Washington tenants now have not just one, but two warranties of habitability. This is the upshot of a recently published Court of Appeals decision.[1] Since 1973 there has been an unresolved issue of whether there is one implied warranty defined in the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, or also another created by case law. In 1973 the Washington Supreme Court held in Foisy v. Wyman that residential tenancies have an implied warranty of habitability.[2] Also in 1973 the legislature passed into law the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (RLTA).[3] These two developments in Washington landlord-tenant law occurred independently. The Foisy case originated […]
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Beginning June 07, 2012 Washington state residential landlords who charge a fee for background checks will face new requirements.[1] The landlords will be required to disclose: what types of information will be accessed to conduct the tenant screening; what criteria may result in the denial of the application; the name and address of the consumer reporting agency, if used; the prospective tenant’s right to obtain a free copy of the consumer report in the event of an adverse action and to dispute the accuracy of information in the consumer report This information must be provided […]
A Seattle landlord who represented himself in an eviction case had his case dismissed and the tenant was awarded $6,450 in attorney fees. The landlord used an old summons form missing important clauses and that had a defective return date.
New federal and state laws protect tenants whose landlords are foreclosed. According to the article “Your landlord got foreclosed. Do you have to go?” on CNNMoney.com, some banks, real estate agents, and attorneys may be preying on tenants not familiar with these laws.
Our law firm was not involved in the lawsuit described in this article. Under Washington unlawful detainer law the landlord should not demand non-rent items on the three-day notice to pay rent or vacate. This is because the tenants is entitled to at least 10 days to cure any non-rent breach of the lease.
Our law firm was not involved in the lawsuit described in this article. NOTE : The statute quoted in this article has since been amended. In a recent opinion Division II of the Court of Appeals upheld a $76,275.55 verdict against a landlord and the property management firm it retained.[1] In addition, the Court of Appeals added attorney’s fees in an amount to be determined for the appeal.
New federal as well as state laws protect tenants when the landlord’s property is foreclosed upon.
The Washington Court of Appeals issued an unpublished opinion today on an unlawful detainer case in which one of the issues raised on appeal was that the declaration of service for the notice to pay rent or vacate did not indicate that the notice was mailed from the same county.
Washington has adopted the Connecticut rule which requires landlords to keep common areas in a safe condition regardless whether or not the hazard is naturally occurring. [1]
Our law firm was not involved in the lawsuit described in this article. Yesterday the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the tenant on an appeal from an eviction case and held that service of the notice to pay rent or vacate was improper. The landlord served only one copy of the notice to two tenants. Even though the tenants were a married couple and even though the husband handed the notice to the wife in the presence of the landlord the service of the notice was held invalid. It is important to note that it was undisputed that […]