Washington Courts Launch Eviction Resolution Program
Are you a property owner currently dealing with non-payment of rent? According to our last Membership Quick Poll, 21% of those who responded have tenants who are refusing payment plans, rental assistance and have not paid their rent. For members living in Clark, King, Pierce, Snohomish, Spokane or Thurston County, the Eviction Resolution Program can help!
According to a King County Superior Court press release, nearly one million people in Washington state lost their job or have had employment hours severly curtailed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This loss of income has made it impossible for some tenants to keep current on their rental payments.
Recognizing the risk of mass evictions, local governments began enacting moratoria on evictions. These moratoria continue to operate, effectively denying landlords access to the only legal means of removing tenants for failure to pay all or part of their rents — the unlawful detainer process.
The Eviction Resolution Program was created in accordance with orders from the Washington Supreme Court that require landlords undertake efforts to engage tenants in pre-filing resolution efforts prior to entering the eviction process.
The objective of the ERP is to:
- Bring all parties to the table with the assistance of qualified and trained Eviction Resolution Specialists;
- Explore the amount of rent arrears, the current and prospective circumstances of the tenant, the availability of rent and other assistance to cure or partially cure the arrearage;
- Discover a range of other terms that might resolve the matter in a way that allows the tenant to retain housing (and avoid the need for filing of an unlawful detainer action).
Landlords and tenants can find details about the eviction resolution program, and how they can participate, on the statewide web site dedicated to the program here: Eviction Resolution Pilot Program
Forms, Legal Information and Other Resources can be found by visting the King County Eviction Resolution Program.