Landlord Dos and Dont's

Posted by Keon Knutson on Tuesday, December 18, 2012

A Landlord MAY NOT enter the tenant's premises without notice and consent.

The Landlord may not enter the dwelling unit without the consent of the tenant except in case of emergency or tenant's abandonment. However, The Tenant must not unreasonably withhold her consent to entry by the landlord. RCW 59.18.150

A Landlord MAY give the Tenant 2 days notice of his intent to enter the premises

A Landlord MAY give the tenant TWO days notice of his intent to enter the premises, except in the case of emergency or if it is impractical to do so. The landlord may enter for the purpose of inspection, making necessary or agreed repairs, supplying necessary or agreed services, or showing the premises to a prospective tenants. The Landlord may only enter at reasonable times RCW 59.18.150. A Landlord MAY give ONE day advance notice If she Landlord wants to show the premises to a exhibit it to a prospective tenant. The Landlord may not unreasonably interfere with the tenants enjoyment of the dwelling unit by exhibiting it excessively. RCW 59.18.150

A landlord MAY NOT not seize a tenant's property

However, there is an EXCEPTION to the general rule: A Landlord MAY seize a tenant's personal property IF the tenant owes rent and has abandoned the premises. The Landlord must send the tenant 45 day written notice of his intention to dispose or sell the property. If the tenant makes a demand for the return of the property prior to the time it is disposed or sold, the landlord must return it, but may condition the return on payment of moving and storage costs. The Landlord may not condition the return of the property upon the payment of delinquent rent. If the tenant is evicted , a Landlord may be required to remove and store a tenants personal property if the tenant serves a written request to do so. A request for storage is presumed if the landlord knows that the tenant has certain disability . Return may be conditioned upon payment of moving and storage costs. Property may be disposed of or sold after written notice to the tenant . RCW 59.18.312

A Landlord MAY NOT rent a unit that is illegal to occupy

A landlord MAY NOT rent a dwelling unit that has been condemned or declared unlawful to occupy. Damage and relocation assistance. If a landlord knowingly rents a unit that is condemned or unlawful to occupy, the tenant shall recover the greater of three months rent or actual damages, plus court costs and attorney's fees. If the tenant terminates the tenancy, the tenant may recover any prepaid deposit and all prepaid rent. If the premised are condemned after the tenant take occupancy, the landlord must pay relocation assistance to the tenant. This is set as the greater of $2,000 or three months rent. Local governments may advance the relocation payments to displaced tenants if the ll fails to pay in a timely fashion. 59.18.085

A Landlord MAY NOT Retaliate against a tenant:

It is unlawful for a landlord to retaliate against a tenant because he complains to governmental agencies about conditions that may endanger the tenants safety. Retaliatory action includes starting an eviction, increasing rent of tenant, or reducing services to the tenant. 59.18.240 There are "Rebuttable Presumptions" to when a landlord's action is retaliatory. If the landlord initiated any prohibited action within 90 days after the tenant's engages in the protected activity, there is a rebuttable presumption that the action is retaliatory. A notice to terminate the tenancy is presumed NOT to be retaliatory if the tenant is in violation of his rental agreement. There is a rebuttable presumption that a complaint to an enforcement agency was not made in good faith if it was made within 90 days after a notice of rent increase or good faith action by the landlord. A notice of rent increase is presumed NOT to be retaliatory if the notice specifies reasonable grounds for the increase

Additional Resources

Residential Landlord Tenant Act 
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=59.18



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