Title 10 Regulati on of Activities
Division II. License Code
Chapter 10.57 Regulati on of Residential Rental Housing
Section 10.57.100 Legal Services and Reloc
ati on Program
City of Spokane is authorized to use monies from the Legal Services and Relocati on Fund to contract with another entity to provide attorney services for landlord and tenant legal services and mediati on costs, with a focus on habitability and violati ons of the Chapter 59.18 RCW - Residential Landlord Tenant Act (“RLTA”). The city investment would provide seed money for first year of salary and benefits for an attorney and reasonable litigati on costs, including mediati on fees. Legal fees from successful representati on would be used to sustain the attorney(s) and associated costs for the long term.
The City is further authorized to disburse monies from the Legal Services and Relocati on Fund to provide immediate relocati on funds to tenants living in rental units that are below the standards of habitability and likely to be able to recover relocati on funds from their landlord, which will reimburse the fund. The City is also authorized to disburse monies from the Legal Services and Relocati on Fund to landlords to assist with tenant removal or relocati on. The attorney described in Section A shall establish an applicati on, review, and appeals process for the relocati on fund program.
Minimum program requirements:
A program that focuses on pursuing legal remedies for rental housing units that clearly fall below standard of habitability defined in the Spokane Municipal Code and/or violate the RLTA in consultati on with Code Enforcement.
A program that provides prompt relocati on funds from City directly to the tenant once it appears to the attorney described in Section A that a landlord is more likely than not to be held liable under state law and then collects from the landlord and any settlement funds as first priority a reimbursement to the relocati on funds advanced and any attorney fees that could be used to fund the attorney positions in the future.
A program that builds increased capacity for these services, including educati on and outreach.
Services provided under this section may only be provided to individuals from households with incomes less than 400% of the federal poverty level.
Date Passed: Monday, March 27, 2023
Effective Date: Wednesday, April 26, 2023
ORD C36366 Section 1