Washington State to Potentially Require COVID Nexus for Eviction Protections

WBPA News,

We wanted to bring to your attention the potential updates to the Eviction Moratorium here in Washington.           This article published by Crosscut details that the state could start asking tenants to prove that their financial hardship is due to COVID-19.

"It's a change that could address some landlords' anecdotes of "elective nonpayers" — those who the landlord believes can pay, but are choosing not to. The adjustment would also bring Washington's moratorium more in line with other West Coast states, as well as the federal one from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

The article further addresses that renter relief funds are "drying up" and that more needs to be done by the government to provide aid.  WBPA Plaintiff Landon Glenn is also featured, stating that "tenants in about 30 of the homes are either behind on rent or not paying at all, leaving him $90,000 in the hole. In his mind, the eviction moratorium is making it harder for him to problem solve with his tenants."

The Governor has decided to reconvene his Workgroup to discuss the scope of the Eviction Moratorium with the first meeting taking place on November 12th.

Click here to read more about the WBPA Challenge to the Statewide Eviction Moratorium.