In likely passing the measure, members of the council hope to keep as many people in their current homes as possible and avoid the devastating and expensive downstream consequences that often follow when someone is forcibly removed from where they live.
The vote was originally slated to occur two weeks ago, but was delayed after several council members expressed a desire to review the measure more before voting. Some of its urgency evaporated as well — hours earlier, Mayor Jenny Durkan announced she was extending the city’s moratorium on evictions through the end of June.
The new right-to-counsel law, which the council estimates will cost $750,000, comes as fears of pandemic-driven evictions loom,
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