FAQ Category: Washington Landlord-Tenant Law

4 posts

Does the exact language in the eviction notices matter? Will the judge really throw out my eviction case, even though the tenant owes me money, if I use the wrong form?

Yes, the language matters and the court may dismiss your eviction case on procedural grounds–no matter how deserving on the merits–if the language is wrong. Some documents, such as the 14-day notice, must be in the exact verbiage required by statute. In some local jurisdictions additional specific language must be in the notice and/or additional documents must be served with it. There are some multi-state websites that show up in Google results with form generators that create notice forms that will not hold up in Washington courts. We do not post forms for every situation or jurisdiction because the new […]

I have no written rental agreement. Do I still have to go through the eviction process? Do the new laws apply to me?

It makes no difference whether the agreement was reduced to writing, or was only an oral agreement. If someone is paying you (or is supposed to pay you) to live in your property, you are a landlord and they are a tenant. All the eviction and landlord-tenant laws apply. Ironically, it some situations it may be faster to evict a tenant than someone who lives in your property without an obligation to pay.