Washington Supreme Court Upholds Seattle’s First-Come, First Served Law

The Washington Supreme Court published an opinion today overturning a lower court’s decision to strike down a Seattle law that requires landlords to process tenant applications on a first-come, first-served basis. The landlords who brought the case said the law amounted to a regulatory taking of private property, because choosing a tenant is a “fundamental attribute of property ownership.” Justice May Yu wrote in the Supreme Court decision that while the law was an experiment, it is allowed under the state’s constitution. The FAIR law recently passed by the Portland City Council contains a similar requirement that landlords process applications on a first-come, first-served basis. Read more.