Fewer renter protections after Monday, but help is available
ARLINGTON — When Kristin Poyser’s tenant stopped paying rent, the Arlington property owner grew nervous. Under the state’s eviction moratorium, Poyser had few options.
Eventually, the tenant would owe Poyser the unpaid rent. But every month, Poyser’s own bills were adding up. The landlord contacted Volunteers of America, hoping her tenant qualified for rental assistance. However, Poyser couldn’t access the money unless her tenant applied for it.
That never happened.
“It’s not just the tenants that are having a hard time,” Poyser said. “Landlords are now the victims … because we’re being stolen from.”
Starting on Monday, the rules in Snohomish County will change for tenants like Poyser’s. Once the county Eviction Resolution Pilot Program is fully operational, the state’s eviction policy will no longer protect tenants who fell behind on rent and aren’t trying to access rental assistance.
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/fewer-renter-protections-after-monday-but-help-is-available/
King County rent-relief program is underway, but falling short of need
A $145 million King County program that launched in May to help households struggling to pay rent amid the Covid-19 pandemic has gotten off to a slow start.
The rent-assistance program has so far doled out about only $6.5 million, or 4.5%, of the federal relief funding to approximately 800 households since mid-July, the county said.
But it plans to ramp up distributions in the coming months.
By the fall, Mark Ellerbrook, director of King County’s Housing, Homelessness and Community Development Division, said his department expects to disburse about $6 million a week.
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2021/08/18/rental-assistance-program-king-coounty.html