Wash. Court of Appeals published opinion — 850318.pdf

Citation: Wash. Court of Appeals published opinion — 850318.pdf
Jurisdiction: Washington (state)
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Original Source: https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/850318.pdf ↗

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of the CARES Act. It reads in pertinent part as follows:

CARES Act Section 4024(b) prohibits landlords of certain
rental “covered dwellings” from initiating eviction proceedings or
“charg[ing] fees, penalties, or other charges” against a tenant for

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No. 85031-8-I/19

the nonpayment of rent. These protections extend for 120 days
from enactment (March 27, 2020).
Section 4024(c) requires landlords of the same properties to
provide tenants at least 30 days-notice before they must vacate the
property. It also bars those landlords from issuing a notice to
vacate during the 120-day period. In contrast to the eviction and
late fee protections of Section 4024(b), which are expressly limited
to nonpayment, Section 4024(c) does not expressly tie the notice to
vacate requirement to a particular cause. Thus, Section 4024(c)
arguably prohibits landlords from being able to force a tenant to
vacate a covered dwelling for nonpayment or any other reason until
after August 24, 2020 (i.e., 120 days after enactment, plus 30 days
after notice is provided).
Section 4024(b)’s and (c)’s protections, however, do not
absolve tenants of their legal responsibilities to pay rent. Tenants
who do not pay rent during the eviction grace period may still face
financial and legal liabilities, including eviction, after the moratorium
ends.

MAGGIE MCCARTY & DAVID H. CARPENTER, CONG. RSCH. SERV., CARES ACT

EVICTION MORATORIUM (Apr. 7, 2020),

https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IN/IN11320 [https://perma.cc/YRK4-

4BE9] (some emphasis added and some alterations in original).

As an initial matter, the CRS report cannot be said to form part of

Congress’s intent in enacting the CARES Act. It bears repeating that such a