Mayor transmits predatory home‑buying ordinance to Seattle Council; legislation would add disclosures, cancellation rights and fines

City Hall officials presented proposed legislation aimed at restricting predatory direct‑to‑seller home‑buying practices and asked the council to act before the fall budget process. The mayor transmitted the ordinance to the council; Finance and Administrative Services (FAS) consumer‑protection staff and council central staff described how the rule would work and how the city would implement and enforce it.

City staff described predatory home‑buying as unsolicited approaches — calls, postcards, texts or visits — to homeowners offering to buy properties not listed on the MLS. Officials said the most at‑risk groups include elderly homeowners, financially distressed owners and legacy Black homeowners in neighborhoods experiencing displacement pressures.

Under the proposed ordinance, buyers sequencing a direct purchase would be required to provide written disclosures at least five days before a purchase contract is signed. The disclosures must explain the homeowner’s right to obtain an independent…