State orders Tacoma apartment complex to stop eviction notices amid coronavirus crisis

TACOMA, Wash. — A Tacoma apartment complex has been ordered by the Washington Office Attorney General’s Office to cease and desist eviction notices.

Boulders at Puget Sound at 2602 Westridge Ave. W. has been sending emails, calling and posting notices to doors stating that residents need to pay rent or vacate despite Gov. Jay Inslee’s moratorium that temporarily prohibited landlords from evicting renters because they cannot pay rent until April 17.

Landlords also cannot add late penalties for not paying rent on time.

The Attorney General’s Office provided The News Tribune with a copy of the letter sent Monday to Boulders at Puget Sound and the parent company, JRK Holding Partners.

The letter states Boulders at Puget Sound violated the eviction order by serving notices and taking actions in the eviction process with 14-day pay-or-vacate notices.

The letter also said JRK Property Holdings placed “unfair and deceptive pressure on tenants to pay rent” by telling residents to pay rent as quickly as possible to allow the property company “to support your less fortunate neighbors who are directly battling COVID-19.”

The apartment complex referred all comment to JRK Holding Partners. The phone numbers provided and those listed on the company site are non-operable, and Boulders at Puget Sound did not provide another way to contact the corporation. An email was sent to the JRK Holding Partners’ general inquiries account, but there was no immediate response.

Boulders at Puget Sound is one of several landlords sending eviction notices, according to the Attorney General’s Office. As of Monday, the office had received 403 eviction complaints from renters and contacted 168 landlords over the complaints.

Crystal Martin, a resident for about a year and a half, said management at Boulders in Puget Sound has even called her job.

“We don’t have money to move,” Martin told The News Tribune. “They tried to reach out to me but tried to contact my job, not realizing that I answer the phone for my job. They refused to speak to me. They wanted to speak to my boss.”

Martin, her husband and their three children live in a $1,767 two-bedroom apartment. She is still employed, but it has been difficult to pay rent with only one income. Her husband, a disabled veteran wasn’t working before, but other family members who were helping the couple before can no longer help them out, Martin said. If they can’t pay rent, she is afraid her family will end up on the streets.

“They have given us this notice so when the eviction order is over, they can take action right away,” Martin said. “I’ve called 211 to find some help, and we were thinking about becoming homeless because having an eviction on your record makes it so hard to find another place to live.”

Natascha Jammes, her husband and daughter have lived at Boulders in Puget Sound for three years. They rent a one-bedroom apartment for $1,255. Jammes was laid off about a month ago from a children’s birthday company.

Jammes said there have been issues with management before but never like this.

“I can’t sleep. I’ve got butterflies in my stomach,” Jammes said. “I’ve even considered being homeless this summer and putting up a tent with my daughter and husband because it would be warm enough to live outside.”

In notices obtained by The News Tribune, the apartment complex told residents that unemployment benefits and $1,200 federal stimulus check are for paying necessities, like rent.

“These cash payments are being sent to you directly so that everyone can continue to pay for necessities such as rent and avoid running behind on these essential bills, which can hurt your credit and create serious financial problems for you in the future,” the notice said.

Neither Jammes nor Martin have received money from the government.

Jammes said the company’s tactics are leaving her feeling stress.

“They are calling, emailing us a harassing amount of times, reminding us how much is due and how important it is to pay and how they are not going to give us any leniency,” Jammes said. “They keep hinting that this is going to ruin our credit forever.”

The notice also said that those struggling to pay rent can reach out to the office to create a financial plan or payment options. Both Martin and Jammes said they reached out to the office multiple times, but the manager was never available or a payment plan cost around $300 to set up.

The state Attorney General’s Office has ordered the company to rescind all 14-day pay or vacate notices, notify residents that the apartment complex will comply with the eviction moratorium and provide proof of doing so.

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