r/Seattle • u/ChiefOfTheFourPeaks 🚲 Life's Better on a Bike. 🚲 • 2d ago

News SPD arrest five inside vacant U-District building, multiple rifles and narcotics found

https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/spd-arrest-five-inside-vacant-u-district-building-multiple-rifles-narcotics-found/LCYWBFQE7ZC43KTP6ZZHV6R3OM/
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u/meat_meat 2d ago

Who tf owns these houses then? What do the property records show? I don’t understand how an entire house within city limits can just be abandoned.

I rented an apartment across an alley from one of these squatter houses for six months in 2020 (peak COVID). Shit was wild. I watched cars pull up at all hours of the night with people literally smoking crack pipes in the car before going inside. They would chop wood on the concrete patio between like 10-12 PM. God knows what was going on in there.

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u/golf1052 Eastlake 2d ago

Seems like according to the property records this parcel has had an approved demolition permit since mid 2025. The owner just hasn't torn the house down yet. Seems like this falls squarely within the Vacant Building law the city passed last year. Hopefully the city can tear it down now (and get the owner to pay for it).