New 2018 Washington State Landlord Laws

Effective September 30th, 2018 Washington State makes it illegal for landlords to discriminate against tenants based on their sources of income to pay the rent. Sources of income include any state, federal, and local benefits such as social security, TANF, veterans benefits, rental subsidies such as section 8, HEN, or ABD, and short-term rental assistance.

In addition to the new Source of Income Discrimination law there has been a Landlord Mitigation Program introduced to provide landlords with incentives and additional security to work with tenants receiving rental assistance.

Learn more about the new law and the mitigation fund in the Source of Income Discrimination and Landlord Mitigation Program brochure.

Youth Housing Stability Model

Over the past nine months, the Housing and Homelessness Division and the Kitsap County Juvenile and Family Court Services Department have jointly convened a work group on Youth Homelessness, with an initial focus on justice-involved youth.

As part of this work, the group participated in a research project by the University of Washington’s Study and Advancement of Justice Effectiveness Center (SAJE Center), funded through grants from the Raikes Foundation and the Block-Leavitt Foundation. The project focused on identifying a court-based strategy for preventing and addressing youth homelessness for juvenile courts. Kitsap was one of two counties selected for the research project; Snohomish County was the other one.

Select the link to download the report:
Report of a Research to Practice Partnership to Develop the Youth Housing Stability Model for Juvenile Courts

The next steps for the work group include submitting an application for funding to begin implementing the model that was developed in collaboration with the SAJE Center.

The Kitsap Youth Homelessness Work Group consists of representatives from various organizations and agencies that work with youth experiencing homelessness. Any additional interested organizations are welcome to participate.

2018 Kitsap Homeless Crisis Response and Housing Plan

• Plan Approved by Commissioners

  The Kitsap County Board of County Commissioners approved the 2018 Homeless Crisis Response Plan on May 23rd, 2018.  The plan includes input from many elected officials, community members, social service providers, housing providers, and from people experiencing homelessness.
  
  The Housing and Homelessness Division will be working with the Kitsap Housing and Homelessness Coalition and many community partners to implement this strategy plan over the next 3-5 years.

  View the 2018 Kitsap Homeless Crisis Response and Housing Plan