At a recent City Council meeting, Seattle small business owners showed their support for a proposal to cap personal guarantees on new commercial leases and limit the value of security deposits and letters of credit, reported the Puget Sound Business Journal.

If passed, these would be the first limits of their kind in the U.S. The ordinance would also call for a limit of the personal guarantee to an amount equal to the first two years of rent payments in addition to the total cost of any tenant improvements provided by the landlord.

It would also limit the combined value of security deposits and letters of credit to two months of rent payments. The ordinance could mark a new chapter in the path to equitable and accessible business ownership.

The measure also creates a structure for the issuance of citations, including penalties, and hearings by a city hearing examiner. In addition, landlords would have to provide notice of the new limits to existing and prospective tenants.