The ongoing eviction crisis has reached historical highs across various regions, with both The Valley and Washington state experiencing alarming surges in eviction filings. According to ABC15, The Valley reported 7,029 eviction filings in just the month of June, marking its second-highest June in the past five years and fourth highest in a quarter-century. The Valley isn't showing signs of slowdown either; the first half of 2025 alone has seen a gut-wrenching total of 41,162 evictions.
Heading north, Washington state paints a similarly distressing picture. Per a report compiled by Philippe Knab of Washington’s Office of Civil Legal Aid, as provided by InvestigateWest, the tidal wave of evictions is unabated, with January 2025 marking the single highest month for evictions seasonally in state history. The escalation seems to directly follow the rollback of pandemic-era eviction protections, and despite the Right to Counsel program's efforts to provide legal aid to low-income tenants, it's becoming increasingly difficult to comprehensively cover the need.
Particular areas in The Valley, mostly in the West, are hardest hit. Country Meadows leads with the most filings year-to-date, followed closely by the Kyrene Justice Court. Meanwhile, King County in Washington has seen eviction filings spike to 66% above pre-pandemic levels, an increase that's hard to conceptualize for those not directly caught in the swell of housing insecurity.
King County's Right to Counsel program, heralded in 2021, was initially able to represent every eligible low-income tenant. Now, the program is being stretched too thin to maintain this standard, leaving some vulnerable individuals without full representation. Knab admitted, "We finally got to a point in King County where we couldn't keep up," he told InvestigateWest. This revelation comes at a time when the federal government is considering slashing funds for safety net programs, which could only deepen the crisis.
Policy efforts to mitigate these issues include Washington's new rent stabilization law; the third state to adopt such measures. This legislation, aimed at deterring economic evictions, caps yearly rent increases and requires landlords to give tenants a 90-day notice before raising rent. Despite this, housing advocates warn that it is not a cure-all for housing affordability challenges. "It's not going to keep rents affordable, it's just going to keep tenants from being (price) gouged," Michele Thomas of the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance expressed, as detailed by InvestigateWest.
As eviction filings continue to soar, both The Valley and Washington state grapple with the consequences of housing instability on their communities. With the filings setting records and housing supports under threat, the future remains uncertain for those on the precipice of losing their homes.
