Seattle extends moratorium on evictions to 2022 | Colorado Springs News

S.The mayor of eattle, Jenny Durkan, has extended the city’s eviction moratorium until January 15 next year.

This is the sixth time Durkan has extended the moratorium since it was introduced in March 2020. The last time was in June and should expire at the end of the month.

The moratorium passed on Tuesday by executive order applies to tenants of residential buildings, nonprofits and small businesses, with small businesses being defined as fewer than 50 employees. Seattle also requires landlords to set up payment plans as tenants continue to be legally required to pay the subsequent rent.

“This next expansion will ensure that every level of government can provide rental and housing assistance to tenants and landlords, which is critical to stabilizing the community as it reopens and recovers,” Durkan said in a press release.

However, a joint statement by the Rental Housing Association of Washington and the Multifamily Housing Association of Washington stated that Seattle’s housing crisis is self-inflicted and the city has no idea how to move on.

“It’s not even about COVID anymore as companies are open and hiring,” the statement said. “The perpetual eviction bans increase residents ‘debts, increase violent incidents on real estate and displace single-family houses from the market more of their tenants’ housing costs.”

The Census Bureau’s ongoing Household Pulse Survey found that around 60,000 renters in the Seattle area were behind on their rents in mid-August. That’s less than 150,000 earlier this year, largely due to the millions of dollars paid out for federal rental subsidies.

Seattle has paid out around $ 15 million in rental subsidies since June and is in the process of distributing an additional $ 28 million.

King County has spent approximately $ 34 million of the $ 145 million on rental subsidies. To qualify, a person must earn less than 50% of the median income of the region per year, or $ 40,500 for one person.

Earlier this month, a group of Seattle landlords sued Durkan and Governor Jay Inslee. A nationwide moratorium on evictions applies until October 15.

The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the moratoria as private landowners were forced to rent tenants for 18 months.

Seattle City Council also passed an ordinance in May protecting tenants from eviction for six months when the final moratorium ends.

The ordinance amends a city law that sets out the conditions under which landlords can terminate tenants. The law now provides that tenants have a “defense in court” if an eviction is based on non-payment of rent for six months after the moratoria expires.

It says that a landlord “may not evacuate a tenant” who invokes the law in court. Tenants will continue to run into debt during these six months and will need to certify that they are in financial need due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Evictions due to matters such as nuisance, destruction or other violations of rental agreements can still take place.

Original location: Seattle extends the moratorium on evictions until 2022

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