--- name: wa-landlord-tenant description: > Use when handling a Washington landlord-tenant matter — residential evictions, unlawful-detainer summary proceedings, mobile-home L&T, security-deposit recovery, warranty of habitability, retaliation, ERP referrals, and tenant Right to Counsel for eviction defense. Substantive framework: RCW 59.18 (RLTA), RCW 59.20 (mobile homes), RCW 59.12 (summary proceedings). Covers 2021 just-cause-eviction reform (SB 5160), 2019 pay-or-vacate reform (SB 5600), and statewide tenant Right to Counsel (HB 1815). Triggers include "Washington eviction", "tenant rights", "RCW 59.18", "unlawful detainer", "security deposit", "warranty of habitability", "just cause eviction", "right to counsel". version: 0.2.1 --- # Washington Landlord-Tenant — Subject-Matter Bundle > **NOT LEGAL ADVICE.** RLTA was extensively rewritten by > SB 5600 (2019) and SB 5160 (2021), and there have been > further amendments through 2024. This skill names the > controlling chapters and describes the procedural > framework; **current notice periods, deposit-return > windows, damages caps, and section subsections live in > the references corpus** at `wa-law-references/ > references/wa-rcw-debt/`. Pre-2021 precedent on no-cause > 20-day terminations and the historic 3-day pay-or-vacate > notice is NO LONGER ACCURATE for residential tenancies. ## At a glance - **Substantive code**: **RCW 59.18 (Residential L&T Act, RLTA)** — comprehensively rewritten by SB 5160 (2021) for just-cause eviction; pay-or-vacate notice reformed by SB 5600 (2019) - **Mobile homes**: RCW 59.20 (manufactured / mobile-home L&T) - **Summary-proceedings procedure**: RCW 59.12 (forcible entry / detainer / unlawful detainer) - **Right to Counsel**: HB 1815 (2021) made WA the first state to fund tenant counsel statewide for evictions ## Chapter pointers | Topic | Chapter | Reference file | |---|---|---| | Residential L&T (RLTA) | RCW 59.18 | `RCW-59_18.md` | | Unlawful-detainer procedure | RCW 59.12 | `RCW-59_12.md` | | Mobile-home L&T | RCW 59.20 | `RCW-59_20.md` | For notice periods, the just-cause grounds enumeration, security-deposit-return window, repair-and-deduct cap, retaliation presumption period, and writ-of-restitution timing, **read the relevant chapter file**. Don't rely on memory — these were materially changed in 2019 and 2021. ## Just-cause eviction — procedural framework SB 5160 (2021) created statewide just-cause eviction at RCW 59.18.650. A landlord may not terminate a periodic tenancy or refuse to renew a fixed-term lease at expiration without one of the enumerated grounds. The grounds fall into categories: - **Tenant-conduct grounds** — nonpayment, lease violation, waste / nuisance / criminal activity - **Owner-side grounds** — owner move-in, sale to occupier buyer, substantial rehabilitation / demolition, change of use - **Narrow-circumstance grounds** — additional categories listed in the statute Each ground has its own notice form and notice period. Some require relocation assistance or first-right-of- refusal protections. For the enumerated grounds, notice periods, and displacement protections, see `RCW-59_18.md` (especially the .650 section group). Pre-2021 "no-cause" 20-day terminations are gone for covered tenancies. ### Coverage carve-outs The just-cause requirement has narrow exemptions — shared-housing with landlord, certain small-landlord single-family rentals, some seasonal/transitional housing. See `RCW-59_18.md` for the exception list. ## Notices — procedural framework Washington uses several distinct notice types for residential L&T terminations: - **Pay-or-vacate** — for nonpayment; statutorily mandatory form (the form itself includes legal-aid contact info) - **Comply-or-vacate** — for curable lease violations - **No-cure / immediate** — for waste / nuisance / criminal activity - **Just-cause termination** — for the owner-side and narrow-circumstance grounds Each has its own notice period set by statute. See `RCW-59_18.md` (for residential) and `RCW-59_20.md` (for mobile home parks). ## Unlawful-detainer procedure — procedural framework The WA eviction summary proceeding follows a fixed shape: 1. Landlord serves the appropriate notice 2. **Eviction Resolution Program (ERP) referral** in counties that require it — mandatory pre-filing mediation / rental-assistance matching 3. If ERP unsuccessful or not required, landlord files unlawful-detainer complaint + the abbreviated UD summons (NOT the standard CR 4 summons) 4. Tenant has a short window to respond (much shorter than the standard CR 12 answer) 5. Show-cause hearing — tenant raises affirmative defenses; court determines whether to issue writ of restitution immediately OR set the matter for trial 6. Writ of restitution → sheriff service → physical lockout The exact response window, show-cause hearing window, and post-writ vacate period are statutory. See `RCW-59_18.md` and `RCW-59_12.md`. ## Right to Counsel HB 1815 (2021) created statewide funded tenant counsel for eviction defense. Key features: - Income-eligibility threshold (set by the Office of Civil Legal Aid) - Tenant must affirmatively request counsel - Counsel appointed by the Office of Civil Legal Aid Post-2021 measurement shows a strong majority of WA eviction respondents appear with counsel, which has materially changed the landscape — landlords now face represented tenants raising the full RLTA defense playbook. ## Security deposits — procedural framework - Move-in checklist required at start of tenancy - Landlord must return deposit + itemized statement within a statutory window after tenancy ends - Failure to return + itemize timely creates a statutory damages remedy For the move-in-checklist requirement, the return window, itemization rules, and damages multiplier, see `RCW-59_18.md`. ## Warranty of habitability + repair-and-deduct Landlord must maintain premises fit for human habitation (structural; common areas; reasonable security; heat / hot water / electricity; building-code compliance). Tenant remedies for breach include notice + reasonable time to repair, then repair-and-deduct, diminution-of-rent action, rent into court registry, or rescission. For the notice rules, the repair-and-deduct cap, and the remedy-procedure mechanics, see `RCW-59_18.md`. ## Retaliation Landlord may not terminate / raise rent / decrease services in retaliation for tenant's complaint to landlord or government about habitability, demand for repairs, tenant union activity, or filing an enforcement action. A statutory presumption of retaliation operates within a fixed window after protected activity. For the presumption window and the retaliation defenses, see `RCW-59_18.md`. ## Mobile-home L&T — procedural framework A distinct rule set under RCW 59.20 governs landlord- tenant relationships in mobile-home parks: limited statutory grounds for termination; park-rule-change notice and reasonableness; first-right-of-refusal on park sale; relocation-assistance regime. See `RCW-59_20.md`. ## Composition with other wa- skills - `wa-statewide-format` — caption + GR 14 - `wa-discovery` — discovery in eviction trials - `wa-pro-se` — pro-se eviction defense - `wa-first-30-days` — answer + affirmative defenses - `wa-kcdc` / `wa-kcsc` / `wa-county-courts` — venue specifics