Washington Eviction Laws during Covid-19: What You Need to Know
It is a time of uncertainty for landlords and tenants with the current state of the economy and housing market, particularly in Pierce and King County which remain under Stage 2 under Governor Jay Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” Proclamation. For tenants, this time can be stressful as it remains unclear what will happen if and when Proclamation 20-19.3 will be lifted or amended and evictions can commence, and for landlords, the uncertainty of how to pay a mortgage when tenants cannot pay rent places them squarely between a rock and a hard place. While the rules may be somewhat unclear for the uninitiated, they can become clearer with the help of a licensed attorney, or hopefully, through review of this post.
In Washington, there is no state-mandated stay on foreclosures, though state officials have requested that lenders work with borrowers to help avoid a flood of defaults. There is, however, a federal moratorium on federally insured loans, which is set to expire on August 31, 2020 for Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA or “Fannie Mae”) and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC or “Freddie Mac”), which collectively manage over half of the mortgages in the U.S.—and for FHA loans, that moratorium was recently extended and set to end on December 31, 2020. Further extensions may still be to come. Funke Law Firm can help you if you are in default and need guidance on your next steps.
Governor Inslee’s proclamation does prevent eviction, though this protection has changed over time, initially only prohibiting evictions based upon non-payment (thus allowing evictions for things like nuisance behavior), then broadening and preventing evictions for any reason that was not based upon health and safety, and finally adding some exceptions to the broad eviction prohibition. As of the date of this blog post, landlords and property owners who intend to reside in their property or sell the property may evict a tenant who no longer holds an active lease (thus having their tenancy converted to a month-to-month arrangement). If the landlord wants to evict the tenant for a reason that does not involve imminent threat to health and safety, the landlord must provide sixty (60) days’ notice to the tenant in advance of their move-out date. Health and safety evictions follow the standard notice requirements.
For more help navigating your rights during this challenging time, contact Funke Law Firm for an initial consultation, and hire our experienced litigator to help you through the process of protecting your property rights.
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