A yearslong battle over property rights in Seattle may soon have national implications as various groups pressure the Supreme Court to analyze the constitutionality of a law banning landlords from rejecting tenants based on their criminal histories.
In 2017, the city passed the Fair Chance Housing Ordinance, prohibiting landlords from conducting criminal background checks on potential renters, from using information on criminal histories to exclude tenants, and from increasing rents and security deposits for such applicants. The sole exception in the law pertains to prospective renters who have been convicted of a sex offense as an adult, but even then, landlords must convince the Seattle Office for Civil Rights that they have a "legitimate business reason" for denial.
