This new Whatcom program could help resolve landlord-tenant disputes before evictions
As the federal and Washington state eviction moratoriums come to an end, Whatcom County has opted in to the statewide eviction resolution program that hopes to help tenants and landlords resolve rent-related issues brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
Whatcom County Superior Court Presiding Judge Rob Olson signed an administrative order Aug. 20 establishing an Eviction Resolution Pilot Program in the county. Six Washington state counties initially started the pilot program in November 2020. Whatcom County is one of 28 counties with a standing order opting into the program as of Thursday, Sept. 2.
That means for the roughly 2,500 to 3,000 households in Whatcom County that owe back rent, the eviction resolution program will be available soon. It aims to resolve landlord-tenant rent-related issues before evictions go to court.
“What it really boils down to is ensuring that landlords and tenants alike have availed themselves of resources locally and have the opportunity to have a dialogue and conversation before moving forward in court,” said Moonwater, executive director of the Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center. “So it’s a chance to make sure people are communicating and accessing resources.”
The program
While the eviction resolution program isn’t operational yet, Moonwater said the Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center is finalizing coordination with other local agencies and is expecting the program to start within the coming weeks.
The Whatcom County eviction resolution pilot program is a partnership between the county’s Superior Court, the Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center, the Northwest Justice Project, LAW Advocates, the Opportunity Council and others.
The program directs landlords to issue a notice to tenants who owe rent due to the pandemic and to the local dispute resolution center, Moonwater said. The notice informs tenants that the landlord would like them to participate in the eviction resolution process. The dispute resolution center then reaches out to the tenant, and if the tenant agrees to participate in the process, the dispute resolution center will connect the tenant and landlord to rental assistance if they’re not already connected, Moonwater said.
The dispute resolution center then helps landlords and tenants communicate with one another and resolve their rent-related issues. The dispute resolution center will also connect the parties to legal help if need be, Moonwater said.
If the process is successful, the issues will be resolved and both parties will move forward, she said. If the process is unsuccessful, and both the landlord and tenant have attempted to resolve their issues through the process, the dispute resolution center will give the landlord a certificate. The landlord would then be able to file an unlawful detainer, or eviction case, against the tenant in court, she said.
Once the program is fully operational, landlords will be required to attempt to use this process with tenants first before starting eviction proceedings in court.
The services to use the program are free, and the dispute resolution center has the ability to provide translation services. The eviction resolution program is available to all eligible people in Whatcom County, regardless of immigration status, Moonwater said.
The program runs through June 2023.
The eviction program is part of a bill that Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee passed in April of this year that addresses landlord-tenant relations. In addition to creating the eviction resolution pilot programs for nonpayment of rent cases, the law also provides lawyers for residents during eviction proceedings and allows landlords to access rental assistance programs.
Easing backlog and stress
Because the eviction resolution program will operate as a diversion program before landlords file unlawful detainers in court, officials are hoping the program will not worsen the backlog of unresolved cases in the county court system.
While jury trials briefly resumed earlier this year — after jury trials were suspended for almost the entire first year of the pandemic — trials were shut down again until Oct. 4, according to an order signed by Olson on Aug. 27.
“We’re hoping for broad community awareness for folks to be able to come to us … to help prevent folks from needing to go to court in the first place,” Moonwater, with the dispute resolution center, said. “The intent of it is to not only divert people away from the court system, but to reduce that caseload for the court, which can have a positive ripple effect throughout the community.”
In late August, the U.S. Supreme Court ended the federal eviction moratorium, saying the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had exceeded its authority in issuing the moratorium. And Washington state’s eviction moratorium rental bridge ends Sept. 30, leading officials to prepare for the potential tsunami of evictions that could come as a result of the pandemic, the moratoriums and challenges people face with their incomes.
Roughly 195,307 or 12% of all Washington renters are behind on rent, according to a U.S. Census Bureau survey released in June. Of those, approximately 3,000 households in Whatcom County are in arrears.
So far in 2021, $3.5 million in rental assistance has been distributed in Whatcom County, and another $3.9 million is obligated in the application process, according to Debbie Paton, community services director with the Opportunity Council.
In total, approximately $13 million is available in Treasury rental assistance for Whatcom County, Paton said. The Opportunity Council will also be opening rental assistance appointments weekly starting Sept. 13, she said.
Moonwater, with the Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center, said the center has had around 50 inquiries over the past two months regarding assistance with evictions due to unpaid rent. Once Inslee’s rental bridge proclamation ends, Moonwater said she expects the number of inquiries to rise.
While there is no official cap on how many people can be served by the county’s eviction resolution program, Moonwater said the dispute resolution center has been “gearing up for the unknown” by increasing staffing and watching what’s happening in other communities.
“I think as a dispute resolution center, we’re committed to this program and providing this resource,” she said. “We’ve been doing a fair amount of preparation and we also just need to be adaptive and flexible as we move forward.”
Moonwater said she encourages both landlords and tenants to reach out for help if they need it. She said the point of the program is to help people communicate and connect them to available resources.
She said it’s a “significant stress and strain” for renters to be concerned about rent being in arrears and whether they can stay in their homes and for landlords to have the inability to collect from their tenants.
Moonwater said the dispute resolution center is an “impartial and balanced service” there to serve both landlords and tenants and to help stabilize housing and create clarity.
“It’s a massive stress that people throughout our community, landlords and tenants alike, have been carrying. We just want to ensure that people know that they don’t have to carry that stress alone and that we’re here as a support to ensure that they’re connected to the right resources and to help them have the conversations they need to have to be able to move forward with ease,” Moonwater said.
Resources:
▪ Opportunity Council: oppco.org.
▪ Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center: whatcomdrc.org.
▪ LAW Advocates: lawadvocates.org.
▪ Northwest Justice Project: hwashingtonlawhelp.org.
