For Tenants and Landlords

  1. Emergency Rental Assistance
  2. Asistencia para Alquiler

There is currently a moratorium on evictions in Washington State until March 31st, 2021, per a Proclamation by Governor Inslee. Additionally, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued a moratorium in evictions through March 31st, 2021. This means that tenants cannot be evicted from their housing due to inability to pay rent through March 31st, 2020. However, this does not mean that rent is not owed. Tenants are still are still required to pay rent and follow all the other terms of their lease and rules of the place where they live.

For more information on Washington's moratorium on evictions, please see additional materials here.

To file a complaint regarding an illegal eviction during the moratorium, please visit the Washington State Office of the Attorney General's form here.

According to Federal Guidance, assistance received through this program should not count as a benefit for the purpose of determining whether someone is considered a public charge.

At this time, many of our partner agencies have depleted their available rental assistance funds. However, tenants seeking assistance should still contact the following local agencies to be considered for rental assistance or to be placed on a wait list:

Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic Northwest Community Action Center

Toppenish

(509) 865-7630 Ext 2716
706 Rentschler Lane
Toppenish, WA
Hours: 8am-5pm M-F
yvfwc.com/locations/northwest-community-action-center

Yakima Neighborhood Health Services

Yakima

(509) 249-6232
102 South Naches Ave
Yakima, WA
Hours: 9am-4pm M-F
ynhs.org/locations/yakima

Sunnyside

(509) 515-0576
617 Scoon Rd
Sunnyside, WA
Hours: 9am-4pm M-F
ynhs.org/locations/sunnyside

Latino Community Fund

Yakima

(509) 379-4447
6 South 2nd Street, STE 907
Yakima, WA
Hours: 8am-6pm M-S
latinocommunityfund.org

OIC of Washington

Yakima

(509) 452-7145
815 Fruitvale Blvd
Yakima, WA
Hours: 8am-5pm M-F
yvoic.org

 

Rental Assistance Flyer


Emergency Rental Assistance Eligibility and Prioritization Criteria

In order to be eligible for rental assistance, households must meet the following requirements:

  • Both of the initial screening criteria:
    • Current income (over the last 60 days) at or below 80% of Area Median Income
    • At least one month of rent not paid or partially unpaid since March 1, 2020
  • At least one of the following additional screening criteria:
    • Rent burdened: 50% or more of current monthly income is needed to pay rent
    • Previously homeless within the last five years; this includes experiences of couch surfing/doubling up
    • Eviction history within the last seven years
    • Housing disrupted due to a household member’s race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, or religion
    • At risk of severe illness per CDC guidelines (62 or older, underlying condition)
    • Disability of any household member; includes a physical, developmental, or emotional impairment, including impairment caused by substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, or brain injury
  • For young adults age 24 or younger, these additional criteria can be used to determine eligibility:
    • Person 24 years old or younger that is pregnant or parenting
    • Person 24 years old or younger that is a recipient (current or past) from any one of the following: foster care; adoption; mental health; drug, alcohol treatment; court systems

 Prioritization for rental assistance will go to:

  • People most likely to become homeless after eviction
  • People most likely to suffer severe health consequences as a result of eviction
  • People living in zip codes ranked as high priority by the Urban Institute’s Emergency Rental Assistance Priority Index
  • People who historically have not been provided equitable access to rent assistance and those who have disproportionately been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak: Hispanic or Latinx, young adults, Black or African American, Native American and Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and farm workers or other essential workers


This page updated  January 13th, 2021