Washington 2019 Residential Landlord Tenant Act (RLTA)

[Inessa Stysis]

Hey all! I was paroozing the RE Magazine autumn edition and saw an article on some tenant law changes in Washington state that seemed pretty major. I posted this on my Instagram and figured I would share it here also for any Seattle, Tacoma, etc. investors! (Disclosure: not a lawyer).

Washington investors.. are you well versed in the 2019 Residential Landlord Tenant Act? It went into effect this past July, but just in case, here are some fun facts:

Month to month tenants are required to get at minimum, a 60 day notice of rent increases (up from 30 days).

Month to month tenants who are members of the armed forces can terminate their tenancy agreements on less notice if their orders don’t allow a twenty day written notice.

If a landlord intends to demolish, or substantially rehab or change the use of their property, tenants must be notified a minimum of 120 days prior.

Finally, the law created a way for tenants who lose an eviction hearing to reinstate their tenancy in the property. So even if you win the hearing, you may end up still keeping your tenant.

I may be a badass negotiator, but I’m not a lawyer. So don’t take my word without consulting your own attorney. But I wanted to share because #themoreyouknow