Amid ongoing legal challenges, the Seattle City Council continues to adjust legislation hoped to help protect renters during the pandemic.

Tuesday, the council unanimously passed a bill sponsored by Kshama Sawant to amend Seattle’s “six-month defense” ordinance.

The. previously passed ordinance provides tenants with a defense against evictions for six-months after the end of the eviction moratorium which officially ended in February.

Earlier this year, a court struck down the legislation over due process issues. The city is appealing the decision and the eviction defense remains in place in the city.

Sawant’s bill amended the ordinance with hopes of eliminating the due process issue identified by the court to give give landlords the opportunity to test the veracity of a tenant’s claims of financial hardship. It passed 9-0 Tuesday.

The council has been kept busy updating renter protection legislation over court challenges. In April, councilmembers amend a Seattle protection for tenants behind on their rent by tying repayment plan requirements to the city’s ongoing COVID-19 civil emergency, not the state’s.

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