Waterfront properties are not infrequently encumbered by an easement to allow nearby properties access to the waterfront. Two brothers owned several lots on Lake Whatcom. They sold the upland lots and kept the waterfront property, but granted an easement for access to the waterfront. The brothers spent their own time and labor to maintain the common area for ten years, though under the terms of the easement these costs were supposed to be shared. On one lot the new neighbors invited people to swim and use jet skis from the lakefront property dock and started building a parking lot on […]
Landlord-Tenant Blog
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The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a nation-wide eviction moratorium through December 31, 2020. The CDC cites the need to slow the spread of COVID-19 by preventing evicted tenants from crowding into shelters or shared housing. The CDC eviction moratorium does not apply where state or local eviction moratoriums provide the same or greater level of protection. The CDC eviction moratorium requires tenants to provide their landlord a sworn declaration alleging under oath essentially that they have made best efforts to find government aid, cannot pay past due and future rent, and have nowhere to go. The approved declaration […]
There is much confusion over the Seattle eviction moratorium. The confusion stems from the history of the Seattle moratorium and changes made to them, and additional separate laws passed by the City creating a new inability-to-pay defense and imposing payment plans. Confusion may be in part also due to the fact there are various federal, state, and local moratoria, and sometimes people confuse and conflate their various terms. On March 14 the Mayor issued a residential eviction moratorium that prohibited eviction for non-payment of rent. She later issues a broad small business and non-profit eviction moratorium that prohibited almost all […]
Seattle Payment Plan Laws In response to the COVID economic fallout, the City of Seattle enacted several measures including mandatory payment plans for both residential and commercial tenancies. Both the residential and commercial payment plan laws apply to tenants who fail to pay rent during or within six months after the state of emergency declared by the mayor. The residential and commercial payment plan ordinances are separate laws with different terms, summarized below. Residential payment plans. Residential tenants who fail to pay rent during or within six months after the state of emergency declared by the mayor may pay in […]
Seattle passed a law that provides a defense of inability to pay for evictions based on non-payment of “rent due during, or within six months after the termination of, the Mayor’s residential eviction moratorium”, currently set to expire December 31, 2020. Not all evictions are for non-payment of rent. Note also that the Seattle ordinance may not apply to tenants who were well behind with rent when the moratorium was enacted, and the landlord is evicting only for the pre-moratorium rent. Once the eviction moratorium ends, this law would not prohibit landlords from serving a notice to pay rent or […]
The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) made a series of recommendations in a statement released in response to the COVID-19 crises. The recommendations included halting evictions and rent increases for 90 days and waiving late fees. One important fact overlooked by the eviction moratoriums is that many (perhaps most) rental units are not owned by deep-pocketed corporations. Many landlords rely on rental payments to meet their own financial obligations and are in no economic position to absorb unpaid rent indefinitely. The NMHC recognized that “most rental properties are owned by individuals and small businesses that have financial obligations, including mortgages, […]
The King County Superior Couty enacted numerous emergency court orders, some of which affect eviction cases. Here is a quick summary of a few of the key provisions from various emergency orders that impact landlords seeking to evict a tenant. This is a short summary, is not comprehensive, and is not a substitute for legal advice. Parties are required to make a good faith effort to mediate prior to setting a show cause hearing. The landlord must when moving for a hearing date file a declaration that shows the efforts at mediation and verifies the federal CARES act moratorium does […]
Governor Inslee has extended the state-wide residential eviction moratorium through August 2. A new exception is added that allows owners to give 60 days’ notice if the owner intends to “personally occupy the premises as a primary residence” or sell the property. Note that the tenancy would already have to be month-to-month (or expired). This provision does not give owners the right to terminate a lease contract early. Any notice terminating a tenancy should give the last day of a rental period (usually a calendar month) as the date of termination. The notice therefore should not give 60 days from […]
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 […]
Seattle has passed new tenant protection laws in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Inability to pay defense. For a six-month period after the mayor’s residential eviction moratorium ends, tenants may raise an inability to pay as a defense. This law does not prevent landlords from starting an eviction action, and the tenant must come to court and raise the defense. This ordinance requires language in the 14-day notice. It is a defense to eviction if this language is not included. Payment plans. For the duration of the state of emergency declared by the mayor, Seattle residential tenants may pay overdue rent […]