The first deadline under the City of Seattle’s new Rental Registration and Inspection Ordinance (“Ordinance”) is coming up at the end of this month.  The law is intended to ensure that residential housing meets basic safety and maintenance requirements.  It applies to most rental housing in Seattle; there are various exemptions for commercial lodging, licensed senior housing facilities, hospitals, government housing and other less typical types of housing.[1]

The Ordinance requires residential landlords in Seattle to do the following:

• register with the City, including payment of a registration fee,
• provide a declaration that all housing units meet or will meet the basic standards set forth in the Ordinance before the units are rented, and
• have the property inspected at least once every ten years.

 The deadlines for when landlords must register are staggered as follows:

• All properties with ten or more rental housing units must be registered by September 30, 2014.
• All properties with five to nine rental housing units must be registered by March 31, 2015.
• All properties with one to four rental housing units need to be registered from 2015 to 2016.  The City of Seattle will base specific deadlines for these properties on the ZIP code where the property is located.

More information on the Ordinance and the City of Seattle’s implementation schedule can be found on the City’s website.[2]

[1] Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) 22.214.030 provides a list of exemptions from the registration and inspection requirements.  Chapter 22.214 of the SMC is available here.

[2] See City of Seattle, Rental Registration & Inspection Code; see also City of Seattle, Rental Registration & Inspection Ordinance.