December 30th 2007
Supreme Court Rules on Time Computation for 3 Day Notices
The Washington State Supreme Court has held that Washington eviction statutes require three calendar days for compliance with a notice to pay rent or vacate, not three court days or three business days.
A Washington Court of Appeals decision had held that the statutes and court rules require three business days, not calendar days, for notices that require less than seven days for compliance, such as notices to pay rent or vacate.
The Supreme Court overturned the Court of Appeals.
There are three methods to serve eviction notices authorized by statute . One is personal service – i.e. hand delivery to the tenant. Another is substitute service. This requires personal delivery to a person of suitable age and discretion and mailing to each tenant. The third is conspicuously posting on the premises and mailing to each tenant.A potential pitfall for a landlord serving a notice by either personal or substitute service is that the tenant or substitute served might (and sometimes will) come to court and claim that they were never personally handed a notice.
