Transitional housing facilities, including converted hotels and tiny home villages, provide people who have been homeless with a secure and private place to live, even as they search for permanent housing. But residents of such facilities have recently faced illegal "self-help" evictions by nonprofit organizations that manage these properties.
In one case, a formerly homeless woman living in a converted hotel in Lacey was locked out of the unit she had occupied for two years and denied access to her personal belongings, including her clothes and toiletries. When she pleaded to stay, staff called the police.
NJP attorneys successfully argued that these practices violate Washington's laws against illegal lockouts and the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (RLTA). No landlord — including nonprofits operating transitional housing — may use self-help methods to remove a resident. Residents in dedicated units with private keyed access are entitled to the same due process protections as any other tenant and can only be removed through judicial proceedings. Through litigation and advocacy, NJP has secured residents' return to their homes and compelled providers to abandon these unlawful practices.