintiffs said the bans are "the latest example of the Seattle City Council wading into policies it knows little about, creating all new housing problems and solving nothing."
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This spring, City Council President M. Lorena González, who sponsored the ordinance, emphasized it's not an extension of the mayor's moratorium and does not prohibit landlords from taking steps to evict people. Instead, tenants are shielded only if they can show their failure to pay rent is related to the pandemic.
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2020/09/18/landlords-sue-to-block-seattle-eviction-bans.html
