Court action is required to evict any tenant who refuses to vacate.
Self-help eviction is illegal. A landlord who has the right to possession is required to go through the court eviction process to remove a tenant who wrongfully refuses to leave. A landlord must go through the eviction process even if the landlord just wants the property back, the tenant is clearly in violation of the lease, the lease has expired, or there never was a written rental agreement.
All Washington residential tenants have a legal right to no-cost legal counsel.
Eviction notice.
Evictions require just cause under state law. The landlord must have grounds and serve a proper eviction notice, such as a notice to pay rent or vacate, a notice to comply or vacate, or a notice to terminate a tenancy. There is no longer an option to serve a no-cause “20-day” notice. The lease expiring is not, by itself, grounds for eviction.
Note that for each type of notice, you must go through the same court process. Court action is always required if a tenant or other occupant does not voluntarily vacate.
Some cities and counties require additional documents and/or additional mandatory language for residential eviction notices. This is true for Seattle, Tacoma, Burien, Kirkland, Federal Way, unincorporated King County, and many other jurisdictions.
Landlords are well advised to have an attorney handle the eviction case from the very beginning, including the initial notice.
CARES Act.
The federal CARES Act and/or other federal law may impose additional requirements. This is a rapidly evolving legal issue triggered by recent legislation and subsequent Court of Appeals and other court decisions. Whether the CARES Act applies and what it requires is not always clear under current law. Consult with an attorney for advice about your circumstances.
Eviction summons and complaint.
The next step is serving a summons and complaint. These legal pleadings must be served in strict compliance with time and manner requirements.
Default or hearing.
If the tenant does not respond the landlord may move for default without further notice. Under some local laws, all cases must be set for a hearing.
Formal rules of evidence apply in show cause hearings. The court may refuse to consider, for example, a police report (no matter how egregious the actions described in it may be) because the report is hearsay. Residential tenants throughout Washington are legally entitled to an attorney at no cost and are almost always represented.
The sheriff.
If the court rules in favor of the landlord the clerk will issue a writ of restitution. The sheriff serves the writ. If the tenant still does not vacate the landlord may not change locks or take other self-help eviction action—even though the writ was issued and served. Instead, if the tenant remains in the property after the writ is served and the move-out deadline passed the landlord must schedule a physical eviction with the sheriff. It is common for tenants to seek to set aside a default order or take other legal action after the sheriff serves the writ.
This is a quick summary of the residential eviction process in Washington and is not a substitute for legal advice. For further advice about the residential eviction process consult with a landlord attorney.
