Sarah got an eviction notice from their landlord in August 2023. At the time, they were disabled, unemployed and caring for two children. Pandemic rent assistance had dried up and they were out of options.
"It sucks," said Sarah, who asked that their last name not be used out of fear their story may affect their future housing and employment opportunities. "There's not much help for families or individuals. ... Things are freaking ridiculous. I was paying $1,725 a month for a two bedroom."
That sum included rent and utilities for their Lacey home, Sarah said. Before a judge could rule on the matter, Ron Baugh, an attorney from Thurston County Volunteer Legal Services, struck an agreement with the landlord that allowed them to stay at their home until Sept. 24 and avoid paying back rent.
Sarah, 34, now lives in an Olympia area hotel with their children. Family Support Center of South Sound helped place them in the hotel in November but the arrangement is temporary.
"We basically have until the end of April to either get assistance from the state or get into a low-income housing situation or something along those lines," Sarah said. "And if that doesn't happen, then we're out on the streets or couch hopping."
Sarah is one of hundreds people who faced evictions in Thurston County in 2023. There were 728 eviction fillings, known as unlawful detainer filings, in the county, according to data obtained from the Washington state Administrative Office of the Courts.
That total dwarfs the number recorded over the past three years and even exceeds pre-pandemic sums. The data show 141 eviction fillings in 2020, 153 in 2021 and 398 in 2022. From 2017 to 2019, total eviction fillings in the county were in the mid-500s.
Statewide, eviction fillings exceeded 16,500 in 2023. For comparison, the data indicates there were 4,748 fillings in 2020, 3,981 in 2021 and 10,414 in 2022.
Why is this happening?
Bonnie Rosinbum, managing attorney for Thurston County Volunteer Legal Services, said her office has seen a significant increase in eviction cases since last summer.
"The significant majority of the cases that we're seeing filed now is based on non-payments," Rosinbum said. "One of the main factors that are driving those non-payments in a lot of our cases are rental rate increases."
Rosinbum said Volunteer Legal Services is contracted with the Washington State Office of Civil Legal Aid to provide defense services for tenants across Thurston, Grays Harbor, Pacific, Mason and Lewis counties.
The influx in cases coincided with the end of pandemic rent assistance programs, most of which were funded through the state and federal government.
Thurston County provided over $53.5 million in rent and utility assistance for county residents from 2020 to 2023, according to county documents. The county says it issued 7,376 payments to households and the average payment was $7,270.
Funding for pandemic rent and utility assistance programs was "exhausted" in July 2023, according to the documents.
At about the same time, the state ended its two-year-old Eviction Resolution Pilot Program. Thurston County participated in the program, which facilitated mediation between tenants and landlords before their cases went to court.
Under state law, landlords had to offer tenants a repayment plan for any back rent that accrued since March 2020. However, that requirement ended in April, six months after the end of the public health emergency.
There's still some rent assistance funding, Rosinbum said, but it's not nearly enough. In 2021, state lawmakers passed a permanent rent assistance program funded through document recording fees on the sale or refinance of homes in the state.
Thurston County began serving clients with this funding in April 2023. The county received about $1.5 million for the program from the state Department of Commerce, according to county documents.
"The amounts compared to the need are just not sufficient, which I think everybody knows," Rosinbum said. "The access to it, it's just extremely limited and the process can take quite a bit of time as well."
What is Thurston County doing about it?
Thurston County has called on state lawmakers to enact rent stabilization and pass increased rent assistance funding.
"Preventing homelessness by preventing evictions and helping keep people in their homes is not only more cost effective, but it also will protect people from experiencing extreme trauma," said Elisa Sparkman, spokesperson for the county's Office of Housing and Homelessness Prevention.
Sparkman delivered the county's appeal during a Jan. 10 Senate work session hearing. She used the opportunity to highlight the results of a survey the county published in November 2023.
The county surveyed past recipients of rent assistance in August and received 541 usable responses for a 30% response rate.
The results showed 51% of respondents were behind on rent again. About 75% of respondents said all or almost all their monthly income goes toward rent and utilities.
Additionally, 71%, or 381 respondents, said they needed rent assistance immediately. From that group, 86 said they needed long-term rent assistance. About 24% of respondents said they will need rent assistance if they have an emergency.
When at capacity, the county's ongoing rent assistance program can serve just 162 households, according to Sparkman. This program "falls drastically short" of the need in the community, she said.
"The program is continually at capacity with closed waitlists due to high demand," Sparkman said.
The survey also asked people how much their household rent increased per month since October 2021. The results indicate 30% of households saw an increase of $300 or more and 45% saw an increase of $100 to $299.
"We're seeing pretty huge rent increases," Sparkman said. "We know through past experience that homelessness and housing stability are highly correlated with rent increases."
Sparkman said evictions filed in Thurston County increased from an average of 47.8 per month from January to June 2023 to 71.2 per month from July to November.
What can tenants do if they get an eviction notice?
Low-income tenants who face evictions are guaranteed legal representation under a 2021 Washington state law.
However, the recent increase in eviction fillings is straining legal aid agencies like Volunteer Legal Services and Northwest Justice Project. Attorneys from both organizations have told the county that the increase has become "unmanageable," Sparkman said during the Senate hearing.
"This is a huge, unprecedented really, increase in evictions being filed and it's putting a lot of stress on our legal aid agencies," Sparkman said.
While these agencies are stretched, they are still accepting clients. Baugh, the attorney who represented Sarah, said every situation is different, but there are usually few options for tenants who are late on rent.
"In general, if we're going to solve the problem, we either have to find a way to get the money, move out or straighten out a landlord," Baugh said.
That usually involves defending the client on a factual matter or negotiating a repayment or move out plan, he said.
In some cases, he said they can try to buy more time for a client by arguing a technical defense, such as the landlord not following the proper eviction process.
In Sarah's case, Baugh said they didn't have the money for a repayment plan. So, he said he negotiated a move out plan that would have been more favorable than losing in court.
In addition to not paying back rent, the agreement prohibits this case from affecting Sarah's future tenant screenings, according to court records. Lastly, it requires Sarah's former landlord to provide a neutral reference.
Sarah said they felt thankful for Baugh's help, but their future remains uncertain. Sarah said they're unable to work because of a back condition and their partner recently lost their job.
"I just really, really hope things change soon," Sarah said. "Funds are drying up and all the places that used to be able to help have been getting overwhelmed. Eventually, there's going to be even more homeless people out on the streets."
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