OLYMPIA, Wash. — Gov. Jay Inslee announced Thursday he is extending Washington state’s eviction moratorium for one month. The state’s moratorium was set to expire on Sept. 30, 2021.
The extension will keep the moratorium in place through Oct. 31, 2021, at 11:59 p.m.
The change comes just days after Seattle extended its moratorium on residential and commercial evictions through Jan. 15, 2022.
Inslee said extending the state’s eviction moratorium will give counties more time to distribute much-needed rental assistance to tenants.
"We think this extension provides ample time for this assistance to get out," Inslee said during a press conference Thursday.
In Pierce County, more residents owe money to their landlords than anywhere else in the state. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, around 23,000 households in Pierce County owe a combined $93 million in late rent payments.
Counties have been working to get rental assistance out to tenants, but some areas are doing it faster than others.
“Right now, in Pierce County, we’ve seen the distribution of assistance dollars has gone pretty well,” said Sean Martin, the CEO for the Tacoma Pierce County Association of Realtors. “We’ve been doing pretty well. I think around 70% of the assistance dollars have been given out at this point. It’s a totally different situation in King County, where they’re kind of behind the curve.”
Earlier this month, KING 5 reported King County distributed only $22.6 million in rental assistance, or 6.6%, of the $340 million allocated. The funds assisted 3,404 households out of the 17,484 renters and landlords who had applied so far.
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