WA eviction moratorium bridge extended again as counties work to distribute rental aid
Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday announced the state of Washington is extending its eviction moratorium bridge for one more month.
The moratorium, originally set to expire at the end of September, now will expire at 11:59 p.m. October 31.
The extension was granted as counties continue working to get relief funds out to more renters.
“We’re hearing the counties need a little more time to be able to effectuate the rental relief that is available today to citizens,” Inslee said at Thursday’s news conference. “We think this extension provides ample time for these funds to get out to citizens.”
The move comes after Seattle’s extension of its pandemic-related eviction moratoriums by an executive order of the mayor Tuesday. That measure now runs through Jan. 15. Mayor Jenny Durkan cited the current wave of Delta variant cases and the ongoing effort to distribute aid to tenants with rent debt as reasons for the city’s extension.
Washington is one of several states that enacted a moratorium against evictions as a result of the ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on households, including hospitalizations, deaths and job loss or layoffs.
Evictions with a 60-day notice are still allowed when the landlord intends to sell or move into the property, or if an affidavit declares the tenant created health and safety problems.
Inslee has extended moratorium protections several times.
Through the end of July, landlords were prevented from evicting tenants for past-due rent during the pandemic until rental assistance and eviction resolution programs were in place in their county. As of Aug. 1, tenants were expected to either pay full rent unless a lower amount was negotiated or be actively seeking rental aid.
The state requires landlords to offer reasonable repayment plans to people behind on rent during the pandemic before any eviction process, among other measures.
Inslee noted that 27 out of the state’s 39 counties have eviction resolution programs in place, but more needs to be done.
Landlords “must provide information about the dispute resolution program under local eviction resolution programs,” Inslee added. “But we do need to see more progress on these relief programs, both for tenants and landlords. Money intended to keep renters housed and keep landlords in business is available.”
For those seeking more information:
Rental Housing of Washington and the Multifamily Housing Association of Washington issued a joint statement following the governor’s announcement:
“This moratorium is being extended on the backs of housing providers due to government moving at a glacial pace to distribute rental assistance funds. State and local government must work together with housing providers to prevent evictions for non-payment of rent instead of consistently blaming housing providers for a broader societal problem.”
They added: “If infrastructure is the issue to a slow rental assistance rollout, the state should apply the same urgency that they use to swiftly extend the eviction moratoria to implement the infrastructure necessary to deliver the resources needed by Washingtonians.”
COVID UPDATE
In his briefing, Inslee noted the state’s level of COVID hospitalizations and deaths “are grossly unacceptable” and said there had not been a federal response to the state’s request for health care aid to support staffs stretched thin statewide.
“The whole country is short of health care workers,” he added.
This week, the state Department of Health released its situation report on COVID cases, hospitalizations, deaths and more. It cited that while cases are either flattening or declining in many counties, it is not known how current testing shortages are impacting case counts.
Hospitalizations recently peaked at a level 60 percent higher than winter 2020, according to DOH, and the department expects “high levels of occupancy are likely to persist through the fall.”
Deaths increased rapidly in August, reaching 27 per day as of August 28, the latest date for complete totals from the state’s vital records database.
The report also noted that the state’s seven-day rolling average of deaths declined from a peak of 32 on January 10 to 5 as of March 23, and varied between 5 and 10 deaths per day through late July before the August spike.
Inslee said he was disappointed that the U.S. land border with Canada remains closed to nonessential travel through Oct. 21, even to vaccinated Canadians.
He said a new round of emergency grant relief funding of up to $50,000 for businesses affected by the border closures would add to the $100,000 of strategic reserve fund dollars the state’s already deployed.
Applications will be taken Oct. 4-18 through an online portal.
“We’ll prioritize customer facing businesses that required direct person-to-person interaction for businesses located within a 20 mile radius of the Canadian border,” he said.
The Associated Press and The Seattle Times contributed to this report.
This story was originally published September 23, 2021 at 3:07 PM.
