King County passed a new law creating a just cause eviction ordinance for unincorporated King County. The just cause law largely mirrors the Washington just cause eviction law but with a few important differences.
The King County just cause eviction ordinance requires at least 30 days’ notice for all eviction notices. Meanwhile, it also mandates language that conflicts with the 30-day notice requirement. You should consult with an attorney before serving any notices in unincorporated King County.
The King County just cause eviction ordinance allows a landlord to evict to reduce the number of people in a unit in order to comply with local law. A landlord may discontinue the residential use of an accessory dwelling unit. There are also provisions related to an owner’s right to discontinue sharing their own dwelling unit and for the protection of victims of assault or the use or threatened use of a firearm.
Security deposits are limited to one month’s rent and late fees and administrative costs are capped. Tenants entering a lease term of six months or more are allowed to pay the move-in fees and deposits in six equal monthly installments of the first six months. For leases of less than six months, the tenant may pay the move-in fees and deposits in two equal monthly installments of the first two months.
Late fees are capped at one and a half percent of the monthly rent. Tenants who receive monthly government assistance and receive their monthly payment after the rent due date may request an accommodation for the due date, and the landlord may not refuse a reasonable request.
Landlords are not allowed to require a social security number for screening prospective tenants. The landlord may request a social security number but a prospective tenant has the right to refuse.
Rent increases of more than three percent require 120 days’ notice. A landlord may not increase the rent if defective conditions make the property uninhabitable, or if the landlord violates statutes requiring repairs. For this rent increase prohibition to apply, the tenant must have served written notice of the defective condition before the rent increase notice was served.
A provision promulgates that accepting rent waives the right to evict for prior breaches of the rental agreement, which essentially codifies existing case law.
A landlord who violates these provision may be liable for up to three times the monthly rent and costs and attorney fees.