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 […]
Landlord-Tenant Blog
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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 […]
Washington residential landlords must accept all income sources when screening tenants under a new law that goes into effect September 30, 2018. Under the new law, Landlords must accept all sources of income, including Section 8 housing vouchers, public assistance, emergency rental assistance, veterans benefits, social security, and SSI benefits. The source of income may be from government or non-profit organizations. If a landlord requires an income threshold, any rent subsidy must be subtracted from the monthly rent before calculating whether the prospective tenant meets the income threshold. Landlords may not refuse to rent to new or current tenants based on […]
A couple own a triplex. They live in one unit with their young children and rent out the other two units. The family frequently interacts with the tenants, and shares a yard. Landlords in that situation might feel it important to have a good gut feeling about an applicant before renting to them. Such a couple was among plaintiffs who challenged a Seattle law that took away essentially all landlords’ rights to use any discretion in renting. Under Seattle’s First-in-Time ordinance landlords are required to post criteria for renting vacant units and to accept the first tenant that met these […]
Landlord-tenant attorney Travis Eller will be presenting a three-hour session at the 2018 Rental Housing Association Spring Workshop + Tradeshow April 11. Travis Eller’s presentation is entitled “Avoiding Pitfalls in Landlord-Tenant Law from Move-in to Move-Out.” Topics include: traps for the unwary in evictions, tenants with disabilities, storage of tenant’s belongings, new Seattle landlord-tenant laws, and more. Property mangers and landlords can register on the RHA website.
Sometimes a tenant owes the landlord for more than just the current month rent. If a tenant offers money short of the total amount owed, it is important that the landlord apply the payment to the oldest month first. Otherwise, in an eviction or civil action the court might hold that the landlord waived the prior months. For example, if the current month is February and the tenant has not paid any rent this year, then offers the amount of one month rent, the landlord should apply the payment to January, not February. If the tenant notes on the payment […]