Seattle mayor extends eviction moratorium through March

SEATTLE — Mayor Jenny Durkan announced Wednesday that she is extending COVID relief measures and a citywide eviction moratorium through March of 2021.

Among the measures extended include a public utilities discount pilot program, temporary loading zones for restaurants and small businesses, additional parking for hospital and human services staff, and a suspension of enforcement for a 72-hour parking rule.

“Our region is still very much in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Durkan said in a written release. “New cases and hospitalizations are as high as they have ever been, and residents and businesses continue to feel the deep, economic impact of this crisis.”

The eviction moratorium covers residential, nonprofit, and small business tenants, and makes it so property owners may not issue notices of termination or initiate eviction proceedings in court, excepting “an imminent threat to the health and safety of the community.”

The moratorium also puts a pause on the ability of landlords to issue late fees, interest, or any other charges stemming from late rent payments.

“However, tenants are still legally obligated to pay rent during the moratorium and landlords are encouraged to offer flexible payment plans,” the mayor’s office noted.

A state-level eviction moratorium is set to expire at the end of December. Prior to Wednesday, Seattle’s own moratorium was scheduled to expire at that same time. While the measure has been viewed by renters as necessary relief during record a period of record unemployment, landlords have been outspoken against it.

In November, four Washington landlords filed a lawsuit in federal court, citing numerous tenants refusing to pay rent despite allegedly having the means to do so.

“I’ve already burned through all my savings, and now what?” one of the plaintiffs, Yakima landlord Enrique Jevons, told KIRO Radio shortly after the lawsuit was filed. “We’re at the edge of losing properties, and there are people that are now selling their rental properties as a result.”

This story was originally published by MyNorthwest.com.

Cox Media Group