Washington residential landlords must accept all income sources when screening tenants under a new law that goes into effect September 30, 2018. Under the new law, Landlords must accept all sources of income, including Section 8 housing vouchers, public assistance, emergency rental assistance, veterans benefits, social security, and SSI benefits. The source of income may be from government or non-profit organizations. If a landlord requires an income threshold, any rent subsidy must be subtracted from the monthly rent before calculating whether the prospective tenant meets the income threshold. Landlords may not refuse to rent to new or current tenants based on […]
Monthly Archives: April 2018
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A couple own a triplex. They live in one unit with their young children and rent out the other two units. The family frequently interacts with the tenants, and shares a yard. Landlords in that situation might feel it important to have a good gut feeling about an applicant before renting to them. Such a couple was among plaintiffs who challenged a Seattle law that took away essentially all landlords’ rights to use any discretion in renting. Under Seattle’s First-in-Time ordinance landlords are required to post criteria for renting vacant units and to accept the first tenant that met these […]