Eviction Bill Passes in Washington Legislature!

[Tracy Minick]

Big changes have been passed by the State...credit to Snohomish County NARPM

A sweeping new eviction bill has passed the Washington legislature and now heads to the governor for signature, according to reports.

The eviction bill, a sweeping change to the current Washington landlord-tenant law, gives tenants 14 days to respond to an eviction notice. Under the current law, tenants who miss rent payments must pay the amount due or vacate the property within three days of being served a notice.

SB 5600 requires uniform eviction notices written in plain language available to landlords for use that includes information on civil legal aid resources available to tenants and where to find translated copies of the notices.

“We have heard definitively from experts, and from those directly impacted, that evictions are the leading cause of homelessness in Washington State,” said Sen. Patty Kuderer (D-Bellevue), the bill’s sponsor, in a release.

“When the Senate formed the new Housing Stability & Affordability Committee, we redirected our statewide approach on homelessness to include prevention. This legislation is a significant step in that direction,” Kuderer said.

“The eviction process can be complicated and overwhelming for anyone facing the possibility of homelessness. Simplifying language is about more than conveying information to tenants, it is about increasing accessibility to a legal system in which they have every right to participate.”

Opponents of the bill say it will drive small landlords out of the business and make the housing crisis worse.

“Not all landlords are just rolling in cash,” said Puyallup Republican Rep. Chris Gildon in an interview with the Seattle Times. “It will result in the exact opposite of what we’re trying to do.”

Landlords’ associations objected to the bill in the weeks leading up to the vote on similar grounds, saying that adding more than a week to eviction periods would cause property owners to risk missing their own mortgage and utility payments.

Along with extended wait times, the bill also proposes giving new power to judges, who would be allowed to temporarily block evictions based on factors including the tenant’s payment history and whether they had made a good-faith effort to pay.

A summary of the Washington eviction bill

• Extends the 3-day notice for default in rent payment to 14 days’ notice for tenancies under the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act.
• Requires the 14-day notice to be written in plain language and include information on civil legal aid resources available, if any, to the tenant.
• Extends the mandatory notice period from 30 to 60 days when landlords propose a rent change amount. Requires a landlord to first apply any tenant payment to rent before applying the payment toward other charges.
• Prohibits continued tenancy and relief from forfeiture to be conditioned upon tenant payment or satisfaction of any monetary amount other than rent.
• Provides the court with discretion to provide relief from forfeiture or to stay a writ of restitution.
• Requires a landlord to provide a tenant with documentation regarding any damages for which the landlord intends to retain any of the deposit amount.