Fighting Back! Lawsuit filed against Seattle's First Come Measure

Last week property owners filed a lawsuit against the city over the "First Come, First Serve" Measure. Also know as the "first in time" ruling, the measure was meant to prevent housing discrimination. However, it stripped landlords of any discretion on who they can rent to. As a landlord for a property in Seattle, you have to state your criteria and rent to the first applicant that matches. This has caused landlords to post extremely high qualifications and discourages what could be great applicants from applying. Landlords lose control on who occupies their property. If you have a Duplex, occupied in one half by a young family, you may want to find another family for the other side. Instead, the landlord would be forced to rent to the first "qualified" applicant. We at Proper Rent support fair housing initiatives. We'd like to see a better partnership with the city and property owners helping address unfair housing. Something that doesn't' vilify property owners and helps ensure fair housing for everyone..