Sawant Offers Late Fee Restriction Proposal, Hints at a Ban on Background Checks

Although, now officially a lame duck, Seattle City Council Member Kshama Sawant led a discussion on legislation limiting late fees at the  January 20 “Sustainability and Renters Rights Committee. (video)” Pointing to a need to protect renters without providing data or even a proposed ordinance, Sawant led a discussion on the concept of capping late fees to $10, without any other type of fee being allowed.

The draft is expected in mid to late February and will be included in future updates. WMFHA staff are reaching out to allies on the council as well as community partners to fight this ill-conceived plan.

In addition, during the January 6 committee hearing (video), CM Sawant also stated that she wanted to ban credit checks for rental applications.