New landlor-tenat laws Washington state

Due to the large number of people renting apartments or rooms in Washington, it has been easier for landlords to implement their laws to take advantage of tenants’ lack of knowledge.
For that reason, the state of Washington has implemented new rules to support renters and make it easier for them and their landlords.

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What laws has Washington implemented?

It has relied primarily on advance notices. Because every day, there were many complaints from tenants that their landlords told them two days in advance that they had to vacate.

For this reason, it has added tenant eviction laws, which establish a minimum number of days that must be complied with if the landlord wishes the tenants to no longer live on their premises. It also does not allow changes to the guidelines outlined in the lease, such as rent increases or rules of behavior, if the tenant is not notified several days in advance.

Why have you renewed your laws for landlords?

Every day it was more and more common to see homeless people because their landlords kicked them out of their apartments due to fits of anger. So, you increased the eviction deadlines to allow the tenant more time to make payments.

What are the laws that Washington State has implemented?

Actually, because of these new laws, a tenant will now be able to have more peace of mind and avoid problems with landlords.

14-Day Deadline

The 14-day Deadline has begun to work to prevent sudden evictions or requests for payment. They are helping people have more time to get money to pay rent or look for a new apartment.

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14 days for payments

When the cutoff date has passed and the person has not paid, the landlord must request payment within 14 days.

14 days for eviction

Following the same order of ideas, when the payment date has passed, the landlord is free to make an eviction request, with a minimum date of 14 days.

60 days for rent increase

Now, because of this new law. Landlords cannot increase the cost of rent without a minimum of 60 days’ notice. So if any cost increase is desired, the tenant must know two months in advance.

Previously, only 30 days’ notice was required to improve tenant deadlines. Although, in the case of fixed-term rentals, it remains at 30 days but cannot be increased until the end of the contract.

120 days notice

This new law is very beneficial for tenants because if the landlord wishes to change the use of the premises or demolish, he must give 120 days’ notice. To allow the tenant to be able to finish every month. At the same time, they are making it easier and calmer for the tenant to leave. Because previously, there were only 20 days for the eviction due to substantial rehabilitation.

Change in the definition of rent

Rent is now defined as “recurring and periodic charges identified in the lease for use and occupancy of premises” in Washington. Among the new payments included in the rent is the payment of utilities and payment plans. In addition, the rent payment still does not include deposits, legal fees, attorney’s fees, repair costs, and late fees.

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Updating of non-rent charges

As of the implementation of this law, no tenant should be evicted by their landlord if they fail to pay non-rent-related charges. Therefore, as long as you continue to pay your rent on the due date, you cannot be evicted.

New methods for eviction notices

Landlords can now issue unlawfully detained citations after three notices of personal service. The landlord is within his rights as long as the three notices were on different days.

A court can order an eviction to be stopped

A court in Washington State will always have judicial discretion. For that reason, after reviewing payment history, eviction consequences, behavior related to the lease, and the tenant’s intent, the court will have full discretion to stop the eviction.

In the court’s opinion, the court will have all the power to stop eviction if it is the right thing to do. But it will not apply to tenants who have already received three eviction notices. Therefore, landlords can now record every tenant’s conduct that inflicts a violation of the lease established in advance. To be able to defend themselves in court.