Thousands In WA Fear Eviction As Moratorium's End Draws Near

SEATTLE — Tens of thousands of Washingtonians fear they will be evicted from their homes when the state's eviction moratorium ends later this year.

Those Washington residents are among the more than 1.4 million Americans who said it’s very likely they’ll be evicted from their homes in the next two months, as reported in the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey.

On top of that, about 4.9 million renters say they have no confidence in their ability to pay rent next month, while 7.4 million are still trying to catch up on rent payments.

After four extensions and numerous challenges in court, the federal moratorium protecting American renters from eviction during the pandemic is set to expire in just a few days.

The moratorium, issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, officially ends July 31. The most recent extension was issued in June, and federal officials have indicated they have no plans to extend it again.

While some states, including Washington, have given renters a few additional weeks of protection, millions remain worried about losing their homes. Washington's moratorium is set to expire at the end of September. Though it does offer protection to renters with past-due rent, requiring landlords to offer reasonable repayment plans among other safeguards, nearly a quarter of the Washingtonians who are behind on rent said they still felt they were "very likely" to lose their homes.

While the federal government has funneled more than $46 billion in assistance to the country’s renters during the course of the pandemic, distributing that money has proved difficult. In some cases, the money never reached its intended recipients.

Ultimately, little has been done to curb an all-but-certain wave of eviction proceedings once the moratorium is lifted. Meanwhile, the White House is pushing state and municipal governments to do everything they can to stave off an eviction crisis.

“It’s fundamentally the responsibility of state and local governments to get relief in the hands of renters and landlords,” Susan Rice, director of the White House’s Domestic Policy Council, said during an early July meeting.

Washington, for its part, committed to spending an additional $650 million in federal relief funding to more than 80,000 Washington landlords and renters, but it's unclear if that will be enough: The state estimates Washington renters owe between 1.1 and 1.2 billion in past-due rent accrued over the past year.

Anxiety Among Washington Renters Is High

Though Washington state is offering more protection for renters than many states, renters in Washington share the same fears as others across the nation. Of the 220,059 Washington renters who are not current on their rental payments, 53,724 said they felt they were likely to be evicted in two months' time. Another 61,624 said eviction was somewhat likely.

Meanwhile, of the 1,377,704 Washington renters contacted by the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, more than one in ten — 174,075 renters — said they had no confidence in their ability to pay their next month's rent.

It is important to note that, under the governor's order, landlords are prevented for evicting residents for past due rent accrued between Feb. 29, 2020, and July 31, 2021, at least until their county has established both a rental assistance program and an eviction resolution program. Landlords are also banned from treating unpaid rent as an enforceable debt until both the landlord and tenant have had the opportunity to resolve the nonpayment through an Eviction Resolution Pilot Program.

Though Washington's moratorium lasts through September. Beginning Aug. 1, renters will have to either pay their full rent, pay reduced rent if they have negotiated a deal with their landlord, or seek rental assistance support. Landlords can only evict tenants if none of those actions are being taken, and must offer tenants a "reasonable re-payment plan" before beginning the eviction process.

Evictions Could Still Spike Post-Moratorium

Perhaps unsurprisingly, evictions in Washington and in other states across the country dropped in 2020, according to the Eviction Lab at Princeton University.

In a typical year, landlords file about 3.7 million eviction cases in court; however, from March to December 2020, eviction filings were down 65 percent in cities and states tracked by the Eviction Lab.

This was especially true in states and municipalities — like Washington — that prohibited landlords from taking the first steps of the eviction process, which included issuing eviction notices or filing cases in court.

Now, experts say an eviction crisis is “looming” in the United States.

Through its research, the Princeton University group noted that evictions spiked during short periods throughout the pandemic where no moratorium was in effect. For example, in the two weeks between the end of CARES Act coverage and the start of a moratorium extension, evictions were up 68 percent from the historical average. By Aug. 30, filings had returned to pre-pandemic levels.

The increase, researchers say, suggests landlords were acutely aware of what moratoriums were in place and were ready to kick out tenants who hadn’t paid their rent as soon as it was legally allowed. Again, Washington offers more protection than many states, but it's unlikely the Evergreen state will remain unscathed.

Around 16 percent of all American adult renters were not current on their housing payments as of July 2021, according to an analysis by The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

“We’re going to see what we’ve been managing to stave off: this wave of evictions that is just going to crush some of these areas,” John Pollock, coordinator of the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel, told CNBC.

Renters Of Color More At Risk

While fewer eviction cases have been filed throughout the pandemic, Black and Latino renters — particularly female renters — remain disproportionately at risk of being filed against for eviction and being evicted, according to the Eviction Lab.

Eviction Lab data showed that filings after March 15, 2020, targeted the same communities and individuals who were most at risk of eviction prior to the pandemic.

Notably, Black renters received a disproportionate share of all eviction filings. While Black renters make up 22.8 percent of all renters tracked by the Eviction Lab, they were subject to 35.2 percent of all eviction filings between March 15 and Dec. 31.

What Renters Can Do

While the process of finding and securing aid varies across states, the Treasury Department has published a list of state, local and tribal government emergency rental-assistance programs to help people find relief.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has also issued guidance for renters, landlords and homeowners.

For renters, the bureau offers advice on paying rent and utilities, as well as talking to your landlord about a payment agreement. It also outlines what you can do to avoid eviction and goes through your rights as a tenant.

Finally, local renters can read up on Washington's eviction moratorium and learn more about the protections it offers.

>> Read the full text of the latest eviction moratorium emergency proclamation.

Patch staffer Megan VerHelst contributed to this report.