At both the state and local level new laws mandate changes in the language of important landlord-tenant documents, including the 14-day notice to pay rent or vacate as well as legal pleadings used in court. Failure to include legally required language in eviction documents is a defense to eviction and could lead to dismissal of an eviction action. Truly v. Heuft, 138 Wn.App. 913, 158 P.3d 1276 (Div. 1 2007). New laws in 2019 and in 2020 change the requirements for the notice to pay rent or vacate state-wide. New laws in Federal Way and Seattle necessitate contents in notices […]
Eviction and Pre-litigation Notices
6 posts
Under current Washington law for month-to-month tenancies either the landlord or tenant can end the tenancy with written notice given the last day of the rental period (usually but not always the last day of a calendar month) served at least 20 days in advance. In Seattle residential landlords must have just cause to evict, even if the tenant is month-to-month. Without just cause, the landlord has a perpetual tenant. A Seattle residential tenant meanwhile can still terminate the tenancy on 20 days notice. If a lease provision calls for more than 20 days, the parties must give the longer […]
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.
The Washington Court of Appeals issued an unpublished opinion today on an unlawful detainer case in which one of the issues raised on appeal was that the declaration of service for the notice to pay rent or vacate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.
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 […]
The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) applies to any person who regularly collects or attempts to collect debts for another. The definition might include property management firms under certain circumstances, but does not include landlords acting pro se. The FDCPA exempts attempts to collect debts that were not in default when obtained. For example, this exemption would apply as long as the tenant was not in default when the property management firm was retained. Conversely, if a property manger accepts an assignment of a debt after it has become due and is in default the exemption may not […]