Outlets aren't grounded, does the landlord or tenant need to pay?

[Kevin McKittrick]

We are moving to a rental property in Seattle next month and the lease is already signed. After signing we mentioned using a portable dishwasher and the PM said it wouldn't work because the outlets aren't grounded.  It is an old house, so we went back through our pictures and videos during the tour and found that the outlet covers are 3 prongs, but not actually grounded. We are worried about a potential fire or getting shocked. We requested the change and they said we would need to pay for the update. After coming back with a solution of taking it off our rent if we paid for it, they said they would pay half. After some research it seems that this property isn't up to code and presents some valid safety concerns. I am wondering if any experienced landlords or property managers in Seattle have ever come across this issue before? We want to be respectful of the landlord and the property management, so any advice on how to handle this would be great. We ultimately feel like this shouldn't be our financial burden.

[JD Martin]

Quote from @Kevin McKittrick:

We are moving to a rental property in Seattle next month and the lease is already signed. After signing we mentioned using a portable dishwasher and the PM said it wouldn't work because the outlets aren't grounded.  It is an old house, so we went back through our pictures and videos during the tour and found that the outlet covers are 3 prongs, but not actually grounded. We are worried about a potential fire or getting shocked. We requested the change and they said we would need to pay for the update. After coming back with a solution of taking it off our rent if we paid for it, they said they would pay half. After some research it seems that this property isn't up to code and presents some valid safety concerns. I am wondering if any experienced landlords or property managers in Seattle have ever come across this issue before? We want to be respectful of the landlord and the property management, so any advice on how to handle this would be great. We ultimately feel like this shouldn't be our financial burden.

 The key here for me "after signing, we mentioned using a portable dishwasher". If you wanted a house with a dishwasher you should have rented one before you signed. The way I see it, you rented the house in as-is condition, which contains wiring that isn't code now but was code when it was built and a property owner has no obligation, if the law doesn't require it, to upgrade homes to meet new building codes. The fact that you want to use a portable dishwasher isn't really the landlord's problem, and I think their agreement to cover half the expense of updating the wiring in order to meet your needs is generous. How is taking it off the rent a solution for them? That's the same thing as them paying for it. 

On the other side of that, 3 prong outlets that aren't grounded are supposed to be labeled "not grounded" because you can't buy 2 prong outlets any more. So the outlets should all be labeled as such and I think if you wanted out of your lease because they were not, that would be a fair solution.