EXPLAINER: WA tenants get modified eviction reprieve By Rachel La Corte article FILE - A banner against renters eviction is displayed on a controlled rent building in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 9, 2020. (ERIC BARADAT/AFP via Getty Images) OLYMPIA, Wash. - A federal freeze on most evictions enacted last year is scheduled to expire July 31, after the Biden administration extended the date by a month. The moratorium, put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in September, was the only tool keeping millions of tenants in their homes. Many of them lost jobs during the coronavirus pandemic and had fallen months behind on their rent.