Landlord Mitigation Program

Washington state requires any landlord that holds a security deposit to complete a Move-In/Out Condition Report. Unfortunately, some landlords were denied funding from the new landlord mitigation program because they didn’t have this documentation.

As you work with landlords and clients, keep this in mind as it protects both parties and may be useful in the future if a landlord incurs damages.

For more information on requirements to access Landlord Mitigation Funds, real-time program data, and a sample Move-In/Move-Out Checklist, please click here.

Foundational Community Support Program

The Foundational Community Supports (FCS) program is an additional avenue to provide housing and employment supports to your community. It may provide an additional incentive for landlords who are apprehensive about tenant reliability, and can be added to your list of reasons why your agency will be a great partner.

The flyer linked here provides information about the benefits of supportive housing, and reminds landlords to use Commerce’s Landlord Mitigation program if damages occur during tenancy.

Seeking Agencies that Compensate Individuals with Lived Experience for Their Time

The Office of Family and Adult Homelessness is currently exploring ways to gather feedback from those who use homeless crisis response systems. We understand that doing this equitably often involves compensating people for their time. Has your county compensated individuals with lived experience for their time? If you have and are willing to share information, please reach out to the program manager for your county.

A new tool to help analyze and highlight racial and ethnic disparities in homelessness is available on the HUD Exchange. The CoC Analysis Tool: Race and Ethnicity was created to help communities facilitate analysis of disparities among people experiencing homelessness. This easy-to-use tool graphically displays race and ethnicity distributions at a CoC level and makes it easy to compare distributions of people in poverty.

Examining this information is a crucial step toward creating more equitable housing systems and services. You can find the tool here, as well as a COC Analysis Tool Overview.

Source of Income Discrimination Information

As of Sept. 30, 2018 it is illegal for landlords in Washington state to discriminate against tenants and would-be tenants based on their source of income. We’re creating a flyer for navigating this new legal protection. For more information now, view this document or visit www.washingtonlawhelp.org.

HEN Snapshot Infographic

The state legislature expanded program eligibility in 2018, and the demand for services far exceeds available funding. This infographic provides information on the impact of the HEN program and the startling need.

Updated Performance Dashboards

Check out the updated Rapid Re-Housing, Temporary Housing and Homelessness Prevention dashboards to see how your projects are performing! Share these at your next board or community meeting as a tool to spotlight your work to end homelessness in your county.