Sometimes tenants fail to respond to an eviction summons, or fail to appear for a hearing only to later appear in court and ask the court to give them another hearing date and to stay the eviction in the meantime. Landlords and their attorneys often get little or no notice of the stay until it is granted. A Court of Appeals decision had required tenants to give the landlord notice that they were seeking a stay, and required the tenant to post a bond. No longer. The state Supreme Court last week ruled that tenants are not required to give […]
Landlord-Tenant Blog
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A new eviction law has passed the state Senate. A companion bill is in committee in the House. If enacted the law would go into effect later this year. The two bills differ in some respects. To become law, the same bill must pass both chambers and be signed by the governor. Here is a quick summary of the changes to the eviction process in the proposed bills. the notice to pay rent or vacate cure period is changed from 3 days to 14 days rent may not include late fee or utilities, or other non-rent items notices must be […]
Under proposed legislation, residential landlords would face new hurdles to enforce their right to collect rent from tenants. The bill, SB 5600, would make many sweeping changes to the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act. Some of the more important proposed changes include: o giving the court discretion to relieve a tenant from being evicted o increasing the cure period for a pay rent or vacate notice from three days to fourteen days o requiring civil legal aid information be listed on the notice to pay rent or vacate o limiting the definition of rent so that it excludes late fees and charges […]
There are many proposals in the works to change landlord-tenant law in Washington. One bill recently proposed would change the calculation on the three-day cure period for a notice to pay rent or vacate. Under current law, the cure period for a notice to pay rent or vacate is three calendar days. Weekends and holidays count under current law. The new law, if enacted, would change the three day period to exclude weekends and legal holidays. There are numerous other proposals being debated in Olympia this year. Many new landlord-tenant laws have been enacted at the local level in the past […]
The City of Tacoma has passed a new rental housing law that changes landlord-tenant law in several important respects. The law goes into effect February 1, 2019. New eviction notice requirements. The new Tacoma law requires 60 days notice for no cause evictions, as opposed to state law which requires only 20 days notice. The Tacoma 60-day termination notice applies not only to month-to-month tenancies, but also to terminating a lease. (Washington state landlord-tenant law generally requires no additional notice to terminate a lease as the parties agreed to the termination date in the lease contract.) The Tacoma law requires […]
A Seattle ordinance limits move-in costs landlords may demand for residential tenants. The ordinance places caps on fees, and allows tenants to pay fees and pre-paid rent, such as last months rent, in installments. The Rental Housing Association (RHA), a landlord industry association, challenged the validity of the law. RHA argued that the ordinance violated state law prohibiting rent control by local government, and violated the takings and due process provisions of the Washington state and federal constitutions. King County Superior Court Judge Susan Amini recently upheld the Seattle ordinance. She held that security deposits and other costs regulated by […]
Seattle passed a law in 2017 requiring landlords to accept the first financially qualified rental applicant who applies. The law took away any discretion on the part of the landlord, required the landlord to keep detailed records of when rental inquiries were received, and threatened landlords with hefty penalties for failing to comply. The law is known as the Fist-in-Time Ordinance. A King County Superior Court judge ruled the Fist-in-Time Ordinance unconstitutional. The case is now pending with the state Supreme Court. The City has filed a brief. The landlords brief is due soon. Oral argument has yet to be […]
The City of Seattle has declared war on landlords in a misguided effort to address the affordable housing issue. The City of Seattle has banned landlords from considering criminal history, required landlords to accept the first financially qualified applicant with no discretion, capped security deposits and other legitimate move-in charges, and forced landlords to accept security deposits and other legitimate move-in charges in installments. Seattle passed laws requiring landlords to accept essentially all applicants regardless of criminal history (the “Fair Housing Ordinance”). A rental industry association filed a lawsuit in King County Superior Court challenging the Fair Housing Ordinance. The […]
A domestic violence victim suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression. As a result, she was unable to sleep in studio apartments because she would become afraid if she heard footsteps or saw lights from the hallway under the studio apartment door. Under Section 8 rules, a single person qualifies for a studio apartment voucher, not a one-bedroom voucher. When she was called from the waiting list and allowed to apply for Section 8, she requested a one-bedroom voucher as a reasonable accommodation. She supported her request with a statement from her primary care physician. The Seattle Housing Authority […]
Tacoma has passed an ordinance that requires landlords to give tenants 90 days notice when the tenancy is being terminated due to “demolition, substantial rehabilitation or change of use of a residential dwelling.” State law requires only 20 days notice to month-to-month tenants. The law takes effect sunsets October 31, 2018. The interim law is intended to provide enhanced protections while the City of Tacoma considers other housing and tenant protections, according to the City of Tacoma website. The new law also requires landlords to meet with tenants at least ten days prior to serving a 90 day notice. At […]