Eviction Prevention
Enrique Jevons • Aug 26, 2021
Each County has a Rental Assistance Program. Here is information on King County's.
King County’s Eviction Prevention and Rent Assistance Program
is one of the ways the county is helping
residents behind in rent and utility payments due to COVID-19 hardships. The program provides payments
for back rent and even future rent obligations. Households throughout King County who have fallen behind
in rent due to unemployment, lost wages and health crises as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic can now
apply for assistance.
Q: How does it work? How can someone sign-up?
In the first phase of the program this year, we signed up Landlords and property owners with more than 5
units behind in rent. The beauty of signing up landlords first is that they helped with the application process
on behalf of the tenants, and it makes it possible to enroll thousands who need help.
Q: How do individual tenants get help?
On May 17, we opened the Tenant Portal to allow individuals an opportunity to apply. The first step is to
sign-up on the Tenant Portal: https://rent-help.kingcounty.gov. King County will randomly select tenants
from the pool weekly to work with agencies to review their eligibility for rental assistance. If someone is
selected through this process and meets the eligibility criteria, they will receive the rent assistance they
need for 2021.
Q: How do I know if my landlord already signed me up?
A: If someone applies on the Tenant Portal and their landlord is in the program already, the tenant will be
notified. Landlords will also be notifying tenants directly.
Q: How does someone know if they or a family member qualifies for the program?
A: Households throughout King County whose income is at or below 50% of the area median, and have
fallen behind in rent due to unemployment, lost wages and health crises due to the COVID-19 pandemic are
encouraged to apply. Eligible households that include an individual who has been unemployed for the 90
days prior to application for assistance and households with income at or below 50% of the area median are
being prioritized for assistance.
Q: Can I sign up more than once?
A: Based on funding, the opportunity to re-apply may be available. Additional support will be subject to
available funds.
Q: If I meet the eligibility criteria and apply to the Tenant Pool, what are my chances of getting selected to
receive funding?
A: The program will help as many people as possible and we will spend all the funds allocated but it is
unlikely the program will be able to help everyone who is behind in their rent.
Q: How soon will the money be paid to my landlord?
A: Payments to landlords begin in mid-July, continuing through the life of the program.
Q: What if my landlord isn’t paid before the Governor lifts the eviction moratorium? I owe a lot of back rent!
A: We are offering landlords the potential of 100 percent of back rent and up to three months rent in
advance. A total of 12 months rent is possible under EPRAP 2.0 for ALL eligible tenants in their buildings.
We are making payments directly to the landlords. Our payment schedule begins releasing payments in
mid-July. We are partnering with landlords to help them recoup their losses over the long months of the
pandemic, and helping to keep our community stable. No one benefits from thousands of people becoming
homeless when our region is already struggling with a homelessness crisis.
Q: Why is it taking so long to get the money out the door?
A: The improvements we are making are streamlining both the application process and the processing of
payments. The final phase of development, testing and implementation of our brand new, web-based data
and processing system is near completion. The County Council approved the EPRAP funding on May 25, but
we have been working since the Executive transmitted the expenditure plan in late March to prepare the
new data system, prepare Request for Proposal processes to recruit and contract with community-based
agencies, conduct the landlord enrollment process, and open the tenant enrollment process. This is a
considerable amount of planning and work, culminating in payments going out the door in mid-July!
