Posted on 08/11/2016 10:16:56 AM PDT by PROCON
Seattle is apparently breaking new ground by requiring landlords in the city to rent their housing units to qualified applicants on a first-come, first-served basis.
Officials say they’re unaware of any other U.S. city with a policy like the one the Seattle City Council approved Monday, along with other rental-housing changes.
The goal is to ensure prospective renters are treated equally, according to Councilmember Lisa Herbold, who championed the policy. When landlords pick one renter among multiple qualified applicants, their own biases — conscious or unconscious — may come into play, she says.
Some landlords don’t mind the policy, saying they already operate on a first-come, first-served basis. But others are upset, saying they should be able to use their own judgment to choose the renters they believe will be most reliable.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.com ...
This is just HUD spreading out the ghetto diversity.
Other than it would disproportionately affect those who rely more on public transportation: minorities and women.
From her website: About Lisa - I studied journalism and political science at Syracuse University. A community organizer by training, I cut my teeth with Syracuse United Neighbors (SUN), a grassroots organization in New York dedicated to equal access to public services for all neighborhoods. I moved to Seattle to open an office for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). I was also an organizer for the Tenants Union.
Haven't lived there since 1975.
This will backfire. Too long to type out, but if you think about it, from a high level, it’s going to affect the people it’s attempting to protect.
Heard a friend suggest that in addition to doing all the standard background checks, look at the prospective renter’s automobile. If it’s clean on the inside, then the renter probably will be, too. If it’s a mess, then so will be the renter.
Yup. See my number 39 above.
You have just described government.
Nope, I would just raise the rent and needed income levels. This would increase your profit in exchange for more risk.
AND just who will define who is qualified??? The communists that run the city?
And when landlords just make new qualifications like 6 months up front rent?
That and/or a lot of conversions into AirBnB units.”
AirBnB units will be controlled next.
Raise the qualifications too much and you get vacancy, get too much vacancy and the bank takes the building from you.
I’d be out of the rental business in a heartbeat.
““We know landlords skip people all the time, and often the people they skip are people of color, people with vouchers...”
Of course they skip people with vouchers. You let a tenant with vouchers in, that means automatic increased government interference in your business. It means automatic loss of rents as you have to wait for government workers to do inspections, and you must hold the unit vacant until the inspections are done. It means automatic loss of money spent doing piddly and cosmetic repairs that ordinary renters wouldn’t demand, but the inspector requires. In short, vouchers mean the landlord is guaranteed to lose time and money, so yes, they are going to avoid them if at all possible.
I bet the city chooses the muslims with hijabs and shifty eyes as qualified, over the American-pie looking white family with adorable kids - now that's the bias and discrimination going on in liberal circles in Seattle.
This policy is self-serving for the lawyers, who will be beneficiaries of the lawsuits.
Or charge massive damage deposits
Seattle has become a very silly city and it is sad. It is so beautiful and full of intelligent people. It has the potential to be an economic powerhouse, but the mayor and city council is more worried about making sure the homeless get eight hours of sleep on the sidewalks.
Dogs are higher on the social order than kids in King County.
If I was a Seattle landlord, I’d consider requiring a Concealed Carry Permit as part of the application. That will eliminate a lot of rubbish.
Here’s a link to the text of the law. After a quick reading of it, its not obvious to me why my idea wouldn’t work.
http://seattle.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2802901&GUID=1B597DBF-2FC5-4766-BAC5-F5E8F511F3D6&FullText=1
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