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Seattle Landlord-Tenant Attorney

Discussion of Washington state law, legal issues and procedure in eviction cases. Links to free eviction notice and other forms.
By Scott Eller, Esq.

Post Frequency: 1.2/day

Last Entry: October 25, 2009 at 20:06:25

Landlord Liable for Failure to Return Tenant Property

Posted on October 25, 2009
In a recent opinion Division II of the Court of Appeals upheld a $76,275.55 verdict against a landlord and the property management firm it retained.[1] In addition, the Court of Appeals added attorney?s fees in an amount to be determined for the appeal...

Eviction Defenses After Foreclosure

Posted on October 23, 2009
New state and federal laws protect tenants from eviction after foreclosure. There are also new laws that apply to former owners in possession of foreclosed property, in addition to tenants. It has come to our attention that some law firms are not following required procedures, depriving former owners of certain legal disclosures...

New Laws Protect Tenants When Landlord is Foreclosed

Posted on October 19, 2009
New federal as well as state laws protect tenants when the landlord?s property is foreclosed upon. New federal law. Under the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009 the purchaser at foreclosure takes the property subject to any unexpired lease...

Eviction Notices Must be Mailed from the Same County

Posted on September 17, 2009
The Washington Court of Appeals issued an unpublished opinion today on an unlawful detainer case in which one of the issues raised on appeal was that the declaration of service for the notice to pay rent or vacate did not indicate that the notice was mailed from the same county...

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Landlord Liability for Injury due to Snow and Ice

Posted on September 16, 2009
Washington has adopted the Connecticut rule which requires landlords to keep common areas in a safe condition regardless whether or not the hazard is naturally occurring. [1] The landlord is not the guarantor of tenants? safety, however, and therefore a tenant will be required to show the landlord had actual or constructive knowledge of the dangerous [...

Recent Site Crash

Posted on September 15, 2009
Some site content crashed and is being repaired and reposted. Please check back soon.

Court of Appeals Reverses Eviction on Improper Service of Eviction Notice

Posted on July 28, 2009
Yesterday the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the tenant on an appeal from an eviction case and held that service of the notice to pay rent or vacate was improper. The landlord served only one copy of the notice to two tenants. Even though the tenants were a married couple and even though the [...

Abandonment by Residential Tenants

Posted on June 25, 2009
Abandonment must be clear and unequivocal.[1] The tenant need not expressly state an intention to abandon. Such an intention may be implied by law.[2] “This inference may be drawn from anything which amounts to an agreement on the part of the tenant to abandon...

Mailing Notices from the Same County

Posted on June 08, 2009
The Washington Court of Appeals issued an unpublished opinion today on an unlawful detainer case in which the declaration of service for the notice to pay rent or vacate did not indicate that the notice was mailed from the same county. Although as unpublished the opinion cannot be cited as legal authority, it is interesting to [...

New Laws Change Eviction After Foreclosure

Posted on May 29, 2009
Two new laws change the process of evicting former owners and other occupants from property after trustee sale foreclosure. One law is a federal law in effect and a new Washington law that goes into effect July 26, 2009. The federal law expires at the end of 2012 ...

Accepting Rent After Notice to Terminate Tenancy

Posted on May 25, 2009
A recent published Court of Appeals unlawful detainer case ruled on the issue of whether a landlord may accept rent after service of a notice terminating a month to month tenancy.[1] The court ruled that the landlord may accept such payments without waiving the notice...

Wrong Summons

Posted on May 19, 2009
In recent years the mandatory summons for residential evictions in Washington has been amended twice. Many landlords and attorneys are still using older, out-of-date form. Use of the correct eviction summons is necessary to convey jurisdiction on the court...

Recent Unpublished Opinion Finds Tenant at Sufferance

Posted on May 07, 2009
In a recent unpublished opinion Division III of the Washington Court of Appeals held that despite the acceptance of rent the occupants of certain rental property were merely tenants at sufferance and subject to eviction via an unlawful detainer action...

Implied Warranties in Commercial Leases

Posted on April 29, 2009
Courts in some jurisdictions have extended the implied warranty of habitability to commercial leases to find an implied warranty of fitness for intended purpose.[1] Some commentators find the implied warranty of fitness analogous to the implied warranty of merchantability in the Uniform Commercial Code...

It’s in the Mail

Posted on April 23, 2009
Mailing an eviction notice does not mean the landlord placing a copy in the tenant’s mailbox. It means using the US Postal Service. In situations in which mailing an eviction notice is required the landlord complies by “sendign a copy through the mail”...

Tenant at Will

Posted on April 21, 2009
A tenant at will is not defined by statute in Washington. A tenancy at will is of indefinite duration, terminable at the will of either party without advance notice, and does not survive the death of either party. Unlawful detainer was not a cause of action at common law (i...

Proposed Filing Fee Increases

Posted on April 20, 2009
It may soon be more expensive to file an unlawful detainer action. Proposed legislation was introduced on April 15 and a public hearing was held on April 16 on a bill that will increase court filing fees. For evictions the filing fee for a default would increase from $45 to $75, a 65% increase...

Transient Lodgers

Posted on April 18, 2009
The weight of authority holds that a transient lodger is not a tenant, but a licensee.[1] The Residential Landlord Tenant Act (RLTA) excludes “[r]esidence in a hotel, motel, or other transient lodging….” . [2] The RLTA is modeled on the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (URLTA)...

Landlord Liability for Snow and Ice in Washington

Posted on April 10, 2009
Washington has adopted the Connecticut rule which requires landlords to keep common areas in a safe condition regardless whether or not the hazard is naturally occurring. [1] The landlord is not the guarantor of tenants’ safety, however, and therefore a tenant will be required to show the landlord had actual or constructive knowledge of the [...

Lease Renewal

Posted on April 08, 2009
A lease expires upon end of term. This applies in a Seattle residential lease, the local just cause eviction ordinance notwithstanding. Carlstrom v. Hanline, 98 Wn. App. 780 (2000). Renewal clause should specify rent, renewal term, any new or changed terms, and the time and manner of notice of intent to renew...

Options to Purchase in Washington

Posted on April 02, 2009
Below is are citations to several Washington decisions concerning options to purchase real property. If a new lease refers to and extends the terms of the original lease, the option to purchase is also extended. Superior Portland Cement, Inc. v. Pacific Coast Cement Co...

Wrong Summons

Posted on March 19, 2009
In recent years the mandatory summons for residential evictions in Washington has been amended twice. Many landlords and attorneys are still using older, out-of-date form. Use of the correct eviction summons is necessary to convey jurisdiction on the court...

Does a Lease Need to be Notarized or Recorded?

Posted on March 08, 2009
Generally, no. But, both residential and non-residential leases must be notarized and contain a legal description if the term exceeds a year.[1] The recording statute defines a lease of over two years as a conveyance.[2] In general an unacknowledged lease for a term exceeding 1 year is effective only as an oral lease and results in a [...

Terminating a Month-to-Month Tenancy

Posted on March 05, 2009

Senate Bill Limiting Tenant Screening Dies in Committee

Posted on March 03, 2009

Twenty-day Notice Soon Thing of the Past?

Posted on February 28, 2009

How to Repo Lease to Own Housing

Posted on February 16, 2009
Many assume that in a lease to own housing transaction it is a simple matter to regain possession if the potential buyer fails to close and/or fails to pay rent. Not so fast. A landlord may bring either an unlawful detainer action or ejectment action to evict a tenant...

Late Fees Only Limited by Reasonableness Standard

Posted on February 16, 2009
There are no statutory limits on late fees on rent in Washington. [1] Late fees have been enforced as liquidated damages. [2] Liquidated damages are favored. [3] Under this analysis the court try to determine the reasonableness of the parties’ estimate of the loss at the time the contract was formed...

Filtered Screening

Posted on February 10, 2009
A bill is being considered in Olympia that will limit landlord’s access to complete and accurate information and drive up the costs of obtaining tenant screening reports. The proposed law imposes new obligations under the state and federal fair credit reporting acts on tenant screening services...

Paying More, Getting Less - Budget Shortfall Hits the Courthouse

Posted on December 11, 2008
The budget shortfall has led to changes at the courthouse in King County that will impact anyone seeking access to the ex parte department. This will impact all unlawful detainer (eviction) cases as unless an eviction case is set for trial - and very few are - the entire case is determined from start to [...

Landlord-Tenant Law and the Right to Bear Arms

Posted on November 09, 2008
The US Supreme Court recently rendered an important decision on the right to bear arms under the US constitution. The decision applies to government action, not private relationships such as landlord and tenant. The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that a public housing landlord may enforce a lease provision prohibiting tenants from possessing firearms by [...

Cutting Your Losses - A Landlord’s Duty to Mitigate

Posted on November 09, 2008
A landlord has a duty to mitigate damages when a tenant abandons the tenancy or is evicted. Crown Plaza v. Synapse Software, 87 Wn. App. 495 (1997); Exeter Co. v. Samuel Martin, Ltd., 5 Wn.2d 244, 249, 105 P.2d 83 (1940); RCW 59.18.310. Because of the duty to mitigate damages courts in unlawful detainer cases generally [...

Giving Booting Vehicles the Boot

Posted on October 31, 2008
A landlord may not “boot” cars to enforce parking rules because in Washington no private property owner may resort to booting cars. The statute is pasted below. A lease provision allowing the landlord to enforce parking through booting cars is unenforceable...

Minimize Risk from Tenants’ Unpaid Utilities

Posted on October 27, 2008
Lien rights. Public utilities in Washington have lien rights against property for unpaid utilities. RCW 35.21.290 (water, electric), 35.67.200 (sewer), 36.36.045 (fees imposed for the withdrawal of subterranean water or on-site sewage disposal), 36.94...

Evicting John Doe and Jane Doe

Posted on October 19, 2008
Many landlords resists naming known unauthorized occupants on eviction notices. The better practice - even if your notice forms has, as it should, an ‘and all persons in possession’ catch all - is to include all known occupants and serve enough copies for all occupants...

King County Safer Neighborhood Ordinance

Posted on September 15, 2008
King County has passed a ?Safer Neighborhoods? Ordinance that requires landlords in unincorporated King County to take measures to prevent recurrence of criminal activity on rental property. If the sheriff?s department has probable cause to believe that criminal conduct has occurred on the rental property the sheriff may serve notice on the landlord...

Trap for the Unwary - Section 180 of the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act

Posted on September 14, 2008
In general under Washington law a tenant that creates a nuisance or commits waste may is subject to eviction for failure to comply with a three day notice to vacate. There is noo opportunity to cure. RCW 59.12.030. However, in a residential tenancy some tenant behavior that may constitute a nuisance may require 30 days [...

The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act and Proprty Managers

Posted on September 02, 2008
The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) applies to any person who regularly collects or attempts to collect debts for another. This includes property management firms, but does not include landlords acting pro se. The FDCPA exempts attempts to collect debts that were not in default when obtained...

The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act and Property Managers

Having Your Cake and Eating, too - May a Landlord Accept Rent Under Section 375?

Posted on August 31, 2008
A new law went into effect in June that amended a section of the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act that allows the tenant to pay rent into the registry of the court to avoid eviction. This has caused confusion among landlords as some apparently believe that this new law allows landlords to accept rent without forfeiting the right [...

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Property Managers

Posted on August 24, 2008
The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) applies to any person who regularly collects or attempts to collect debts for another. This includes property management firms, but does not include landlords acting pro se. The FDCPA exempts attempts to collect debts that were not in default when obtained...

Do Not Pass “GO” - Wrongful Eviction in Washington

Posted on July 21, 2008
In Washington a residential landlord may serve with the summons and complaint a notice requiring the tenant to pay rent within seven days or serve a response indicating no rent is owed. If the writ of restitution is issued the defendant is entitled to a hearing to dispute the amount of rent owed...

New Law Protects Foreclosure Scam Victims

Posted on June 15, 2008
A new law addressing distressed property transactions went into effect June 12, 2008. The new law defines a distressed home as one that is in danger of foreclosure or in the process of foreclosure. A ?Distressed home conveyance” means a transaction in which: (a) A distressed homeowner transfers an interest in the distressed home to [...

New Law Changes Landlord’s Obligations to Store Tenant’s Property

Posted on June 15, 2008
Important Changes in 2008 The Washington Court of Appeals Division III held in a 2007 decision that the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act required the landlord to store the tenant?s belongings when the tenant is evicted. [1] A new law has significantly changed the procedures and the landlord?s obligations...

Landlord Immunity for Renting to Ex-Offenders

Posted on April 01, 2008
Washington law provides landlords with civil immunity for the criminal conduct of ex-offenders if the landlord discloses to other residents that the landlord rents or has a policy of renting to offenders and the landlord takes steps to report or halt criminal activity if the landlord has actual knowledge of criminal activity...

Governer Gregoire Signs Bill, but Vetos Immediate Enactment

Posted on March 19, 2008
Governor Gregoire as expected signed into law the bill regarding the landlord’s requirements to store property upon eviction of a tenant. However, the governor vetoed the part of the bill that would have made the law go into effect immediately...

New Law Changes Rules for Storage of Tenant’s Belongings Upon Eviction

Posted on March 17, 2008
The legislature has passed and Governor Gregoire is expected to sign Monday, March 17, 2008, a new law that changes the landlord’s obligations to store a tenant’s belongings when a tenant is evicted. Prior to this new law, a Court of Appeals decision had held that the landlord was obligated to store the tenant’s personal property under the terms [...

Storing the Tenant’s Property After Abandonment

Posted on February 02, 2008
Abandonment is an absolute relinquishment of a known right. The landlord must be prepared to prove abandonment with clear and convincing evidence. In the event of such abandonment the landlord may immediately enter and take possession of any property of the tenant found on the premises and store it in any reasonably secure place...

False Information on Rental Appilcation? So What?

Posted on January 27, 2008
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...

Foreclosure Rescue Scams

Posted on January 22, 2008
Foreclosures are becoming more common in the current mortgage crisis. Some professionals are approaching homeowners who are in over the heads on their mortgage and proposing to save them from foreclosure. The problem is that when a professional such as a real estate agent or loan officer presents a foreclosure “rescue” plan to an ordinary homeowner the homeowner may reasonable rely on the advice of such a person to their considerable detriment...

Proposed Bill Would Limit Late Fees

Posted on January 20, 2008
A proposed bill if passed into law would limit late fees on rent to the greater of $50.00 or 10% of the monthly rent, whichever is greater. Current law simply requires the late fees to be “reasonable”. Reasonableness of late fees is currently up to the discretion of the court...

The Check is in the Mail

Posted on January 12, 2008
Although a street address is required for a summons in a residential eviction ? and therefore PO boxes are not appropriate in a summons - the statute is silent as to whether a PO Box is acceptable in a notice to pay rent or vacate. In fact, the statute does not expressly require an address at all...

Supreme Court Rules on Time Computation for 3 Day Notices

Posted on December 30, 2007
The Washington State Supreme Court has held that Washington eviction statutes require three calendar days for compliance with a notice to pay rent or vacate, not three court days or three business days. A Washington Court of Appeals decision had held that the statutes and court rules require three business days, not calendar days, for notices that require less than seven days for compliance, such as notices to pay rent or vacate...

Mold Disclosure

Posted on December 24, 2007
Washington law requires landlords of residential property to provide certain mold information to all tenants. To comply a landlord must provide information in a form approved by the Washington Department of Health. Follow the links on this page to Departments web site where approved forms are posted...

Holding the Bag ? Unpaid Utilities

Posted on December 07, 2007
Public utilities in Washington have lien rights against property for unpaid utilities. RCW 35.21.290 (water, electric), 35.67.200 (sewer), 36.36.045 (fees imposed for the withdrawal of subterranean water or on-site sewage disposal), 36.94.150 (connection charges)...

Closing the Door on Proving Service of Notices

Posted on October 09, 2007
There are three methods to serve eviction notices authorized by statute . One is personal service ? i.e. hand delivery to the tenant. Another is substitute service. This requires personal delivery to a person of suitable age and discretion and mailing to each tenant...

Bygones are Bygones ? Avoid Waiver of Tenant Breaches

Posted on October 09, 2007
A landlord who accepts rent for the current month waives the right to evict a tenant for prior breaches of the lease, including previous failures to pay rent. MH2 CO. v. Hwang, 104 Wn. App. 680 (2001), Wilson v. Daniels, 31 Wn.2d 633 (1948). For example, if a landlord accepts rent for, say October, the landlord may not evict for rent owed for September, August, etc...

Last Exit Before Toll ? Seattle Just Cause and the end of a Residential Lease Term

Posted on September 01, 2007
In Seattle a residential tenant may only be evicted for ?just cause?. The just causes are enumerated in a city ordinance. A landlord may evict a tenant in a residential tenancy in Seattle for only those causes enumerated. A month-to-month tenant is essentially a tenant in perpetuity...