The insanity in Seattle is leaving us sleepless. OK, the movie Sleepless in Seattle was 25 years ago (1993)! Terrible having to explain these jokes.
But courts in Washington State aren’t finding it funny that the City of Seattle tried to implement some whacky housing ordinances.
Seattle wanted to require landlord to give chronological priority to applicants applying for apartments. This would require landlords to bypass a better applicant in favor of one that applied sooner. Score a win for the unemployed with time on their hands to look for apartments while busy people like you get stuck. And never mind the bureaucratic morass for landlords of keeping track of who applied first.
Fortunately, the courts see it differently and kicked this bad idea to the curb.
Similarly, Seattle would like to prohibit landlords from considering an applicant’s criminal history unless they have a legitimate business reason for doing so. The wording of the statutes is vague – who’s to say what is a “legitimate business reason?” Sounds like a plaintiff’s lawyers’ delight.
Fortunately, this ill-advised housing ordinance idea looks like it’s headed for the trash heap of the unconstitutional as well.
Also see “Oregon Gone Mad on Rent Control”