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Seattle landlords sue over ‘first-come, first served’

In this March 3, 2015 photo, Jenny Kelly and her husband, Michael Kelly, walk with their daughter, Elea, 2, near their loft apartment in Seattle’s downtown Pioneer Square neighborhood. A lawsuit was filed Thursday, March 9, 2017, by Seattle landlords challenging the city’s first-come, first-served renting policy. (Ted S. Warren / AP)
Associated Press

SEATTLE – Some Seattle landlords are suing over the city’s new policy requiring them to choose among qualified renters on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Seattle Times reported the landlords say the policy violates their right to rent property in a nondiscriminatory manner to the people they choose at the price they choose.

Their King County Superior Court lawsuit, filed Thursday by the Pacific Legal Foundation, said the policy violates the state Constitution and seeks a permanent injunction to bar to the city from enforcing it.

The City Council adopted the first-come, first-served policy last August as part of an ordinance that also banned discrimination by landlords against renters who rely on alternative sources of income, such as veteran benefits and unemployment insurance.