Rent control: Sawant tries a new avenue

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Joe Copeland

Joe Copeland Jan 12, 2018

Jan 12, 2018

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                <h1>Rent control: Sawant tries a new avenue</h1>
                <h2><p>Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant wants the city to impose rent control on commercial properties, The Stranger reports. No, that won't do a thing for folks who rent apartments or homes, since it would cover only business properties. But state law clearly prohibits cities' imposing rent control</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/joe-copeland-crosscut-com/">Joe Copeland</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Jan 12, 2018</time></p>
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            <p>Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant wants the city to impose rent control on commercial properties, <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/slog/2016/03/29/23879998/kshama-sawant-takes-her-push-for-rent-control-to-small-businesses?ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">The Stranger reports</a>. No, that won't do a thing for folks who rent apartments or homes, since it would cover only business properties. But state law clearly prohibits cities' imposing rent control on residences. And even though there's been little or no real indication that commercial rent control would stand up in court, The Stranger suggests that Sawant might think it's worth at least forcing landlords to go to court to fight the move.</p>
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Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant wants the city to impose rent control on commercial properties, The Stranger reports. No, that won't do a thing for folks who rent apartments or homes, since it would cover only business properties. But state law clearly prohibits cities' imposing rent control on residences. And even though there's been little or no real indication that commercial rent control would stand up in court, The Stranger suggests that Sawant might think it's worth at least forcing landlords to go to court to fight the move.

By Joe Copeland

Joe Copeland is the former senior editor&nbsp;for Crosscut, where he has been an editor since 2010. Before that, he was an editorial writer and columnist for the Seattle P-I and editorial page edi