Several parties entered what the Court of Appeals described as a “convoluted series of real estate transactions.”[1] Essentially, the Bohms lived in a property owned by Roesch, and real estate developer Fred was to make the mortgage payments and eventually acquire the Roesch property along with other contiguous properties. Fred failed to make the payments. The Roeschs sought to evict the Bohms in an unlawful detainer action. The matter was set for trial. The Bohms counterclaimed, seeking to quiet title. These counterclaims were not allowed because title to land cannot be litigated in an unlawful detainer action. Nevertheless, […]
Landlord-Tenant Blog
150 posts
A husband and wife owned a home that was foreclosed. The wife moved out months prior to the foreclosure auction. The purchasers at the foreclosure auction served legal notices on the husband, but did not name the wife in the notices. The foreclosure purchasers served two notices—a “twenty-day” notice to vacate, and also a statutory notice all foreclosure purchasers are required to serve on occupants after a foreclosure auction. The husband did not vacate the home. The foreclosure purchasers brought an eviction (unlawful detainer action) against the husband. The husband argued that the notices served prior to the eviction lawsuit […]
For a Seattle residential landlord, selling your house can be tricky. Under the just cause eviction ordinance the landlord must give 90 days notice (not a 20-day notice). The date to terminate the tenancy (the date the tenant is to vacate) must be the last day of a rental period—usually but not necessarily the last day of a calendar month. The notice must be served at least 90 days in advance. It is not correct to simply add 90 days to the current date. Under a recent Court of Appeals decision, the landlord may not enter into a purchase and […]
Some tenants facing eviction refuse to answer the door and accept service of the eviction lawsuit. Pre-litigation notices like the 3-day notice to pay rent or vacate can be posted and mailed if the landlord or person serving the document knocks and no one answers. This is not true for the eviction lawsuit summons and complaint. If the tenant continues to refuse to answer the door, the landlord upon a showing of diligent efforts at person service can seek a court order to post and mail. However, when the landlord utilizes this type of court approved post-and-mail service of the […]
The successful bidder at foreclosure is generally entitled to possession twenty days following the foreclosure sale. If the occupants do not vacate, the party who purchased at the foreclosure auction must bring an eviction action against the occupants. Sometimes the former property owner will attempt to avoid eviction by claiming the foreclosure process was procedurally defective. A Washington homeowner can defend against foreclosure by showing that the beneficiary of the deed of trust is not the holder of the note.[1] An post-foreclosure eviction case in which the former owner made this argument recently went to the Washington Court of Appeals.[2] […]
A new Seattle landlord-tenant law limits landlords’ discretion in rental decisions for residential rental properties. Under the new law, Seattle residential landlords must accept essentially all forms of alternative income and accept the first applicant who qualifies. The measure was supported by Seattle Mayor Murray, who pointed in supporting the measure that alternative income includes even stop-gap, emergency “short-term rental assistance…used to prevent eviction.” Alternative income sources include any “lawful, verifiable income” whether short or long term. The landlord must provide to each rental applicant notice of the landlord’s screening criteria. The notice must include: • the criteria the landlord will […]
Seattle residential landlords must give 60 days notice to increase rent ten percent or more in any twelve-month period. For rent increases of less than ten percent the landlord may give only 30 days notice. A new Seattle ordinance limits the ability of Seattle residential landlords to increase any periodic housing costs—including not only rent, but also other costs such storage or parking fees. The new rent and housing costs restrictions apply not only to increases of ten percent or more, but to any increase regardless of the amount. In all rent increase notices and other notices of housing costs […]
Residential landlords in Washington must provide a statement of the security deposit and any refund due after the tenant moves out of the property.[1] This requirement applies whether the tenant moved out in a regular manner—at the end of the lease term or “20-day” notice—or the tenant abandoned the tenancy. The landlord may not withhold any amount of a deposit for normal wear and tear. If the landlord fails to give the required statement in a timely manner, the tenant is entitled to the full amount of the deposit. The prevailing party is entitled to costs, including an […]
A landlord sued his tenants for eviction, even though the tenants had a valid lease and the tenants did nothing to warrant eviction. The eviction case was settled. The tenants claimed that—although they were not in the wrong to begin with—the eviction case being on public record made it difficult for them to find adequate housing. The tenants moved to replace their names with their initials in the docket, so that their names would not show up on eviction screening reports. The motion was granted, but the court clerk appealed the order. The case eventually reached the Supreme Court of […]
Tenants sometimes must apply to several places before they find a new renal home. The cumulative costs of paying for screening reports is a considerable expense for some tenants. One possible solution is a comprehensive reusable tenant screening report. A comprehensive reusable tenant screening report is prepared by a consumer reporting agency. The prospective tenant requests and pays for the report. To avoid fraud, the report is made available directly to the landlord. The landlord is not charged for the report. A comprehensive reusable tenant screening report contains: (a) a consumer credit report prepared by a consumer reporting agency within […]