Landlord-tenant law of only a few years ago is almost unrecognizable today. Below is a bullet-point list of some of the more important developments.
An article cannot list all the changes or analyze them in depth. Consult with an attorney about your circumstances.
- CARES Act
The federal CARES Act applies to any property with a federally-backed loan (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, etc.) and any unit with a Section 8 tenant. The CARES Act may apply if any tenant in any unit is a Section 8 voucher tenant, if the owner received a mortgage forbearance, and other circumstances. Courts may require the landlord prove the CARES Act does not apply.
Under recent court decisions, the CARES Act requires a 30-day notice to pay rent or vacate. Whether the CARES Act applies to evictions other than non-payment is an open legal question.
- State-wide just cause eviction
All Washington tenancies require just cause to evict, with only a few narrow exceptions.
There is no longer such a thing as a 20-day notice (with narrow exceptions) or evicting solely because the lease has expired.
In some circumstances, landlords may be able to terminate a tenancy at the end of the lease with 60 days’ notice. Whether and how this applies depends on the details of the lease, but the tenant cannot have ever been month-to-month. Other conditions and limitations apply. The notice must be formally served in a manner compliant with statute.
- Patchwork of local laws
Many local jurisdictions (not just Seattle) have local laws landlords must comply with. These laws are not always clear and sometimes seem to conflict with state or federal law.
Many local laws require the landlord to be licensed/registered, require additional documents be served with eviction notices, and/or require mandatory language on notices.
Some local jurisdictions (again, not just Seattle) have local just cause eviction laws. How these local laws work in conjunction with state just cause eviction laws may involve nuanced legal analysis and has been the subject of cases in the appellate courts.
- Tenant right to counsel
All tenants throughout Washington have the legal right to an attorney at no charge, similar to a criminal defendant. Self-represented landlords are at a distinct disadvantage, particularly in light of all the changes to landlord-tenant law.
Landlord-tenant law is a complex and nuanced web. Landlords are strongly encouraged to retain legal counsel not only for court but from the beginning before serving any eviction notices.
