****UPDATE 8/3/2021: The CDC will extend the eviction moratorium through October 3, 2021.
The proclamation distinguishes two time periods:
From 2/29/2020 through and including 7/31/2021:
If the tenant owes rent or any other enforceable debt from 2/29/2020 through and including 7/31/2021, the landlord cannot start eviction proceedings until the tenant has been provided an opportunity to participate in a rental assistance program and all parties have gone through the eviction resolution pilot program.
- Indigent tenants have a right to counsel per SB 5160 that passed earlier this year.
- Tenants must be served with written notice of resources and funding programs established in SB 5160. A landlord may serve a tenant with a hard copy or an electronic copy.
- Generally, the landlord will first reach out to the other party regarding a reasonable repayment plan. The tenant must respond within 14 days. The parties should address any rental monies owed through 9/30/2021.
- If no repayment plan is agreed to, or the tenant defaults on the repayment plan, the landlord should then schedule resolution through the pilot program if the matter remains unresolved, and if so, the tenant must respond to that.
If the tenant owes rent or any other enforceable debt from 8/1/2021 through and including 9/30/2021, the tenant will generally be responsible for the full rent owed to the landlord under their rental agreement, or a lower amount as agreed to by the parties. If there is an agreed-upon lower amount, this should be memorialized in writing, signed and dated by all parties.
A landlord cannot start eviction proceedings if the tenant: (1) has made full payment; (2) has made partial payment based on mutual agreement with the landlord; (3) has a pending application for rental assistance; or (4) resides in an area where the rental assistance program is not yet fully available.
- Indigent tenants still have a right to counsel per SB 5160 that passed earlier this year.
- Tenants must still be served with written notice of resources and funding programs established in SB 5160. A landlord may serve a tenant with a hard copy or an electronic copy.
- There is a rebuttable presumption that any rent paid on or after 8/1/2021 first applies to current rent before being applied to any prior rent owed.
- The same procedures from the previous section generally apply otherwise. The parties must first try a reasonable repayment plan and then attempt to resolve the matter through the eviction resolution pilot program before the landlord can file an eviction action in court. The parties should address any rental monies owed through 9/30/2021.
Other:
- Landlords cannot collect any late fees, or threaten to assess late fees, to residential tenants for monies owed from 2/29/2020 through and including 9/30/2021.
- There is no blanket order on prohibiting rent increases for residential tenancies. However, rent increases are generally prohibited unless they conformed to RCW 59.18.140 and otherwise did not violate any prior governor proclamation.
Exclusions:
- The proclamation does not apply to emergency shelters, DSHS-approved long-term care facilities, hotels, motels, Airbnbs, motor homes, RVs, public lands, and camping areas.
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The federal eviction moratorium's expiration will affect tenants differently throughout the United States. For many jurisdictions, the federal moratorium was the last remaining protection, and millions of residential tenants will face eviction. Depending on the jurisdiction, evictions could take as little as a few weeks to process from start to finish.
Per the 6/29/2021 U.S. Supreme Court decision, the federal eviction moratorium cannot be extended past 7/31/2021 unless Congress authorizes a clear, specific extension. The split was 5-4, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh was the deciding fifth vote. The Supreme Court's ruling means the Biden administration probably cannot unilaterally create a new eviction moratorium through executive order, and even if he did so, the Supreme Court would likely strike it down.
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Washington is one state giving a lot of tenant protection. Indigent tenants get a right to counsel, the landlord must inform tenants of all opportunities they have to get rental assistance, and the landlord must attempt reasonable repayment plans and resolution through the state's pilot program before being allowed to file an eviction matter in court. This can delay eviction filings by several weeks to months, depending on the backlog of the pilot program. Further, depending on the county, eviction matters filed in court may take several more weeks to process.
Therefore, it is likely that Washington will not see a lot of court-ordered evictions until the last 1-2 months of 2021. There may be several filed in the fall, with uptick through the end of 2021 and into 2022.
