SEATTLE – Council unanimously adopted the “Carl Haglund Law” today, which prohibits rent increases on properties with unsafe housing code violations. The legislation, sponsored by Councilmember Kshama Sawant, comes as a result of months of organizing from tenant activists and housing justice leaders.
“Landlords keeping their properties in unlivable conditions while simultaneously raising rents is a horrendous practice that has been legal and all-too-common,” said Councilmember Sawant. “I’d like to thank everyone who fought in this struggle. We will use this victory to bolster our movement and expand the fight to win a full-fledged tenants’ bill of rights; build thousands of high quality publicly-owned affordable housing units; and overthrow the state ban on rent control.”
Councilmember Sawant added, “I urge anyone who faces substandard housing conditions to contact my office. We will need to work together, form more tenants unions, and continue to organize and build our movement to shift the balance of power away from big landlords, slumlords, and Wall Street speculators to tenants and ordinary working people in Seattle.”
The legislation adopted today will take effect 30 days following the Mayor’s signature.