Landlord-tenant law of only a few years ago is almost unrecognizable today. Below is a bullet-point list of some of the more important developments. An article cannot list all the changes or analyze them in depth. Consult with an attorney about your circumstances. CARES Act The federal CARES Act applies to any property with a federally-backed loan (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, etc.) and any unit with a Section 8 tenant. The CARES Act may apply if any tenant in any unit is a Section 8 voucher tenant, if the owner received a mortgage forbearance, and other circumstances. Courts may require […]
Washington Landlord Tenant Law
65 posts
A myriad of new laws was imposed during the pandemic. In addition to “temporary” moratoriums, new permanent laws were enacted at every level–state, city, county, and federal. Failure to comply with these rules could result in a dismissal in court and starting the entire eviction process over. For nonpayment of rent, residential landlords must offer a repayment plan and go through an Eviction Resolution Pilot Program. This is not just a moratorium or bridge proclamation requirement. Residential landlords can no longer serve a 20-day notice without cause. This is a new, permanent, state-wide law. Cause for eviction under state law includes […]
Yesterday Governor Inslee signed a bill that establishes a just cause eviction law throughout Washington state. The Washington just cause eviction law is largely similar to just cause eviction laws in Seattle, Federal Way, and Burien. Washington residential landlords may no longer serve a “20-day” no-cause notice to terminate a tenancy. There is an exception when the landlord shares housing with the tenant. Landlords may terminate a tenancy and the end of the initial lease term with 60 days’ notice. To evict because the landlord wishes to sell or if the landlord or an immediate family member intends to live […]
Under the Washington residential eviction moratorium hotel/motel guests who stay at least fourteen days may not be evicted (with some general exceptions applicable to all tenants). The Washington eviction moratorium ends June 30. Under a new law now in effect, a hotel or motel may serve a guest who has stayed for thirty days or more with a seven-day eviction notice. After the seven-day period the guest is not a tenant for the purposes of the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act. The law is silent as to whether the tenant must be removed under the unlawful detainer statute (essentially a non-residential eviction). […]
A bill (HB 1236) that establishes just-cause eviction statewide for residential tenancies has passed the legislature and is on the governor’s desk. If, as is widely expected, the governor signs the bill into law it will be another among many sweeping changes to landlord-tenant and eviction law. Under the proposed law landlords would be able to end a tenancy without cause at the end of the initial lease period with 60 days’ notice. Landlords who share their dwelling unit with the tenant could issue the traditional twenty-day notice. In other circumstances, landlords would need just cause. Failure to cure a […]
While the eviction and landlord-tenant statutes do not generally apply to hotel or motel guests, longer-term guests may be treated as tenants. “Residence in a hotel, motel, or other transient lodging” is specifically exempted from the Washington Residential Landlord-Tenant Act. Nevertheless, courts have treated longer-term guests as tenants. There historically has been no bright-line test. Rather, the courts look at the facts of a given case, taking into consideration such things as how long the resident has occupied the space, payment terms, and services provided. Some local laws create a presumption that a guest is a tenant after a specified […]
A new bill in Olympia would impose a state-wide just cause eviction law for residential rentals.[1] Landlords would not be allowed to terminate a tenancy or evict a tenant except for certain enumerated grounds. These would include failure to pay rent, material breach of the rental contract terms, creating waste or nuisance, the owner seeking to sell, the owner seeking to live in the property, and various other specified grounds. The law would require landlords to offer payment plans for tenants with rental debt due to COVID-19 hardship. The payment plan must be “based on the tenant’s finances” and other […]
Residential rent increases are not allowed under the Washington eviction moratorium. A bill in Olympia if passed into law would ban rent increases for six months after the end of the eviction moratorium.[1] Rent increases for an additional six-month period would be limited to three percentage points above the consumer price index. This is one of several sweeping proposals to change landlord-tenant laws in the wake of the pandemic. _____ [1] http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2021-22/Pdf/Bills/Senate%20Bills/5139.pdf?q=20210115084249
A proposed new law would impose mandatory mediation in every eviction case; permanently eliminate eviction show cause hearings for all residential evictions; force a trial date (as opposed to a show cause hearing) for every eviction case; prevent eviction for any unpaid rent accrued during the pandemic unless the tenant refuses or fails to comply with mandatory payment plans; force landlords to return security deposits to all tenant even if the tenant owes the landlord money. Mediation is a settlement conference. A mediator has no power to evict anyone or force either party to do anything. The mediation requirement would […]
Several landlords have filed a lawsuit in federal court against Governor Jay Inslee and Attorney General Robert Ferguson challenging the governor’s eviction moratorium under both the federal and Washington constitutions. While other business have been locked-down or restricted, the landlords argue “the owners of rental property are the only people who are required by any of the Governor’s emergency proclamations to continue to provide a good or service without charge. Stores and restaurants lost business opportunities due to the Pandemic, but they were not required to continue to provide goods or food to customers without an ability to charge for […]