Tacoma Apartments To Pay $345,000 For Violating Eviction Ban

TACOMA, WA — The managers of a Tacoma apartment complex have agreed to pay nearly $345,000 to settle a lawsuit from the state after they violated the governor's moratorium on evictions during the coronavirus pandemic.

On March 18, Gov. Jay Inslee issued a moratorium banning evictions for renters who couldn't afford to pay rent. Despite the order, Attorney General Bob Ferguson's Office says that the Nevada-based JRK Residential Group tried to evict 14 residents at The Boulders at Puget Sound apartment complex in Tacoma. Several of those residents say they had lost their jobs due to the pandemic and were struggling to pay rent and basic supplies, only to be met with threatening letters and phone calls. One even told the Attorney General's Office that JRK had stuck the letters to her door in an apparent attempt to publicly single her out.

The AG's Office says not only were JRK aware of the moratorium, they mentioned in the letters they issued to residents. On April 20, Ferguson's office filed a suit against the residential group, the first-ever lawsuit related to Inslee's moratorium.

On Thursday, Ferguson announced that agreed to pay nearly $345,000 to settle the suit. Of that money, almost $300,000 will go to the affected tenants in the form of refunds and rent forgiveness.

According to Ferguson's office, the settlement money can be broken down as:

• $24,877.69 for full rent forgiveness to all 14 residents who received 14-day notices to pay or vacate.
• $128,500 for a $500 reimbursement to each of the 257 were behind on their April rent and who received letters trying to "shame or harass" them for being unable to pay.
• $118,400 for $100 payments to the remaining 1,184 JRK tenets who were not behind on rent, but still received letters trying to deceive them about their legal rights.

The Attorney General's Office says that since they began investigating eviction moratorium violations on April 1, more than 1,800 Washingtonians have come forward to file complaints. As a result, the office has had to contact more than 900 landlords to inform them of their renter's rights.

Renters who believe their landlords have violated the eviction moratorium are encouraged to contact the Attorney General's Office through an online form found here.