FAQS

A court rule issued by the Washington Supreme Court continues the first hearing in eviction cases. The rationale of this Supreme Court rule is to foster the tenant’s right to an attorney at no cost.

This is very frustrating for landlords, as they are not being paid rent and the process seems to drag on forever, but this Supreme Court rule is binding on local courts.

Tacoma Measure One (a/k/a the Landlord Fairness Code) is open to different interpretations and not easy to quickly summarize. Tacoma residential landlords should consult with an attorney before taking any action, including serving an initial eviction notice.

Yes. We have successfully handled eviction cases on appeal. There are far more eviction cases being appealed today than in the past. Contact our office about consultation, referral, or association.

Yes, King County has mandatory notice forms for terminating tenancies in unincorporated King County. Proper use of these forms is not simple. Landlords are encouraged to consult with an attorney before serving any notices for unincorporated King County rental properties.

No, not exactly.

A statutory repayment plan is required as the first step in a residential nonpayment eviction if any of the past-due rent accrued through April 2023 (regardless of whether the notice was served after April 2023).

A court rule issued by the Washington Supreme Court continues the first hearing in eviction cases. The rationale of this Supreme Court rule is to foster the tenant’s right to an attorney at no cost.

This is very frustrating for landlords, as they are not being paid rent and the process seems to drag on forever, but this Supreme Court rule is binding on local courts.

Tacoma Measure One (a/k/a the Landlord Fairness Code) is open to different interpretations and not easy to quickly summarize. Tacoma residential landlords should consult with an attorney before taking any action, including serving an initial eviction notice.

Yes. We have successfully handled eviction cases on appeal. There are far more eviction cases being appealed today than in the past. Contact our office about consultation, referral, or association.

Yes, King County has mandatory notice forms for terminating tenancies in unincorporated King County. Proper use of these forms is not simple. Landlords are encouraged to consult with an attorney before serving any notices for unincorporated King County rental properties.

No, not exactly.

A statutory repayment plan is required as the first step in a residential nonpayment eviction if any of the past-due rent accrued through April 2023 (regardless of whether the notice was served after April 2023).

Yes. Our office represents both commercial landlords and commercial tenants in all manner of disputes including evictions and civil lawsuits.

No. Our office represents only landlords in residential cases. Tenants are encouraged to google the Housing Justice Project and/or the Northwest Justice Project.

Yes. We handle a volume of residential landlord cases including evictions, fair housing complaints, and defending against claims from former tenants.

Yes. Our office has successfully litigated disputes over industrial equipment valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and commercial leasing disputes involving many tens of thousands of dollars, for example. Contact our office if you have a small business dispute.

The federal CARES Act requires a 30-day notice to vacate for covered properties for nonpayment of rent. Whether this applies in other situations is an open legal question.

Also not yet clarified by court rulings is under which circumstances a rental property is a “covered property” under the CARES Act. At a minimum, the CARES Act will apply if the property has a federally-backed loan (Fannie Mae, FHA, Freddie Mac, etc) or if the rental unit has a Section 8 tenant.

Tenant attorneys may also argue that the CARES Act applies if the landlord has ever had a mortgage forbearance under federal law, or if there are Section 8 tenants in any of the units in the rental property–even if not the rental unit at issue in the eviction case, and in various other situations. These situations present unresolved, open legal questions for which there is currently no definitive answer.

The CARES Act is just one example of how nuanced and complex eviction law has become. If you are having issues with a tenant and are considering eviction you are strongly encouraged to consult with an attorney.

By state law, just cause is required for all residential evictions with only some narrow exceptions. There is no longer an option for the landlord to end a tenancy by serving a 20-day notice without cause.

The Seattle eviction moratorium ended on February 28, 2021. After that date, you can serve a notice to terminate a tenancy based on an intent to sell or intent to occupy the rental property as your primary residence.

However, the winter eviction ban and school year eviction ban may apply to your case. Also, intent to sell as grounds to evict may not apply to condo units.

While there are forms on our website and from other sources, evictions are complicated and these forms will not be legally effective in all local jurisdictions. Local law may require longer notice periods than state law and/or require specific additional mandatory language. Some local jurisdictions have mandatory eviction notice forms that landlords must use.

Even in locations with no local landlord-tenant laws eviction law is far more nuanced than in the past.

Landlords are strongly encouraged to retain an attorney, including for the initial notices.

These are now 90-day notices. An intent to sell your rental property, or intent to move into and live in your rental property requires 90 days’ notice by state law. This is a permanent change, not a temporary COVID rule.

Some local laws require more time, require additional language on notices, and/or have additional restrictions.

If you served a 60-day notice during the moratorium (or after) you will need to serve a new notice.

Consult with an attorney for details.

Maybe. While some tenants are struggling financially, there are some who may be gaming the system.

If you are confident your tenant has assets you may consider a civil lawsuit. This may or may not remove them from the property, but a judgment might make it possible to garnish bank accounts and paychecks.

Yes, but you will have to give the greater of 90 days or through the end of the lease terms as the date of termination of the tenancy. An owner can sell or move into their property, but if a tenant has an unexpired lease the owner cannot insist the tenant vacate early. The tenant has a contract through the end of the lease term and does not have to vacate until the end of the term. The owner would have to sell with the tenant in the property unless the parties reach a mutual early termination agreement.

Yes, the language matters and the court may dismiss your eviction case on procedural grounds–no matter how deserving on the merits–if the language is wrong.

Some documents, such as the 14-day notice, must be in the exact verbiage required by statute. In some local jurisdictions additional specific language must be in the notice and/or additional documents must be served with it.

There are some multi-state websites that show up in Google results with form generators that create notice forms that will not hold up in Washington courts. We do not post forms for every situation or jurisdiction because the new laws vary and are not simple to implement. Consult with an attorney before serving documents.

Proper service of an eviction notice (pay rent or vacate, or etc.) requires someone to go to the rental property and knock on the door. While there are detailed instructions on serving eviction notices on this website, it is far wiser to have an attorney advise and assist with every step in the process.

It makes no difference whether the agreement was reduced to writing, or was only an oral agreement. If someone is paying you (or is supposed to pay you) to live in your property, you are a landlord and they are a tenant. All the eviction and landlord-tenant laws apply.

Ironically, it some situations it may be faster to evict a tenant than someone who lives in your property without an obligation to pay.

Yes.

Federal Way has a good cause eviction law that limits a residential landlord’s right to evict a tenant to certain enumerated grounds. Some causes, such as the landlord’s intent to move into the property, require 120 days’ notice (even though state law only requires 90 days’ notice).

Specific additional language is required in notices issued in Federal Way. Be sure to use our Federal Way-specific forms.

Yes, for residential tenancies.

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