Seattle council approves bill guaranteeing lawyer for tenants facing eviction

Seattle city councilmembers unanimously approved a bill on Monday that would give tenants facing eviction the right to receive legal aid.

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The so-called “right to counsel” legislation essentially guarantees a lawyer for renters “regardless of ability to pay” in eviction cases. It would use lawyers from a “non-City entity,” requiring that they have experience “supporting renters advocating for their legal rights,” and the ability to provide legal services in “languages commonly spoken in Seattle.”

“Today’s historic vote in the City Council to approve our movement’s Right to Counsel legislation from my office is a huge step forward for renters rights in our city,” Councilmember Kshama Sawant said in a news release shortly after passage. “No longer will renters have to fear going to eviction court without the legal aid that they desperately need and justly deserve.”

Similar right to counsel measures are also in place in cities like San Francisco, New York, and Philadelphia. Proponents argue that tenants facing eviction often do so without the ability to afford a lawyer. According to data cited by the ACLU, 90% of landlords and just 10% of tenants have legal representation in eviction proceedings.

The ACLU also issued a letter to the council last week, urging it to approve the legislation, and labeling the bill as “key to fighting the looming cliff amidst this ballooning crisis” brought on by the pandemic over the last year.

Other prevailing arguments in favor of right to counsel argue that eviction proceedings disproportionately target communities of color and low-income women.

“Every eviction adds to our community’s misery and suffering — it displaces working people and accelerates racist gentrification,” Seattle Councilmember Kshama Sawant said during a Monday morning press conference.

Prior to Monday’s vote, Sawant expressed concerns that fellow councilmembers were seeking to add amendments to make it so the right to legal counsel in eviction cases would be limited to lower income brackets.

“Shamefully, it is now clear many Democrats on the council are going to vote to water down this legislation by creating exemptions and loopholes, by forcing tenants to certify that they are poor before they can get legal aid,” she said.

Ultimately, the council ended up passing an amendment — that Sawant opposed — requiring tenants prove they are indigent and unable to afford a lawyer themselves before receiving aid. That said, tenants will not have to provide any documentation or proof, and will merely have to sign a form stating that they are indigent.

Opponents of right to counsel argue that it burdens landlords, and makes it more difficult for them to evict unruly renters.

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The bill was passed out of committee in early March by a 3-1 margin. Sawant was joined by Councilmembers Tammy Morales and Andrew Lewis in moving the legislation to a full council vote, with Alex Pedersen operating as the lone “no” vote.

An initial full vote in mid-March was then delayed, after councilmembers cited the need for further review, before it was unanimously approved Monday.

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