King Falls Behind Pierce, Snohomish In Rental Assistance: Report

SEATTLE — King County is falling behind other Puget Sound counties in its efforts to disseminate federal rent assistance funding, according to a new report in the Seattle Times.

That report, filed by Seattle Times business reporter Heidi Groover, found that King County had only distributed $6.5 million to help struggling renters and landlords — about 4.5 percent of the $145 million the federal government has given the county for that purpose.

In comparison, Pierce County has spent 59 percent of its $53.4 million allotment, and Snohomish County has spent 47 percent of its $57.8 million, the Times reported.

According to the Times, roughly 9,400 tenants and 1,500 landlords have applied to King County for that assistance, and many have expressed frustration with the county's languid pace.

In contrast, Pierce County is celebrating its success: Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier on Thursday tweeted out the Times report, saying he was proud of the county's work getting 59 percent of the funding to the community.

"Getting the rental assistance out quickly to those at risk of losing their housing is critical," Dammeier wrote.

Getting that money distributed quickly and efficiently could change the lives of tens of thousands of Washingtonians who worry that they will be evicted from their homes when the state's eviction moratorium ends in September. For the U.S. Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey in July, more than 1.4 million Americans who said it's very likely they'll be evicted from their homes in the next two months. Of the 220,059 Washington renters who were not current on their rental payments, 53,724 told the survey they felt they were likely to be evicted in two months' time. Another 61,624 said eviction was somewhat likely.

In June, Gov. Jay Inslee modified and extended the state's eviction moratorium through Sept. 30. At the time, the state estimated Washington renters owed between 1.1 and 1.2 billion in past-due rent accrued over the prior year. The governor acknowledged that many of those who owe are not yet ready to repay, and said the bridge was necessary to buy time to disseminate an additional $650 million in federal relief funding.

>> Read the full story in the Seattle Times.