Newly reelected District 3 representative Kshama Sawant is embracing a call from the Seattle Renters’ Commission to place a moratorium on evictions in Seattle this winter.

“I am grateful to the Renters’ Commission for recommending an emergency moratorium on winter eviction,” said Sawant said in an announcement of the proposal. “I strongly agree that Council needs to put this into effect immediately. My office will bring forward legislation next week, amending the City’s Just Cause Eviction Ordinance, in coordination with City Council staff and the City Attorney’s office.”

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Sawant’s proposed amendment would add an emergency moratorium “effective immediately” to Seattle’s Just Cause Eviction Ordinance, a roster of “16 just causes” Seattle landlords are allowed to use to end month-by-month rental agreements.

“If we are truly in a Homelessness State of Emergency, it is time for our City to start acting like it and a moratorium on winter eviction is one way to address this emergency,” the commission wrote in calling for the moratorium. “Please immediately open emergency shelters for neighbors currently living outdoors, pass a moratorium on evictions for this winter, and put in place regulations for eviction protection during subsequent winters.”

It’s not clear what the appetite for taking on such a broad amendment might be with Sawant’s cohorts on the council. But the District 3 rep is celebrating another success pushing back against a plan to shutter a Tiny House Village in North Seattle that was earmarked for closure over “performance and compliance concerns.” The village is now hoped to be able to remain open through March 2020.

Due to the pressure and unity of our community campaign, in just 30 hours, we've successfully forced the mayor to back down from evicting Northlake Tiny House Village in the winter, rejecting the anti-homeless logic of the right wing and Chamber of Commerce. When we fight, we win — Kshama Sawant (@cmkshama) December 6, 2019