Lets see......another 30 day extension, on top of the 6 add'l extensions granted by Mayor Durkan..... has evictions moratorium running for almost .... 20 months.

Following this we have a renter's assistance program which is wheezing to provide assistance, but it utterly far behind and inept in doing the basic function of getting money and assistance where it is required.

And then the city has thoughtfully provided a gauntlet of attorney, free of cost, to battle any remaining landlords that dare to enforce their property rights....a right handed down since the days of Magna Carta.

I wonder, it the landlords shouldn't file a cause of action for wrongful misappropriation of their property, namely the government restraining them from collecting lawful rents.

Or perhaps the landlords should be able to simpye "assign the rents collectible" to the state for payment in full of past due rents and let the State fight their own "attorneys appointed for free" to collect the rents from the tenants.

"Senate Bill 5160, which made Washington the first state in the country to give low-income tenants facing eviction the right to a lawyer."

Tenants have always had the right to counsel. This legislation merely uses a regressive tax to fund legal representation programs for indigent tenants.

"I’m just a normal 26 year old, like, I don't know the tenant laws. I have no idea."

Pursuant to the Seattle Municipal Code, every tenant is provided with a copy of the Renter's Handbook published by the Seattle Department of Construction & Inspection when applying, when signing a rental agreement, when renewing a rental agreement, and whenever the handbook is updated. So, this tenant, like all tenants, had every opportunity to familiarize herself with the applicable regulations.

@3 - no shit. The City treats tenants like children. They even assume they don't know how to register to vote.

And is the Stranger seriously complaining about tenants & landlords entering into PARTIAL rent payment agreements, at a time when jobs have never been easier to get? Is it your position that no one should even make an effort to pay back anything?

To Hannah and her fine reporting (credit to Dr Fauchi and Bugs Bunny): What a Maroon!

@8 - no shit. Between being unwilling to work hard enough to even make a $300 monthly rent payment and demonstrating a total lack of awareness about how society works, she's kind of showing any potential employer why she is not a good candidate.

Hannah Krieg is doing amazing work. Many of the flaws in the system are clearly illustrated.

If the intent of Kuderer’s legislation were met, then falling behind on the rent for a month would no longer kill a tenancy. Many landlords are accustomed to throwing tenants overboard as soon as they fall behind on rent. Mediation and capping monthly repayment could be tools for tenants who miss a paycheck to be able to negotiate a realistic recovery.

It turns out mediation is being thwarted by the aggro landlord bar. Right to Counsel kicks in too late for many tenants.

Don’t fall for the RWNJ’s use of extreme examples, because the extremes are not the point of mediation. Don’t trust anyone who won’t admit that people are terminated, all the time, for being a month behind on rent. Many of those people do go out and get another job or fix their car so they can make it to work. Kuderer’s legislation was intended to provide tools for tenants to endure a setback.

Isn’t a tell, that aggro landlord types don’t want a system work if a missed paycheck won’t equal a tarnished credit report and a judgment for thousands of dollars in blossoming fees and penalties? Make no mistake, the mediation system is clunky, but if landlords didn’t try to stomp on it, it would work pretty nicely.

Writing this comment is possible because of the great quotes, stories and analysis that Hannah Krieg reports. Thank you.

@11 - No one here is "stomping on" the mediation system. The one who is complaining about it was the woman quoted in the article who went through and actually got a very favorable payment plan.

As for people getting tossed out for being a month late on the rent, no landlord I know does that. Might be different for different people. But tossing decent tenants out for that would be a stupid business decision. If someone is willing to work with you and you see a realistic chance of getting repaid, it would be far preferable to having to take a chance on a new tenant. Getting rid of a problem tenant is another matter, but you can avoid that situation by not BEING a problem tenant. The rental contract goes both ways, and tenants have obligations too.