Prevent Evictions and Homelessness in Washington During this Legislative Session

You have an extraordinary opportunity and obligation this legislative session to prevent a significant increase in homelessness and housing insecurity. Washington is at a crossroads; at any given time since the beginning of the pandemic recession, well over 100,000 renters have been unable to pay rent. A sufficient off-ramp from the eviction moratorium must be implemented before it expires. Census Bureau data from mid-December found that over 175,000 Washington renters were behind in rent and over 387,000 renters who are current on rent report that they had to use credit cards and other unsustainable methods to meet their basic needs in the last 7 days.

The Washington State Department of Commerce estimates that $100 million in rental assistance is needed per month in order to meet the great need. The approximately $500 million in federal rental assistance will significantly help address the rental arrears that have already accumulated, but it will be critical for the state to fill the gap and to create a longer term solution to assist the households that will continue to need rental assistance for the months and years to come.

The real estate market is booming while thousands are unable to pay rent. This is a stark illustration of the growing inequality resulting from the pandemic. Many economists describe a “K-shaped” recovery, meaning that there are a significant number of people who are not only impacted worse, but who will also not experience the recovery until a much-prolonged date. Those at the top of the “k” are financially in the same position that they were before the pandemic or doing better. Those at the bottom are the renter households who will need rental assistance and legal protections to keep a roof over their heads. These households were not well off before the pandemic and many were already paying higher rents than they could afford, significantly impacting opportunities to save for a rainy day. These same households disproportionately experienced illness, reductions in hours, unemployment, or increased costs for medical bills, childcare, and basic needs such as food and internet. Washington’s households are hurting, and this pandemic has not hit equally.

Households of color have been disproportionately impacted for a number of reasons. Systemic racism has driven down wages and prevented access to homeownership opportunities for communities of color, leaving expensive rental housing as the only option for many. For example, statewide, Black households are twice as likely as white households to be renters. On top of this, Black and Latinx households have been more impacted both by illness from COVID-19 and by the economic downturn. Households of color, especially Black and Native American households, were at much greater risk of homelessness even before the pandemic. For example, a 2018 report on homelessness in Pierce County found that Black/African Americans represent 26.3% of those needing homelessness assistance, despite making up only 6.6% of the general population. Additionally, statewide student homelessness data has consistently shown that students of color disproportionately experience homelessness. For example, 1 in 11 Black students experienced homelessness during the 2017-2018 school year, with Native American/Indigenous students also experiencing startlingly high rates.

In order to prevent a significant increase in homelessness and inequity - while not forgetting the pre COVID-19 affordable housing and homelessness crisis - the undersigned organizations urge you to take bold and swift action on the following investments and protections that together will build a safety-net to help Washington’s renters keep a roof over their heads. Rental assistance alone will not prevent evictions – we must ensure that landlords have a legitimate business reason to make tenants move and that tenants with a valid legal defense don’t unfairly lose their home because of a confusing and intimidating legal process that is impossible to navigate without help.

Pass HB 1236/Macri providing Just Cause eviction protections to outlaw 20-day no cause notices and require a legitimate business reason to evict.
Pass SB 5160/Kuderer to make the eviction process fairer by providing access to legal assistance, mediation, and payment plans that will help landlords and tenants address accumulated rental debt.
Pass HB 1277/Ormsby, creating a permanent state funded rental assistance and housing stability program with a new $100 document recording fee on real estate related transactions. A permanent, state-funded program is needed to fill the gaps that federal assistance won’t address and to meet long-term rental assistance needs that are building across the state.
Adopt Governor Jay Inslee’s Biennial and Supplemental Operating and Capital Budget investments in affordable housing and homelessness.

The undersigned 195 organizations thank you for your commitment to the above priorities.

350 Seattle	Seattle
A Way Home Washington	Seattle
ACLU Burien People Power	Burien
ACLU-WA	Seattle
Alki United Church of Christ	West Seattle
Anti-Hunger & Nutrition Coalition	Statewide
Arlington United Church	Arlington/Snohomish County
Asian American Pacific Coalition of Spokane	Spokane
Asian Counseling and Referral Service	Seattle
Associated Ministries	Tacoma/Pierce County
Associated Students of Western Washington	Bellingham
Association of Manufactured Home Owners	Mount Vernon
Atlantic Street Center	Seattle/King County
Be:Seattle	Seattle
Blankets to the Streets	Tukwila/King County
Building Changes	Statewide
Byrd Barr Place	Seattle/King County
Campion Advocacy Fund	Seattle
Catholic Charities Eastern Washington	Spokane/Eastern Washington
Catholic Community and Catholic Housing Services of Western Washington	Western Washington
Catholic Community Services	King County
Center for Children & Youth Justice	Seattle
Center for Dialog & Resolution	Pierce County
Chelan-Douglas Community Action Council	Wenatchee
Children's Campaign Fund	Statewide
Christian Aid Center	Walla Walla
Citizens Against Domestic & Sexual Abuse, CADA	Oak Harbor/Island County
City of Kent	Kent
City of Seattle	Seattle
Coalition Ending Gender-Based Violence	Seattle/King County
Columbia Legal Services	Statewide
Community Life Foundation	Kent/South King County
Conscious Talk Radio	Port Townsend
Corporation for Supportive Housing	Seattle
Council for the Homeless	Clark County
DESC	Seattle/King County
Disability Rights Washington	Statewide
Dispute Resolution Center of King County	Seattle
Downtown Emergency Service Center	Seattle
Eagle’s Nest Community Kitchen	Kent
Eastside for All	East King County
Eastside Interfaith Gathering	East King County
El Centro de la Raza	Seattle
Enterprise Community Partners	Seattle
Equity in Education Coalition	Statewide
Faith Action Network	Seattle
Family Community Services	Spokane
FamilyWorks	Seattle
FareStart	Seattle
Firelands Workers Action / Accion de Trabajadores	Grays Harbor/Pacific County
Food Lifeline	Western Washington
Frye Apartments	Seattle
Futurewise	Seattle
Good Nature Publishing	Seattle/King County
Greater Spokane Progress	Spokane
Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County	King County/Kittitas County
Han Bao Art	Bothell
Highline Public Schools	Burien
Homage Senior Services	Lynnwood/Snohomish County
Homes and Hope Community Land Trust	Mukilteo
Homes First	Lacey/Thurston/South Puget Sound
Hope N Wellness	Arlington
Housing Resources Bainbridge	Bainbridge Island/Kitsap County
Housing Solutions Network	Jefferson County
Immanuel Lutheran Church	Vancouver
Indivisible Plus Washington	Statewide
Interfaith Works	Olympia/Thurston County
InterIm CDA	Seattle/Puget Sound
International Community Health Services	King County
International IFC	Seattle
Issaquah Sammamish Interfaith Coalition	Issaquah
JACL, Seattle Chapter	Seattle/King County
Jefferson County Immigration Rights advocates	Jefferson County
Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle	Seattle
Just Housing Olympia	Olympia
Just One (If You Could Save Just One)	Spokane
Kahs In Kol Ministry	Kent
Kent Community Foundation	Kent
Kent Community Partners	Kent/King County
Keystone UCC	Seattle
Keystone UCC/Faith Action Network	Seattle
King County Bar Association	Seattle
King County Promotores Network	Renton
King County Young Democrats	King County
Lake City Taskforce on Homelessness	Seattle/King County
Legal Counsel for Youth and Children	King/Benton/Franklin/Walla Walla Counties
LGBTQ Allyship	Seattle
Living Well Kent	Kent
Lopez Community Land Trust	Lopez Island/San Juan County
Low Income Housing Institute	Seattle/King County
League of Women Voters Kitsap	Kitsap County
Madrona Community Development SPC	Whatcom Region
Marshallese Women Association	King County
MDC - Metropolitan Development Council	Tacoma/Pierce County
Medzed	Spokane
Mission Gathering Christian Church	Issaquah/King County
NAACP	Vancouver
NAMI Washington	Seattle
National Assoc of Social Workers WA Chapter	Statewide
National Association of Social Workers - WA Chapter	Seattle
National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW)	Seattle
North Olympic Regional Veteran's Housing Network	Forks
Northwest Fair Housing Alliance	East/Central Washington
Northwest Harvest	Seattle
Northwest Native Development Fund	Coulee Dam
Northwest Progressive Institute	Redmond/King County
OlyCAP	Jefferson County
Olympia Downtown Neighborhood Association	Olympia
Olympia Zen Center	Olympia/Thurston County
Omni-Manna Services	Arlington
OneAmerica	Seattle/Yakima/Vancouver
OPAL Community Land Trust	East Puget Sound
Opportunity Council	Island/San Juan/Whatcom Counties
Orange Child	Snoqualmie/King County
Outsiders Inn	Vancouver
Partners for Our Children	Seattle
Partners for Rural Washington	Bellevue
Pathways to Living Good	Vancouver/Clark County
Peace & Justice Advocates, University Congregational United Church of Christ	Seattle/King County
Peer Navigator Training Program	Spokane
Peninsula Behavioral Health	Port Angeles
Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii	Seattle
Plymouth Housing	Seattle/King County
Post-Prison Education Program	Seattle
Quaker Voice on Washington Public Policy	Statewide
Real Change News	Seattle
Rebuilding Together South Sound	Pierce County
Refugee Connections Spokane	Spokane/Spokane County/Inland Northwest
Resident Action Project	Seattle
Retired Public Employees Council of WA	Olympia
Rural Community Assistance Corporation	Washington State
SafePlace	Olympia
Seattle Human Services Coalition	Seattle
Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness	King County
SEIU 925	Statewide
Serenity House of Clallam County	Port Angeles
SHAG Life Foundation	Tukwila
Shalom Ecumenical Center for Affordable Housing	Richland/Benton County
Share	Vancouver/Clark County
Share The Cities	Seattle/King County
Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia	Spokane
SKY Urban Empowerment and Transformation Center	Renton
Snohomish County Homeless Policy Task Force	Snohomish County
Social Justice Coordinating Council, Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane	Spokane
Solid Ground	Seattle/King County
Sound Alliance	King and Pierce Counties
Spokane Area Tenants United	Spokane/Spokane County
Spokane Center for Independent Living	Spokane
Spokane Community Against Racism (SCAR)	Spokane
Spokane Democratic Socialists of America	Spokane County/Kootenai County
Spokane Low Income Housing Coalition	Spokane
Spokane Valley Community Advocates	Spokane Valley/Spokane County
Spokane Veterans For Peace	Spokane
St. James Homeless Advocacy Committee	Seattle
Standing Against Foreclosure and Eviction	Seattle
Statewide Poverty Action Network	Seattle/King County
Tacoma Pierce County Coalition to End Homelessness	Pierce County
Tacoma Pierce County Democratic Socialists of America (TDSA)	Tacoma/Pierce County
Tacoma Pro Bono Community Lawyers	Pierce County
Tacoma Tenants Organizing Committee	Tacoma/Pierce County
Tahoma Community Land Trust	Pierce County
Tenants Union of Washington	Seattle
The Housing Advocacy Coalition of Snohomish County	Everett/Snohomish County
The Justice for Girls Coalition of Washington State	Seattle
The Mockingbird Society	Statewide
Thurston Housing Aland Trust	Olympia
Tacoma Pierce County Health Department	Tacoma
Transit Riders Union	Seattle
Transitional Resources	Seattle/King County
Transitions Home Yard Cottages	Spokane
UNITE HERE Local 8	Statewide
United Peers of Washington	Washington State
United Way of King County	King County
Unity Services	Redmond
Volunteers of America Western Washington Dispute Resolution Center	Everett/Snohomish County
WA Assoc for Children and Families	Kenmore
WA State Community Action Partnership	Statewide
Washington Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for a Moral Revival.	Statewide
Washington Academy of Elder Law Attorneys	Gig Harbor
Washington Coalition for Homeless Youth Advocacy	Statewide
Washington Community Action Network	Seattle
Washington Kids in Transition	Lynnwood/Snohomish County
Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility	Seattle/King County
Washington State Budget & Policy Center	Seattle
Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence	Statewide
Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO	Seattle
Washington State Society for Clinical Social Work	Seattle
WHEEL	Seattle
Whidbey Homeless Coalition	Island County
Women in Black	Seattle
Youth Action Board of Seattle and King County	King County
Youth Development Executives of King County	King County
YouthCare	Seattle
YWCA	Everett
YWCA Seattle\|King\|Snohomish	Seattle/King/Snohomish

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