"A lot of these resources don’t get used," Witter said citing a few landlord relief programs the Legislature passed this year, plus pre-existing city and county programs."

This is because these programs are only available for a very narrow range of circumstances, excluding the majority of landlords.

The Landlord Mitigation Program, for example, only provides relief for landlords renting to tenants receiving subsidies. See https://deptofcommerce.app.box.com/s/n0tko8dxzuvxb8qcd3v7ra2ln25dkl5n

The Tenancy Preservation Program is only applicable where the landlord has obtained specified court orders. See: https://deptofcommerce.app.box.com/s/pgr5d22hxvtudqnrzu9uvve9adt7vkmg

And the Limited Landlord Relief Program is only applicable to landlords who are sole investors, and have incomes at or below local Family Median Income. See: https://www.commerce.wa.gov/serving-communities/homelessness/landlord-fund-programs/landlord-relief-program/

Nathalie Graham writes one-sided and misinformed articles.
She failed to get the "landlord's" side of the story,
which in this case was hardly a landlord, just someone who owns a home
in which they rent a room out. This type of rental is exempt from certain parts of law, fortunately. Think about it, you managed to buy a home, you rent a room out to help keep it, the roomer turns out to be an obnoxious self-entitled slacker who won't pay and makes your home a living hell - perhaps even threatens you. Fortunately the law allows you to kick them out. Ms. Graham should become better informed and perhaps try to tell the truth.

@1 Oh no the relief isn't available to wealthy landlords. How awful. What a travesty. Something must be done.

Oh gosh someone without a job doesn't have enough investment income to tide them over. They might have to sell an asset! This is appalling, surely we can all pitch in and give them enough to cover their investment shortfall and spare them the indignity and inconvenience of selling property or performing labor in exchange for wages.

Every grocery store I know of is hiring. The in-store ads say they have great benefits and competitive pay. Real estate prices in our city are at all-time highs. But will no-one spare a thought for the plight of the idle landlord?

They should make it easier for the tenants (vs landlords) to get the money - and so they can pay rent on time. This is another reason people support a universal basic income. It streamlines a lot a lot of issues. Including this.

Oh but wait - then all these people being paid to spend their lives jumping other people through pointless bureaucratic hoops would become obsolete.

@robotslave
Yes, precisely, Anquida Adams, after “the consulting firm she founded” foundered, could have easily gotten one of those jobs at a grocery store with “great benefits and competitive pay” you cited, paid the rent, and kept living in the homeowner’s house. Instead Adams gets on Zoom with Nathalie Graham (who needs copy) and provides Graham with a testimonial to help keep the misinformed narrative the peddles going. Graham is a lot like those odious right wing “journalists”.
BTW, “consulting firm”?? Lmfao.

@9 dunking on robotslave

@3 Yes, something must be done: the whole point here is keeping folks housed, isn't it? If, as this piece suggests, existing programs aren't working, then aren't changes warranted?