Tenant Services

Landlord-tenant laws can’t help you until you know them and know how to use them. Use the Solid Ground Tenant Services Hotline and this website as resources to learn about your rights. Some landlords will take advantage of tenants who aren’t fully informed about their legal protections. You can find answers to many common questions on this website – or call our Tenant Services Hotline at 206.694.6767.

Always get it in writing! It is a best practice to document all your communications with your landlord in writing, and get proof that they were sent and received. Without written documentation, every repair request or agreement between you and your landlord will come down to your word against theirs. In many places in the law, the tenant is actually not allowed a remedy until the request has been put in writing and sent to the landlord. A thorough paper trail will ensure that you’ll have the proof you need to protect yourself if you end up needing to fight a disputed bill or take your landlord to Small Claims Court. Scroll down to our Best Practices & Tips for Renters section below for more information on documentation.

Whether or not the law is on your side, it’s useful to think of all of your interactions with your landlord as negotiation. It can be difficult to get what you want because in many situations the law is inadequate or vague. Landlord-tenant negotiations are by nature imbalanced because ultimately the landlord controls the property. Even when the laws are clear, it is still up to you as a tenant to get them enforced. Written negotiation is your way to communicate your rights and positions to the landlord.

There are a wealth of free resources available to Washington State renters. For instance, you may be able to call local building Code Enforcement to follow up with your landlord to get necessary repairs made. You may also be able to take your landlord to Small Claims Court to collect money owed to you. View our Small Claims Court and Renters’ Resources webpages for more information and resources.

All repair requests must be in writing (RCW 59.18.070). Always keep a copy of your communications with your landlord and proof of mailing, and be sure to get copies of all documents that you sign.

You can prove that the letter was sent and received by sending it “Certified Mail Return Receipt” or asking your landlord to sign and date your copy of the letter. You can also ask a reliable person to witness your delivery of the notice to the landlord.

Document all agreements between you and your landlord and any commitments your landlord makes to you, especially payment arrangements. All agreements should be signed and dated by both you and your landlord.

State law requires landlords to provide tenants with receipts for rent (or any payment) if they are requested (RCW 59.18.063). You can also document payments by sending them certified mail or making a photocopy of the check or money order before you send it to the landlord, and sending it with a letter stating the amount paid.

Whenever possible, pay using money orders or cashier’s checks instead of cash, and make copies of the money order after it’s filled out but before it’s separated from the stub.

You can mark checks and money orders “For April [or appropriate month] Rent in Full Only” and keep a copy. This documents that your payment can only be used for rent in the proper month and not for other fees. Washington landlords must apply rent payments to rent first, even if the tenant owes other unpaid charges (RCW 59.18.283). Landlords cannot evict tenants for unpaid late fees or other charges that are not monthly rental payments (RCW 59.18.283).

Tenants must be current in rent in order to access the repair remedies written into the law. Even if the repairs are extremely severe, withholding rent will leave renters vulnerable to eviction. For more information on your rights to get repairs made, navigate to our Repairs webpage.

You can defend yourself against wrongful damage charges after you move out by thoroughly documenting the unit’s condition when you first move in and when you vacate. The landlord is required to provide a move-in checklist. Fill it out thoroughly as this will be the primary document that protects you from being charged for pre-existing damages.

Take detailed photographs of the unit’s condition. Including a copy of the day’s newspaper visible in each frame will prove the date the photo was taken. Small Claims Court judges may not accept camera date stamps as documentation because they can be tampered with.

Landlords are not required to do move-out inspections. However, you may ask the landlord to walk through the unit with you upon move-out and provide you with a copy of the signed inspection report at the end.

Be sure to give your landlord a forwarding address for yourself or a dependable friend when you vacate.

Verbal eviction notices are not valid. All notices must be in writing and follow a specific legal process (RCW 59.12).

Lockouts are illegal (RCW 59.18.290). You can call the police if your landlord has locked you out of your unit or removed your belongings without going through a court process.

To vacate a unit in a month-to-month rental agreement, the landlord must receive written notice from the tenant 20 days prior to the end of the rental period (RCW 59.18.200). For example, the landlord must receive written notice by the 10th of the month if you want to vacate on the 30th of the month (if the month has 30 days in it).

You must vacate your unit by the end of the month that you gave notice. If you stay even one day past the vacate date, the landlord can legally charge you for the entire following month’s rent. The landlord is not obligated to prorate your rent upon move-out, but you may be able to negotiate with them to get the rent prorated. Remember, get it in writing!

If you are on a lease, you normally cannot vacate until the lease expires.

Landlords cannot legally enforce any terms other than the ones written in your lease.

The landlord cannot legally change the rules of tenancy while you’re on a lease for a specified term. Terms and conditions of the lease can only be changed by mutual agreement of landlord and tenant. Once your tenancy becomes month-to-month, your landlord can change the rules by giving you 30 day’s written notice. The landlord can increase the rent by giving you 60 days’ written notice, unless your tenancy is subsidized in which case the landlord only needs to give 30 days’ written notice. (RCW 59.18.140).

Read the lease carefully before you sign. The landlord can enforce any and all reasonable terms written in the contract as long as they don’t contradict any state or local laws.

No lease provision can waive your rights defined under the landlord-tenant laws (RCW 59.18.230). The landlord will try to create lease terms favorable to their own interests. Understand the terms of the lease before you sign the contract.

Once your lease term has ended, there are virtually no restrictions on how much your landlord can raise your rent. All rent increases require 60 days’ written notice in Washington State, except for rent increases on subsidized units which require 30 day’s written notice.

If you live in Seattle or Burien, your landlord must have a Just Cause reason to evict you from a property (SMC 22.206, BMC 5.63.070). Just Cause evictions include nonpayment of rent, noncompliance with lease terms, chronically late rent payments, and the landlord wishing to occupy the unit themselves. Seattle has 18 total just causes, and Burien has 14 just causes. The notice required for each Just Cause reason varies from 20-90 days. For a list of all Just Cause reasons and notice time frames in Seattle, visit our Seattle Laws webpage, Just Cause Eviction Ordinance section.

Outside of Seattle and Burien city limits, landlords can terminate month-to-month leases for any reason, and they do not need to tell you why. In most cases, they only need to give 20 days’ written notice. However, if a Washington State landlord is terminating your month-to-month lease in order to demolish, rehabilitate, or change the use of the building, then they need to give you 120 days’ written notice (RCW 59.18.200).

Domestic violence survivors cannot be discriminated against because of their status as survivors, or because of damage perpetrators cause to the units survivors live in. Survivors also have the right to legally break their lease to escape an abuser, but must follow the proper legal process. In addition, landlords cannot refuse to rent to you because of your status as a domestic violence survivor. For more information, see Landlord/Tenant Issues For Survivors of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and/or Stalking from Washington LawHelp.

Housing loss makes it virtually impossible to maintain stability in other areas of life. Don’t take any chances with your housing! Document every payment and communication with your landlord to protect yourself against housing loss.

Your elected officials need to know how renters are being impacted by rental laws in Washington State. Call the Washington State Legislative Hotline at 1.800.562.6000 and tell them your story! You can leave a message for your state Senator, two Representatives and the Governor. Also, you can find email addresses and information about upcoming bills that impact renters at the Washington State Legislature website. If you would like assistance from a Tenant Counselor to share your story, please contact Tenant Services Advocacy at 206.694.6748.

There is no one agency or governmental body whose job it is to take complaints on landlords or hold them accountable under landlord-tenant laws. Landlord-tenant laws in Washington State are self-enforced. Scroll up to our Tools for Tenants section above for ideas on how to assert your rights under landlord-tenant law. You can report on any bad experiences with your landlord at the Better Business Bureau website or any of the various landlord or apartment reviews sites found on the internet. These resources are informational only and will not do anything to enforce your rights as a tenant.

Landlord-tenant laws in Washington State are self-enforced. Knowing your rights, documenting all your communications and agreement with your landlord, negotiating and accessing resources are the strongest tools renters can use. Scroll up to our Tools for Tenants section above for more information on options and resources to make sure that your rights as a tenant are respected by your landlord.

Solid Ground Tenant Services does not offer rental assistance. To find out if there are any rental assistance resources in your area, call Washington State 2-1-1 (also 206.461.3200, 1.800.621.4636 or 206.461.3610 for TTY/hearing impaired calls). For more information on rental assistance, navigate to our Renters’ Resources webpage.

You can prove that the letter was sent and received by sending it “Certified Mail Return Receipt” or asking your landlord to sign and date your copy of the letter. You can also ask a reliable person to witness your delivery of the notice to the landlord. Always keep a copy of your correspondence with the landlord and proof of mailing, and be sure to get copies of all documents that you sign.

Your landlord is legally required to disclose a name and address, as well as contact information for an agent in the same county, if they live out of state. If they did not give you this information, you can research your landlord through the tax assessor’s office in your county. You may be able to find an address for your landlord there. Try the King County Parcel Viewer or the tax assessor’s office in your county.