The City of Seattle has hired a law firm to defend against a Seattle real estate investor suit alleging the city “destroyed” its ability to sustainably operate an affordable apartment property in the Chinatown International District, according to reports.
The company alleges the city passed ordinances between 2018 and 2022 that hurt its ability to successfully operate a low-income apartment building.
The city has retained the law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner.
The city council has been active the past few years in passing tenant protections such as caps on move-in fees, first qualified applicant rules, eviction rules, lease renewals and tenant screening rules.
Goodman Real Estate, through a subsidiary that owns a 254-unit apartment building near Fourth Avenue South and South Jackson Street, filed the lawsuit, calling for unspecified financial damages and a change to city regulations.
“Our goal is to create the highest level of quality affordable and sustainable housing in downtown Seattle for our residents,” CEO George Petrie said in a statement, “but the city has placed so many restrictions on our ability to do that, it is placing our residents at risk.
The lawsuit alleges the tenant protection laws have forced the building to accept tenants who caused safety issues, added new maintenance and security costs, increased tenant and staff turnover, limited evictions and discouraged rent increases that might help cover the increased costs.
The suit claims this is a “taking” of the landlord’s property.