'Serial squatter' refusing to leave $2M Seattle home escapes eviction for THIRD time after non-profit coughs up another $50K in taxpayer cash to cover his rent

A 'serial squatter' refusing to leave a $2million Seattle home has dodged eviction for a third time after a controversial non-profit stepped in with $50,000 of taxpayer cash to cover his rent, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Sang Kim has sparked fury in the upmarket neighborhood of Bellevue after squatting for almost two years in a five-bedroom property owned by Jaskaran Sarao.

But an eviction hearing scheduled for April 5 has been scrapped after the Housing Justice Project (HJP) covered almost a year in unpaid rent to keep him in the property.

It takes the total amount of state handouts provided by the HJP to the shameless squatter to almost $90,000.

Mr Sarao slammed it as a 'terrible abuse of taxpayer money', adding that he had spent around half of Mr Kim's annual rent payments on legal fees in order to get his money.

Sang Kim has sparked fury in the upmarket neighborhood of Bellevue after allegedly paying just one month's rent out of his own pocket on a property he has lived in for almost two years

His current landlord, Jaskaran Sarao, previously confronted Mr Kim claiming he owed him $80,000 in back rent and was refusing to leave the property

Mr Kim currently lives with his wife and two children in the $2million, five bedroom, 1,600-square-foot home pictured above

HJP gets $4.6million a year from Washington state and another $500,000 more from King County to pay its 32 lawyers and support staff.

The extraordinary row comes as thousands of American property owners struggle with a broken legal system that is allowing squatters to live rent free in upmarket homes without consequence.

Mr Kim, his wife Yougin and their two children moved into Mr Sarao's home in the summer of 2022, but have allegedly only paid for one month's rent out of their own pocket, according to court documents filed by their landlord.

The rest has been covered by the HJP, which provides legal assistance to renters facing eviction in Kings County.

It paid around $24,000 to cover Mr Kim's unpaid rent in February last year, with a further installment of around $13,000 that covered his payments until May 2023, according to Mr Sarao's attorney, Steven Freeborn.

But Mr Sarao had not received a penny since then, forcing Mr Freeborn to file a third notice of eviction.

It also sparked an ugly confrontation between the landlord and tenant, while around 200 protesters turned up to the property to demand the 'con man' cough up or get out.

Mr Kim even took out a restraining order against Mr Sarao after complaining of harassment.

The latest eviction hearing was scheduled for April 5, but was scrapped after HJP last week stumped up another $47,000 to cover the backdated rent, plus a further $4,400 to cover the month of April.

But Mr Sarao has little hope that his tenant will start paying out of his own pocket next month and will either have to file a fourth eviction notice or the taxpayer will keep having to pay.

Ultimately, he just wants Mr Kim out, he said.

Mr Freeborn, added: 'I don't think the good, taxpaying citizens of the state of Washington are going to be too happy about that.'

He said the HJP could go on paying Mr Kim's rent for 'as long as the state puts up with this nonsense'.

'It's ridiculous. They've paid almost $10,000 just to keep a guy in a $2million home in Bellevue.

'For that amount of money, they could move him to a less expensive community where he could live for three years or more.

'Why do the taxpayers need to pay this kind of rent?'

DailyMail.com has previously revealed that Mr Kim and his family are alleged to have moved into Mr Sarao's property from a previous squat nearby, where they used similar delaying tactics to avoid paying rent of around $4,000 a month on a three-bedroom, $1.3million home.

It has now emerged that Kim allegedly moved straight from a previous 'squat', a three-bedroom, $1.3million property (pictured), also in Bellevue, where dodged rent for two years 

The 2,490 square-foot property is described as 'sophisticated and elegant' by the estate agent's listing

Around 200 people attended a protest outside the property on the weekend, chanting 'no pay, no stay' in an attempt to force Kim and his family out

Singh claims his tenant has bought two Mazda 3s, which retail at upwards of $20,000, despite failing to pay rent for almost a year

Kim and his wife Yougin were also earning a combined income of $408,000 a year working for medical consultancy SiriusIQ when they moved into Singh's property, according to a proof-of-income letter.

They lost their jobs shortly after.

But Mr Sarao claims the family continues to 'live a lavish life' in his home, 'doing barbecues, buying new cars, living in the best neighborhood and sending his kids to the best schools'.

Mr Kim has previously accused Singh of 'fabricating stories' about him and claims he is simply a Korean national trying to make it in the US.

Washington is the only state in the country that offers the right to counsel for low-income tenants facing eviction.

DailyMail.com contacted HJP for comment, but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Edmund Witter, its managing attorney, has previously said the non-profit keeps 'a lot of households housed that shouldn't be evicted.

In a statement to KIRO 7, the group said: 'If every tenant, just every time they look at somebody wrong or just do one thing wrong, we just throw them out every time, that's how you get a homelessness crisis. That's how you get people dying on the street.'