‘Get the troublemakers out:’ John Curley on landmark CARES Act ruling for landlords

The Washington Supreme Court ruled that the CARES Act’s 30‑day eviction notice requirement for subsidized housing applies exclusively to cases of nonpayment of rent, allowing landlords to follow state law — and issue shorter notices — in other eviction matters.

The decision was unanimous. With this ruling, landlords in Washington may now issue 10‑day comply‑or‑vacate notices for breaches of lease agreements and even three‑day notices for issues such as nuisance, waste or unlawful activity.

KIRO host John Curley weighs in

“What happened was there was a woman named Angela Knight, and there were all sorts of problems,” John Curley, the host of “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio, said. “They gave her three days notice. The place had a lot of garbage everywhere. There was crime, there was all sorts of problems. The landlord said, ‘You got to get out. You’re just breaking the law.’ The court, before it went to the Supreme Court, then said, yeah, you can’t do that. You can’t kick her out in three days. Got to give them more notice. Well, they went all the way to the Washington Supreme Court, and they looked at it, and they said, it’s over. This CARES thing, this idea that evictions were happening during the lockdown, we’re not in that anymore. So go ahead, kick the person out if you want. So they were able to say, the landlord gets some relief here, and not just the landlord, but the neighbors as well.”

Related on MyNorthwest: Washington Supreme Court hands landlords major victory after CARES Act challenge

The opinion from the Washington Supreme Court reinforces that, while the CARES Act provided vital emergency relief during the COVID‑19 pandemic — including protections for tenants in subsidized housing, it was never intended to permanently supplant state eviction procedures.

“How about everybody else gets a chance to have a more peaceful existence because you can get the troublemakers out of there?” Curley added. “Thank you, Washington Supreme Court for looking at your calendar and seeing that the lockdowns are in the past. Nicely done.”

Listen to the full discussion and more below.

Listen to John Curley on “The John Curley Show” weekday afternoons from 3-7 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio. Subscribe to the podcast here.