A huge issue in the country has concerned housing and evictions. Seattle has also felt the shock. Landlords have complained about not receiving rent even though there has been stimulus money dedicated to that purpose. Renters on the other has have gone through hard times as well. The eviction moratorium has been in place in since March 2020.
Some may now believe that lawmakers have taken the side of landlords. On Feb. 22, the Seattle City Council voted 5-3 against a proposal to extend the moratorium for the eighth time since March 2020. The vote followed an announcement from the mayor who supported ending the moratorium on Feb. 28.
Some lawmakers are coming to the defense of those in need of more time. Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant believes that the city is on the edge of an eviction crisis and called for the moratorium to continue.
The mayor said that it is difficult to track the number of people who have benefited from the moratorium. Weeks ago, the mayor announced a final two-week extension to push the moratorium’s expiration date to the end of the month. He also directed the Office of Housing to distribute more than $25 million to support vulnerable renters and small landlords.
Is funding running out? That seems to be the case. It is being stated that rental assistance for all of King County is running out. The county stopped accepting new applications for the Eviction Prevention and Rental Assistance Program at 11:59 p.m. on Monday. The number is 11,245 households that is still assigned to a provider. 10,943 applicants waiting for assistance.
The county said it received an additional $66.5 million for the EPRAP program from the state’s Department of Commerce. That money will be used to fund the remaining applicants. Stats created be the Housing Justice Project estimates 5,000 to 7,000 households could be left behind when funding runs out.
