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\n\n\n\n\n\n\nby James Drew (4-17-20)\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nWhen Wednesday Collier and her partner were laid off last month because of the new coronavirus outbreak, they struggled to pay the rent on their apartment in Olympia.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nThey didn\u2019t have to worry about losing their home, though. Days earlier, Gov. Jay Inslee had ordered a 30-day moratorium on evictions of residential tenants for nonpayment of rent.\n\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCollier, 24, hadn\u2019t worked enough hours to be eligible for unemployment benefits. Her partner, Joshua Mullins, filed successfully for unemployment and after receiving a $1,200 federal stimulus check, the couple paid their $1,046 rent.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nBut it was 11 days late. Their landlord charged them a $100 fee, Collier said. She provided a copy of the cashier\u2019s check to The Olympian.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n\u201cWe can\u2019t be evicted but they can charge us ridiculous late fees still. This needs to stop,\u201d she said in an email Wednesday.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nOn Thursday, Inslee extended the eviction moratorium through June 4. He also added two major temporary provisions \u2014 a ban on landlords charging, or threatening to charge, late fees for non-payment of rent. Tara Lee, an Inslee spokeswoman, said tenants who have paid late fees can get their money back because that provision in Thursday\u2019s proclamation is retroactive to Feb. 29.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nThe new proclamation prohibits landlords from increasing rents or deposits for residential tenants, as well as for commercial properties as long as those tenants have been impacted by COVID-19.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n\u201cPeople have lost their livelihoods through no fault of their own and we must continue to take steps to ensure they don\u2019t also lose the roofs over their heads,\u201d Inslee said in a written statement.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n\u201cContinued support and protection for tenants is the right thing to do and I am extending and expanding the moratorium on evictions through the beginning of June, which will allow for two additional rent cycles,\u201d he added.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nState Rep. Andrew Barkis, R-Olympia, tweeted Thursday night about Inslee\u2019s announcement: \u201cHow about getting the economy going again so people can afford to pay for their living expenses! This is overreach and will be detrimental to those providing housing.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nBarkis, who owns a property management firm, said Friday: \u201cWe supported the prohibition to give people a little bit of grace on that first 30 days on the eviction. Now [Inslee] is doing policy via proclamation, and he\u2019s usurping the legislative process.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nThe rent freeze covers commercial properties if the tenant has been impacted by COVID-19, such as being unable to work or the tenant\u2019s business had to close because it was deemed \u201cnon-essential\u201d by Inslee last month. His stay-at-home and partial business closure order runs through May 4.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nThe expansion of the moratorium on residential evictions for non-payment of rent prohibits landlords from treating unpaid rent and charges as an enforceable debt.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nThe exception is if the landlord can provide evidence to a court that the resident was offered and refused or failed to comply with a reasonable repayment plan.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n\u201cAll rent payments delayed through this moratorium will still be owed but a landlord must offer a tenant a reasonable repayment plan to enforce any collection of that debt,\u201d the governor\u2019s office said.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nAttorney General Bob Ferguson said his office has received 525 complaints about landlords allegedly violating the eviction moratorium since Inslee first ordered it on March 18. The attorney general\u2019s office has contacted 406 tenants and 216 landlords and property managers, according to Ferguson. He has added 15 assistant attorneys general to help his civil rights team respond to complaints.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n\u201cThat goes from things that are deeply concerning as in putting pressure on tenants. \u2018Hey, we know you\u2019ve received your stimulus check or that\u2019s coming in the mail soon. We\u2019re expecting you to use that to pay the rent.\u2019\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n\u201cTo step up even more, \u2018hey, we\u2019re going to issue a late fee every day of $50 you don\u2019t pay. Hey, this is going to impact your credit,\u2019 using threatening language. All the way up to what we\u2019ve seen is the most egregious, which is the property management company sending out 14-day pay-or-vacate notices. We saw that in Boulders in Tacoma,\u201d Ferguson said.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nThe News Tribune reported Wednesday<\/a> that the attorney general\u2019s office ordered Boulders at Puget Sound to stop sending emails, calling and posting notices to doors stating that residents need to pay rent or vacate, which violates Inslee\u2019s eviction moratorium.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nTenants have expressed concern about whether the end of the moratorium would trigger a wave of eviction, said Carrie Graf, a staff attorney with the Northwest Justice Project, Washington\u2019s largest publicly-funded legal aid program\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nThat is an anxiety that Collier has felt. She\u2019s waiting for her federal stimulus check, but says it would pay for only one month of rent.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nShe doesn\u2019t know when she\u2019ll be able to return to her job at an ice cream shop. It\u2019s also unclear when the restaurant where her partner works as a manager will reopen its doors.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nCollier said she welcomed Inslee\u2019s announcement Thursday to extend the eviction moratorium for nonpayment of rent and expand it to prohibit landlords from charging late fees.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s great that it happened, but it should have been put in the initial moratorium. We all knew that landlords would take advantage of that,\u201d she said.\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\nCollier said an office employee at her apartment complex said the $100 would be returned as a credit on her account.
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by James Drew (4-17-20) When Wednesday Collier and her partner were laid off last month because of the new coronavirus outbreak, they struggled to pay the rent on their apartment in Olympia. They didn\u2019t have to worry about losing their … Continue reading