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Real Estate & Property Law

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.

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Last Entry: May 11, 2010 at 18:13:15

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Posted on May 11, 2010
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New Laws Protect Tenants Whose Landlords are Foreclosed

Posted on February 18, 2010
New federal and state laws protect tenants whose landlords are foreclosed. According to the article “Your landlord got foreclosed. Do you have to go?” on CNNMoney.com, some banks, real estate agents, and attorneys may be preying on tenants not familiar with these laws...

Court of Appeals Upholds Late Fees in 3-Day Notice

Posted on December 08, 2009
Under Washington unlawful detainer law the landlord should not demand non-rent items on the three-day notice to pay rent or vacate. This is because the tenants is entitled to at least 10 days to cure any non-rent breach of the lease. Some local court commissioners will dismiss an unlawful detainer case if there are non-rent items [...

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...

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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...

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...

Accepting Rent After Notice to Terminate Tenancy

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 [...