A group of tenants facing eviction from a housing complex in Skyway got a huge victory as the landlord of the Bryn Mawr Apartments recently rescinded the eviction notices for several tenants.
According to Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant, Mergitu Argo, Mouhamed Tall, Modou Ndiaye, and Lenh Vong were facing impending eviction due to the absence of Just Cause protections in unincorporated King County. Upon hearing the news, many supporters, including 30 faith based and community organizations and the Seattle/King County NAACP, signed a letter demanding that the landlord rescind the notices, which ultimately resulted in the rescinding of the notices.
“I’m delighted to announce that as a result of their organizing and community support, including 30 faith and community organizations and activists signing a letter demanding the landlord rescind the eviction notices, we have won a phenomenal victory within a day of campaigning,” said Sawant. “Through building the renters rights movement, and empowering renters and working people in my Renters Rights Committee, we have together forced the landlord to rescind the eviction notices.”
According to the families affected by the eviction notices, they were days away from losing their homes before the community rallied behind them.
“Twenty days is all that separated my daughter and I from having a roof over our heads to the sudden reality of losing our home of 14 years,” said Argo, a longtime resident of Skyway. “Today we are celebrating the grassroots action that prevented me and many of my neighbors from ending up on the streets, but this is just one step. Too many families are facing evictions that end in tragedy; just look outside to find the neighbors who were not as lucky as me.”
“Washington needs stronger tenant protection laws like just cause and longer notice periods in cases of eviction. A family’s safety should not depend on their zip code and no family should go through the fear my daughter and I have experienced due to the threat of eviction,” Argo added.
King County Councilmember Larry Gossett also expressed his support for the victims and announced that King County will work on just cause legislation.
“People should not have to build a movement every time a landlord decides to unjustly evict a person,” said Gossett. “That’s why I am working on legislation with Councilwoman Jeanne Kohl-Welles to protect renters from unjust evictions like this.”
The Seattle/King County NAACP is calling on all local governments to pass Just Cause Eviction ordinances so that situations like this won’t happen in the future.
Sawant says the incident shows the need for stronger protections for renters in the area.
“I want to use this moment to ensure that we strengthen Seattle’s Just Cause Ordinance,” Sawant added. “Our city’s current law does not protect all tenants, and I will bring legislation to close existing loopholes.”
Councilmember Sawant’s Renters Rights Committee will begin discussing the legislation in the upcoming weeks, bringing Seattle renters, renters rights organizations, community organizations, and faith leaders into the discussion.
