What Washington Renters Need to Know About Eviction

An eviction is a formal legal process whereby a court grants permission to the owner of real property to remove the person residing in that property. Note the word “formal”—evictions are not casual things. Contrary to what you may believe, a landlord cannot evict a tenant for any reason whatsoever, and cannot simply change the locks and throw their possessions on the curb.

Can I be evicted for any reason in Washington?

No! In Washington State, a landlord can only evict a tenant for specific reasons:

• You didn’t pay rent
• You violated your lease agreement
• You are engaging in behavior that is illegal or is considered “waste” or “nuisance” under Washington law
• You are engaged in “gang-related” activity

Most of these are self-explanatory, but “waste” and “nuisance” may be unfamiliar terms to you. “Waste” is a surprisingly complicated legal concept, but it essentially means damaging an apartment to an extent not foreseen by the original lease agreement. So, for example, it would be “waste” to rip up the floor of your apartment, because your landlord now needs to fix that. On the other hand, it is not considered “waste” to remove and replace appliances like a stove, provided you do it carefully and don’t damage the apartment. The lesson being, don’t damage your apartment.

“Nuisance” is a bit more straightforward and constitutes exactly what it sounds like: something you are doing is so annoying that it is making it difficult or impossible for other tenants or neighbors to enjoy their apartments. Excessive noise can be a nuisance, and so can “offensive smells,” although many of the cases dealing with smells involve, for example, the rotten meat of a local “piggery.” Keep your piggery clean.

One other thing to note: if you're a month-to-month tenant with no specific end date to your lease agreement, your landlord can end your tenancy whenever they want—as long as they give you 20 days' notice. This is not an eviction. Unless you live in Seattle, you cannot contest this, and it would be best for you start packing. However! If you do live in Seattle, there is an exception: even for month-to-month tenancies, a landlord must show “just cause” to terminate the lease. This can be for any of the above reasons a “regular” eviction would occur, or because the landlord intends to sell the apartment or move into it themselves.

What is the eviction process like in Washington?

The legal eviction process involves a series of notices, called “Notices to Quit,” and court filings that all have to be executed at the right time and in the right way. Note that all “notices” detailed below must be written - a landlord cannot simply call you up and warn you that he is going to evict you. That written notice needs to be either handed to you directly, posted on your door, or mailed to you. If mailed, start counting your “notice” time on the day you received it, not the day it was dropped in a mailbox.

Eviction notices

If your landlord intends to evict you for failing to pay rent, he needs to provide you with three days’ notice before beginning eviction proceedings. If you pay the rent demanded in those three days, he can no longer move forward with an eviction.

If you are engaging in illegal, wasteful, or “nuisance,” activity, you are also required three days’ notice before eviction proceedings begin. Even if you cease your behavior in this time period, your landlord can likely move ahead with evicting you and you will need to defend yourself in court if you don’t want to be evicted.

If your landlord wants to evict you based on breaching some other aspect of your lease, he needs to provide you with ten days’ notice. If you cure that breach in that time period, it will halt the eviction.

Summons and Complaint

After the time period expires on the notice you received, if you have not yet paid your rent or cured your breach, your landlord will serve two more documents on you: a summons, and a complaint. These will not be particularly long or detailed documents, but they will contain the specific info of why your landlord is evicting you, and the notice he gave. If they do not contain this info, they may be flawed - when you get to court, you should tell the judge this.

Answer

You will then have a set amount of days, which will be written on the complaint, to file an Answer with the court hearing your case, and have that Answer served on your landlord, if you wish to contest the eviction. In your Answer, include all of your defenses to the eviction. For example, if you withheld rent because your landlord failed to make a repair, tell that to the court and include photographic evidence. It pays to be detailed.

Order to Show Cause

Finally, after your Answer has been filed, your landlord will file and serve you with an “Order to Show Cause,” which is what will finally give you a date to appear before a judge. Show up on that date with all—not some, all—of your evidence, and your argument for why you should not be evicted fully prepared.

How should the notices be delivered?

As discussed above, the initial notice that the landlord intends to evict you need not be formally served - it can be mailed, posted on your door, or handed to you directly by your landlord or someone acting on his behalf.

However, the other documents must be served formally, including the Summons, Complaint, Answer, and Order to Show Cause. None of these can be served by a party to the action—that includes you and your landlord. Both of you must either hire a local process server, or request that the county sheriff perform formal in-person service.

What's the timeline for the eviction process in Washington?

The time it can take to evict a tenant in Washington varies widely depending on whether the tenant decides to contest the eviction. A local tenants’ rights group has put together a very helpful timeline of the eviction process.

Related articles