Inslee Announces Eviction Moratorium 'Bridge' Through September

OLYMPIA, WA — Washington state's longstanding eviction moratorium will continue through summer, albeit with some significant changes.

Gov. Jay Inslee announced a new eviction moratorium "bridge" at a news conference Thursday, which will protect renters from eviction through Sept. 30. The state's current moratorium, which has been in place since late February 2020, had previously been set to expire at the end of the month.

The state estimates Washington renters owe between 1.1 and 1.2 billion in past-due rent accrued over the past year. The governor says many of those who owe are not yet ready to repay.

"As we all know, COVID has had a significant economic impact on our state and a lot of Washingtonians are still experiencing financial hardships. That is why I put an eviction moratorium in place last year," Inslee said. “These are all reasonable steps and will help ensure that renters and landlords have the opportunity to receive support and resources that are available to them.”

Related: Seattle Extends Eviction Moratorium Through September

The governor argues the bridge will give the state time to disseminate an additional $650 million in federal relief funding. That money will become available beginning in July and comes in addition to the $500 million previously released by the Department of Commerce. Together, Inslee's office estimates they will help more than 80,000 Washington landlords and renters — and hopefully avoiding a wave of mass evictions when the moratorium does eventually expire.

As the governor explains, the moratorium bridge is also different from simply extending the existing moratorium again, because it adds several new provisions for both renters and landlords, including:

Preventing landlords from evicting for past due rent. Under the bridge, landlords cannot evict 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 the Eviction Resolution Pilot Program, established by SB 5160.

Asking renters to begin paying rent starting in August. 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.

Excluding non-traditional housing from the moratorium. The new protections do not apply to hotels, motels, Airbnbs, and long-term care facilities.

Inslee's office says to expect more details soon and has promised to release the full eviction bridge proclamation sometime in the next few days.