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Law / United States / Washington / Seattle

Seattle

Washington law applies in Seattle Seattle is a local jurisdiction within Washington, whose 12 researched instruments are listed on the Washington page, not here. The law of Seattle, described on this page below, applies here too.

All 1 named instruments researched to a stage, across one of the six areas of law we track: 1 in force. As of 3 September 2026.

  1. AI law 1
  2. Privacy law none researched
  3. Scraping law none researched
  4. Cybersecurity law none researched
  5. Age gating law none researched
  6. News aggregation law none researched

in forceenacted but not yet in forceproposedrepealed, withdrawn or blocked

Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.

AI law1 instrument, 1 in force

Research summary (123 words)

Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 7.34 makes it a violation both for a landlord to pay for the coordinating services of a rent-setting service provider and, separately, for a service provider to supply coordinating services to two or more landlords. The chapter defines both 'Landlord' and 'Person' broadly enough to reach a government agency acting as a residential landlord or service provider, and carves out only short-term rentals and hotels, not government-owned housing.

The City Council passed Council Bill 121000 on 24 June 2025 as Ordinance 127241, which Mayor Bruce Harrell signed on 1 July 2025 and which took effect thirty days later under the city's standard ordinance effective-date rule. Violations carry civil penalties of up to $7,500 and a private right of action.

AI prohibited practices

Ordinance 127241 (Council Bill 121000), Algorithmic Rent Fixing

Seattle Municipal Code ch. 7.34City of Seattle official legislative record for the enacted ordinance

In force since 31 July 2025. Binds public and private bodies.

What this law does

It is a violation of SMC Chapter 7.34 for a landlord, in or affecting commerce, to contract with or exchange anything of value for the coordinating services of a service provider, and it is a separate violation for a service provider, in or affecting commerce, to provide coordinating services to two or more landlords. A coordinating service uses algorithms and nonpublic competitor pricing or occupancy data from multiple landlords to recommend rental prices, fees, or terms.

SMC 7.34.020 defines 'Landlord' as the owner, lessor, or sublessor of a dwelling unit and defines 'Person' to include a governmental entity. The chapter's only exclusions, in section 7.34.025, are short-term rentals and hotels, so a government agency operating as a residential landlord or as a coordinating-service provider is not carved out.

The chapter exempts a landlord's own recordkeeping software, short-term rentals, and hotels, and it exempts publicly available rent estimates that require no contract to obtain. The City Attorney may seek civil penalties of up to $7,500 per violation, and any injured person may bring a private civil action.

What it requires

This page covers the instruments LexLint has researched to a stage. Instruments named in the corpus but not yet researched are counted in the head and are not listed here. Every entry carries its own primary source on its note page. This is a research index, not legal advice.