KING COUNTY, WA — Officials announced Thursday that King County’s rental assistance program has distributed $63 million this year, in turn, saving more than 12,000 households from evictions since the program’s launch.

This year alone, more than 6,100 households have been supported through direct rent assistance payments to their landlords, county officials said.

Last week more than $8 million in payments were processed, including more than $2 million processed in a single day, according to the county.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, King County has distributed more than $100 million in assistance to keep tenants housed.

Additionally, King County said it’s invested $46 million in eviction prevention contracts, increased application processing capacity, community based outreach to ensure equitable access to the programs, and administrative costs.

“The pandemic’s unprecedented economic toll threatened thousands of our neighbors with eviction, but the hard work of our staff and community partners has kept more than 12,000 households in their homes,” said Executive Dow Constantine. “Building a robust payment system took the work of many, and there has been no higher priority than keeping people in their homes as we built the equitable recovery King County residents deserve.”

Based on current rates of expenditure and expected additional funding awards, King County estimates it has sufficient funds to support the program into early 2022.

Enrollment is open

Residents of King County whose income is at or below 50 percent of the area median income and have fallen behind in rent due to unemployment, lost wages, or health crises due to the COVID-19 pandemic are encouraged to apply.

Residents of King County whose income is at or below 50 percent of the area median income and have fallen behind in rent due to unemployment, lost wages, or health crises due to the COVID-19 pandemic are encouraged to apply. Tenants can apply online in English and Spanish at this link. E-mail [email protected] or call 206-477-1331 for help, including in-language.

• press 2 for Spanish or call 425-891-0346
• press 3 for Dari or call 253-237-6701
• press 4 for Somali and Amharic or call 206-721-5542
• For all other languages, including Vietnamese, press 5, then state your language to the operator and they will connect you to a translator.

For more information visit the EPRAP web page.