Real Estate & Property Law

False Information on Rental Appilcation? So What?

By Scott Eller, Esq.

Under current law a tenant who provides false information an a rental application cannot be evicted solely for having done so.  This would change if a bill currently in the legislature passes into law.

The bill would prohibit tenants from knowingly providing false, inaccurate, or misleading
information during application process for tenancy.   If the information induces the landlord to rent to the tenant the landlord could evict the tenant with a ten-day notice.  Unlike a failure to pay rent or failure to comply with the lease, there is no opportunity to cure.

The bill imposes a deadline to for such evictions.  The landlord is limited to the sooner of forty-five days from discovery of the false information or one year from approval of the tenancy.

Unless the bill becomes law a tenant cannot be evicted in Washington for providing false or misleading information on a rental application.

Scott Eller

Full post as published by Seattle Landlord-Tenant Attorney on January 27, 2008 (boomark / email).