Tenant Rights in the State of Washington
One of the first things you need to know about your lease as a Washington State tenant is that the law know as the Washington Residential Landlord-Tenant Act governs written lease agreements lasting 12 months or longer. Washington residential landlords can also use verbal rental agreements and provide a written copy upon request. Laws governing verbal agreements are less stringent than those with written contracts.
Your rights under Washington State law
The Washington Residential Landlord-Tenant Act guarantees you the following rights:
• Your landlord cannot discriminate against you in the sale of running the lease.
• Your landlord must maintain the premises in a habitable condition .
• Your landlord must restore your security deposit within 21 days of your move unless you caused the property damage.
• Your landlord must provide 48 hours’ notice of entry unless in the case of an emergency.
• Your landlord must provide 20 days’ notice if increasing your rent by rent controlled areas. If not, your landlord must give you 60 days’ notice to raise your rent.
• Your landlord must not retaliate against you for your complaint against them.
The types of tenancies in Washington State
There are four tenancy options in Washington State:
• Fixed term
• Periodic (held month to month)
• Tenancy at will
• Tenancy at sufferance
Habitability and Safety Issues
The Washington Residential Landlord-Tenant Act declares that "[t]he landlord shall at all times during the tenancy maintain the premises in a fit and habitable condition." Renters also have a lot of legal protections when it comes to construction defects. When landlords violate state or local building codes, they can be considered in violation of habitability laws and a tenant may have legal grounds to break a lease. At the state level, the Building Code Act and the Multifamily Housing Act, along with dozens of other codes, ordinances and rules, help enforce minimum safe living conditions. Some common habitability issues that can result in lease terminations include failure to make structural repairs, inability to supply adequate heat to the premises during cold weather, problems with second or third means of egress such as hallways, stairs, elevators and fire escapes, inability to provide hot and cold running water, inadequate plumbing facilities and lack of vermin control. More specific cases include, but are not limited to, lead-based paint or PCB contamination, rodent or insect infestations, mold or mildew, flooding or water damage, fire hazards and carbon monoxide poisoning.
Protection Against Domestic Violence
In Washington State, tenants who are victims of unlawful harassment, stalking, domestic violence, or sexual assault possess specific suites of protections. A victim may terminate a rental agreement or refusal to extend the rental agreement under certain conditions.
First of all, a victim must have moved into the dwelling unit and made the situation untenable under the agreement. The tenant must provide a notice, not more than thirty days after the situation began, that states they are a victim of unlawful harassment/stalking/etc and requests the change. The action must be taken against the tenant, a child of tenant, or a minor child under the tenant’s care.
If a victim of domestic violence feels their safety or the safety of their children is at risk in their current housing, they may terminate a rental agreement early. To do so, the tenant must have moved into the unit and made the dangerous situation untenable under the agreement. A tenant must provide a written notice of vacating, not less than 30 days to the landlord to terminate the rental agreement. If the tenant does not have a rental agreement, they may provide the landlord with a copy of the order restraining the perpetrator from coming into their residence, or other documentation showing they are a victim. They will then vacate the unit within 90 days of when they moved in.
Again, if a victim of unlawful harassment, stalking, domestic violence, or sexual assault, the tenant may terminate the rental agreement or refuse to renew without penalties or the loss of their deposit. The victim must move into the unit, making the situation untenable. The tenant must give thirty days notice by providing a written notice that they are a victim of unlawful harassment, stalking, domestic violence, or sexual assault, not more than thirty days after the situation began.
These situations may allow a tenant to break their lease and move without facing penalty, however their safety (and their children’s safety) is the primary concern both the landlord and the tenant.
Military Duties and Ending a Lease
Covered servicemembers may terminate a residential lease or rental agreement early under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). Servicemembers may cancel a lease at any time during a "period of military service." A "period of military service" means that the servicemember has/satisfies one of the following conditions:
- is on active duty under a call or order of the President or a federal statute for a period of more than 30 consecutive days,
- is on active duty under an order to perform extended active duty under 10 U.S.C. § 688 (or a prior provision of law), for a period of more than 30 days,
- is on active Guard and Reserve duty under 10 U.S.C. §§ 10211(b) or 12301(d),
- is a member of the Merchant Marine in time of war or national emergency,
- is a commissioned officer of the Public Health Service or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
- for a period of 12 months after a servicemember has been separated from Active Duty and has been ordered to report for duty with the reserves, with the initial six months being service under 10 U.S.C. §1174(d), or 10 U.S.C. §12302 or 12304a,
- is performing service as a civil service employee of the United States Government outside of the continental United States, or
- meets the requirements of any other provision of chapter 43 of title 38 of the United States Code.
To terminate a lease covered by SCRA, a servicemember must provide written notice to the landlord and a copy of the orders (i.e. permanent change of station (PCS), temporary duty (TDY) orders). Tenant must wait 30 days from when written notice and copy of PCS/TDY order is delivered to the landlord. Tenants, however, may voluntarily agree to leave sooner than 30 days if the landlord permits. Once the termination takes place all future rent obligations end and the landlord must return any rent paid which is not allocable to the period after the date of termination. These rules only apply to a Figure 1 covered lease (i.e. a lease for residential property) and not to a Figure 2 lease (e.g. a commercial business property) or to a Figure 3 lease (e.g. a mobile home space) under chapter 59.18 RCW. The servicemember’s dependents may terminate a lease or rental agreement under SCRA too.
Lease Termination Due to Medical Conditions
Health issues may arise for yourself and your family members at any time. Such issues can present themselves after the signing of a lease, and sometimes require that you move to another location to obtain or afford the necessary treatment. Washington State courts recognize that severe and serious personal illness, including mental health conditions, can be such an economic hardship that they allow you to break a lease agreement if your health issue qualifies. If you are facing such a situation , seek guidance from an attorney who knows the law in this area. If possible, provide medical records and bills to your attorney to substantiate your claims. If you have a medical condition that is so adverse that it prevents you from reasonably accessing the resources available to you at the property, it may be a reasonable argument that you should terminate the lease agreement early.
Harassment and Privacy Invasion by the Landlord
If your landlord or property manager is persistent in their attempts to enter the premises, to the point that it becomes harassment, then you may be justified in breaking your lease agreement. Oftentimes if your landlord has violated the Right of Entry Statute and entered the dwelling without consent and/or notice, then this creates a viable defense to evict you.
If your landlord does not respect your privacy, this may afford you the legal right to break the lease. This may also include other harassing behaviors such as relentlessly calling you on the telephone, knocking on your door at all hours, and/or coming onto the premises without notice.
In any event, if you feel that your landlord or a property manager is harassing you, and you have exercised reasonable efforts to enforce the terms of the lease (by sending a demand letter, notifying the authorities, etc.), then this course of action may be justified.
As discussed below, if the landlord in any way conveys to you that your life may be in danger, then you are likely to have the legal right to break a lease in Washington State. Other factors may also be involved, including if significant changes have occurred in your life that would make it difficult or impossible for you to pay your rent.
Agreement With Your Landlord
A mutual agreement with the landlord cannot be arbitrarily made unilaterally. If there is a rental agreement signed by both parties, both must agree to any changes to that legal agreement. Generally, landlords will consider allowing a tenant to break a lease if they have a reasonable amount of notice. A month or more notice is generally considered a reasonable notice. The more notice a tenant can give, the better.
A tenant that pays their rent and abides by the terms of the rental agreement may be awarded some amount of money for loss of rent while the property is vacant if the landlord decides to allow them to break the lease agreement early.
It is certainly better to talk to the landlord about ending the lease early than it is to ignore it and stop paying rent with the hope that the landlord will be understanding of the situation. Leaving the landlord with no rent can end up causing the landlord to take legal action against you as soon as the rent is 5 days late.
The best way for both parties to agree to early termination of a rental agreement is to prepare a written letter to document the agreement. This provides a record of the agreement being made, and allows both parties to have the letter signed by both parties to confirm it was agreed to by both. It is also important that the letter document all of the details of the agreement, such as the exact date that the agreement will be considered effective, when the tenant will move out (and return the keys), whether or not the tenant will continue to pay rent until the written agreement is effective, and whether or not the tenant is required to return the property to the same condition that it was in upon the day the tenant moved in, and whether the tenant is being allowed to request that the deposit be applied to future rents or whether it will be refunded.
Military Service
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) provides a range of protections for uniformed service members, including the ability to terminate a lease for premises occupied by the tenant if it is in residence under the SCRA and a permanent change of station orders or separation from active duty is given by the tenant after the lease takes effect. With few exceptions , the tenant or dependent of a tenant must be a service member or dependent of service member on the lease basis for the lease to be terminated under this provision of the SCRA. If the tenant is stationed in a state that does not allow termination of residential leases for military service members, termination under the SCRA would still be appropriate in Washington.