Seattle Landlord Attorney: Landlord - Tenant Law, Eviction Forms, More

Public utilities in Washington have lien rights against property for unpaid utilities. RCW 35.21.290 (water, electric), 35.67.200 (sewer), 36.36.045 (fees imposed for the withdrawal of subterranean water or on-site sewage disposal), 36.94.150 (connection charges). Private utilities do not have lien rights.

That is why escrow agents at the closing of a real property transaction pro-rate the public utilities that have lien rights, but private utilities that lack lien rights. It is also how landlords often get stuck with utility bills even though they are in the tenant’s name.

Water and electric liens are limited to four months charges. There are no similar limits for the other liens. The statutes provide for certain late fees and interest.

Note that some private companies act as billing services for public utilities. AUM is an example. While strictly speaking AUM may not have lien rights, the public utility for whom they process billing does.

Also, local ordinances effect landlords’ liability for utility charges. In Seattle, for instance, a landlord may escape liability for a tenant’s Seattle City Light charges by giving required notice ten days prior to both the start date and end date of the tenant’s occupancy. SMC 21.49.100B,C.

A savvy landlord will monitor utilities closely.

No Comments yet »

A landlord who accepts rent for the current month waives the right to evict a tenant for prior breaches of the lease, including previous failures to pay rent. MH2 CO. v. Hwang, 104 Wn. App. 680 (2001), Wilson v. Daniels, 31 Wn.2d 633 (1948).

For example, if a landlord accepts rent for, say October, the landlord may not evict for rent owed for September, August, etc. Recently I have seen several notices to pay rent or vacate demanding rent for several monthly periods, but skipping a month somewhere in the middle in whole or in part. This is a defective notice.

There are several ways to avoid this situation.

Practice tips:

1. Always read any check or other financial instrument presented by the tenant for payment as well as any accompanying letters, memos, etc. If the “for” section of the check states the money is for the current month’s rent, the landlord has waived the right to evict for any previous breaches, including non-payment of previous months’ rent.

2. Provide written receipts to the tenant that indicate moneys received have been applied to oldest obligations first, never to newer ones first. A written receipt is required if requested. RCW 59.18.063.

3. If the tenant insists that money tendered is for current rent and there are previous obligations you wish to credit the payment towards, reject the payment and issue appropriate notices.

It should be noted that the financial obligation is not waived, “only” the right to evict. In theory, a landlord could sue on the old rent owed and obtain a money judgment. However, if the landlord has accepted current month’s rent and the tenant continues to abide by the lease, the tenant stays.

As a practical matter, few property owners in this situation will find it worthwhile to pursue the paper victory. And bygones will be bygone.

Scott Eller

Washington Landlord-Tenant Attorney

TM

No Comments yet »

Evictions may seem slow and expensive to a landlord who is not receiving rent, but as litigation goes, a typical eviction is cheap and moves at light speed.

Evictions are brought under statutes that provide very specific procedures that must be followed meticulously by the landlord. Under current law only six situations qualify for this expedited process.

A tenancy at will is not one of them. A tenancy at will arises when someone occupies the real property of another with permission but without an obligation to pay rent and terminable at any time by the landowner.

Current case law holds, for example, that an employee who is provided housing as part of the compensation for work and who pays no rent is a tenant at will. Probably also included are situations in which a friend or relative is allowed to live free of rent in a property or mother-in-law apartment.

Such cases cannot be brought under eviction statutes but instead must be brought under a common law ejectment lawsuit, which is a much slower and more expensive process. Thus, rather counter-intuitively, under current law it is more difficult to regain possession of property in a tenancy at will situation than for a garden variety landlord-tenant situation.

The employment case mentioned above was decided in 1978. Since then there have been attempts from time to time to amend the statute. The most recent bill would allow a landowner to give a twenty day notice to anyone who occupies the landowner’s property “without denominated periodic tenancy or denominated rental amount or ownership interest”. The bill excludes agricultural workers.

As always, for advice about your particular circumstances contact an attorney.

Scott Eller

Washington Landlord-Tenant Attorney

TM

No Comments yet »