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 […]
Landlord-Tenant Blog
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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). […]
Under Governor Inslee’s statewide eviction moratorium Washington landlords may only evict residential tenants because a tenant poses an immediate and serious threat, the owner wishes to sell, or the owner wishes to live in the rental property. Landlord attorneys and most local Washington courts have held that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) eviction moratorium does not prevent eviction under the Washington state moratorium exceptions. Tenant attorney have appealed this issue, and there are two cases pending with the Washington State Supreme Court on the issue of whether the CDC eviction moratorium supersedes Governor Inslee’s eviction moratorium exceptions. Today a […]
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 […]
There are various eviction moratoria that may apply to a rental property in Washington state, including Governor Inslee’s eviction moratorium, the CDC moratorium, and the local Seattle moratorium. All three are set to expire June 30. A new law that makes sweeping changes to Washington landlord-tenant and evictions laws recently passed the legislature. If signed by the governor, the law would confirm that the Inslee moratorium ends June 30. While most local courts have held that the CDC moratorium does not apply in Washington, this issue is currently being heard by the Washington Supreme Court. The CDC moratorium is set […]
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 […]
Governor Inslee announced the extension of the residential eviction moratorium through June 30. Governor Inslee’s moratorium allows eviction when the owner seeks to sell or occupy the rental property as a primary residence. However, three cases are pending in the state Supreme Court on whether the CDC moratorium prevents evictions under these exceptions. Oral argument on those cases is set for May 13.
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 bill the Washington legislature is considering would require all residential landlords to offer a payment plan before engaging in any collection efforts for rent that was due during the pandemic state of emergency.[1] “Collection efforts” would be statutorily defined to include eviction or any court action, use of collection agencies, any threats to collect, and even withholding from a security deposit. The payment plan would have to be reasonable solely from the tenant’s—but with no consideration of the landlord’s— “financial, health, or other circumstances.” A landlord’s failure to offer a payment plan would be defense to eviction. For two […]