Rent freeze graphic. Jake Rinn // AS Publicity Center
By Stella Harvey
On April 13, the Bellingham City Council unanimously passed a resolution calling for Washington state and the federal government to provide rent and mortgage relief across the state. The resolution requests that the government forgive all residential and commercial mortgage payments so that no renters or property owners would have to make payments during the COVID-19 pandemic. The resolution was sent to Washington State Governor Jay Inslee, Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, Reps. Suzan DelBene and Rick Larson, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Donald Trump.
Since Governor Inslee implemented the Stay Home Stay Healthy order requiring people to stay inside and all non-essential businesses to temporarily close their doors, Bellingham’s economy has come to a screeching halt. Pinky Vargas, Bellingham City Council member representing the fourth ward, said that the council has heard from many Bellingham residents over the past few weeks who are worried about how they are going to pay their rent or mortgage without a steady income.
Vargas said while options like a forbearance, or the temporary delay of debt payments, exist for people with mortgages, options like these only delay payments that people do not have the money to pay. After hearing from tenants across Bellingham, the council saw that in a global emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic, these options are not enough, according to Vargas.
“We can’t just say, ‘you don’t have to pay your rent and you don’t have to pay your mortgage.’ We don’t have the authority to do that,” Vargas said. “The only thing we can do is ask for funds to help people [pay their rent or mortgage] or ask for opportunities for those payments to be waived.”
Vargas said that the council passed the resolution because providing rent and mortgage relief is beyond the local governing bodies’ jurisdiction. After hearing from the community, the council wanted to act within its power to request help for their constituents. The resolution also requests that Governor Inslee extend the eviction moratorium until Nov. 1, and expand it to include commercial business spaces, so landlords cannot evict their tenants for not paying rent on their office or store space.
“Sharing the information that we received and then writing up the resolution allowed us the momentum to represent the people and ask for these funds and support,” Vargas said.
Vargas said students were among the people who reached out to the council requesting housing support through this difficult time.
Beth Girma, second-year Western student and member of Western’s chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America [YDSA], said that she was among the constituents who reached out to the Bellingham City Council requesting support for a housing relief resolution.
Girma said she first learned about the council’s resolution through the WWU Community Aid Instagram account, which posted each city councilor’s contact information and a script so people could easily call and request that the council support a rent and mortgage relief resolution.
“[The WWU Community Aid group] made it pretty easy to get involved, which I really appreciate,” Girma said. “We watched the [city council pass the] resolution at my house live. It passed unanimously, which means that a lot of people were pushing for it locally.”
Many Western students may be experiencing issues due to the global pandemic. Girma said since a lot of college students work service jobs, Western students are facing losing all or most of their income. With some student’s parents still claiming college-age kids on their taxes, many students are also not eligible to receive a federal stimulus check.
In a statement, Grace Drechsel, Associated Students VP for governmental affairs, said that she and AS President Lani Defiesta also reached out to the Bellingham City Council to support the rent and mortgage relief resolution.
“As student representatives and students ourselves, we are concerned with the financial burden that rent payments place on our communities during this global pandemic,” Drechsel’s statement said. “We believe that housing is a right and urged our council members to vote in a way that prioritizes human health and dignity during this time.”
According to Vargas, while some efforts to relieve the strain on local economies are moving quickly, it is difficult to know when mortgage and rent relief would be implemented, should Governor Inslee or the federal government agree. Vargas said Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood has spoken to Patty Murray, senator of Washington state, and Murray is hoping to include housing accommodations in the next stimulus package.
“We’re [hoping] that this kind of relief will be put in the next package,” Vargas said.
Girma said in the meantime, local tenants have an opportunity to organize around housing affordability and stay involved in this fight.
“I’d like to see [tenants] talking to their neighbors and talking to other people who rent with the same agencies and try to figure out some sort of rent relief for those people,” Girma said. “We’re seeing a whole worldwide halt, and I hope people use this as a chance to voice their needs and concerns.”