Washington Landlord Tenant Law

Archive for January, 2008

Under current law a tenant who provides false information an a rental application cannot be evicted solely for having done so.  This would change if a bill currently in the legislature passes into law.

The bill would prohibit tenants from knowingly providing false, inaccurate, or misleading
information during application process for tenancy.   If the information induces the landlord to rent to the tenant the landlord could evict the tenant with a ten-day notice.  Unlike a failure to pay rent or failure to comply with the lease, there is no opportunity to cure.

The bill imposes a deadline to for such evictions.  The landlord is limited to the sooner of forty-five days from discovery of the false information or one year from approval of the tenancy.

Unless the bill becomes law a tenant cannot be evicted in Washington for providing false or misleading information on a rental application.

Scott Eller

Foreclosures are becoming more common in the current mortgage crisis. Some professionals are approaching homeowners who are in over the heads on their mortgage and proposing to save them from foreclosure.

The problem is that when a professional such as a real estate agent or loan officer presents a foreclosure “rescue” plan to an ordinary homeowner the homeowner may reasonable rely on the advice of such a person to their considerable detriment. The homeowner may reasonably assume that they are a client of the real estate professional and/or that the real estate professional is looking after their interests. The homeowner may unwittingly waive or fail to avail themselves of very important rights and opportunities.

In fact the interests of the homeowner and the real estate professional are diametrically opposed. The objective of the real estate professional is simply to obtain the property at far below market value. The “rescue” is in fact designed to fail and to result in the real estate professional obtaining the property.

Usually it involves the rescuer buying the property for far less than the market value then leasing it back to the homeowner. The homeowner losses the title to the property and under the advice of the real estate professional enters into a lease they cannot afford either. The net result is the victim losses their home and the equity as well as other far better solutions, such as refinancing or selling the property at a market rate.

Often the former homeowner will ultimately face eviction. Sometimes courts will enter the eviction but reserve other issues for later determination.

If you are facing foreclosure and you are approached by someone promising to save you from foreclosure you should contact an attorney before agreeing to anything or signing any documents. If you believe you are already the victim of a foreclosure rescue scam you should contact an attorney immediately.

See update, Late Fees Only Limited by Reasonableness Standard.

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A proposed bill if passed into law would limit late fees on rent to the greater of $50.00 or 10% of the monthly rent, whichever is greater.  Current law simply requires the late fees to be “reasonable”.

Reasonableness of late fees is currently up to the discretion of the court.  Generally it is best to avoid trying to enforce provisions that charge interest on late fees or that compound month after month.

The bill would also prohibit eviction of tenant solely for failure to pay late fees.

Scott Eller -

Seattle landlord attorney