Tenant Protections Prohibits landlords from terminating or refusing to renew a rental agreement for "no cause" until 2 years after expiration of any public health emergency unless landlord intends to sell the property or occupy the property as personal residence and at least 60 days’ notice provided as form signed under penalty of perjury Presumes any "no cause" termination notice issued to a tenant for any unpaid rent that accrued between March 1, 2020, and [Gov eviction moratorium exp. date], is a reprisal or retaliatory action.
Prohibits a tenant’s right to possession of dwelling unit used primarily for residential purposes to be conditioned on satisfaction of any rent that accrued between March 1, 2020, and [Gov eviction moratorium exp. date]. Prohibits landlords from treating any unpaid rent accrued between March 1, 2020, and [Gov eviction moratorium exp. date], as an enforceable debt or obligation that is owing or collectable within an action for possession of the rental property. Authorizes tenants adversely impacted by COVID-19 to terminate their tenancy upon a 20-day written notice, which includes a statement that termination of tenancy is due to COVID-19 Prohibits landlords from assessing any penalty, early termination fee, or any other amount on a tenant who elects to terminate their tenancy for their failure to continue their tenancy for a predetermined amount of time.
ability to occupy a rental dwelling.
to, prior or current exposure or infection to the COVID-19 virus.
necessary to evaluate a reasonable accommodation request or reasonable modification request under RCW 49.60.222.
Penalizes landlords up to four and one-half times monthly rent with court costs and attorneys’ fees for violations Repayment Plans Requires landlords to first offer tenants before any collection action a repayment plan consisting of monthly installments dependent upon the months of back rent owed and accrued between March 1, 2020, and [Gov eviction moratorium exp. date]
governmental entities
litigation if the tenant defaults on the agreement, or a requirement that the tenant apply for governmental benefits or provide proof of receipt of governmental benefits
plan or defaults on repayment plan
repayment plan Mediation Session Replaces the show cause hearing within any RLTA unlawful detainer (UD) action with a required mediation session between the parties before any trial is scheduled.
Prohibits issuance of a writ of restitution before a trial on the pleadings otherwise. Authorizes parties to seek discovery respectively before the hearing. Prohibits application of provisions requiring the judge to amend the UD complaint at trial if other tenant offenses found not related to those in original complaint. Right to Counsel Requires landlords to inform tenants of their right to counsel and to a court-appointed counsel at the mediation session or trial if indigent. Requires courts to appoint counsel at the mediation session and at any scheduled trial. Requires state to pay costs of right to counsel legal services subject to amounts appropriated.
mediation session. Emergency Rental Assistance Program Creates a new emergency rental assistance program with Commerce designed to reimburse landlords for claims of unpaid rent and utilities.
Clarifies that program funds must be used for rental assistance for X months of back and/or future rent, utility assistance, and administrative costs. Provides following prioritization for receipt of funds: landlords with no more than 4 units; landlords with 5-100 units; and all other landlords. Requires the following conditions for receipt of funds as part of an affidavit signed under penalty of perjury:
Requires landlords to waive any remaining rental arrears if program funds reimburse at least 80 percent of FMR rate of claim amount, and waive any other monetary claims for other fees/charges once reimbursed. Prohibits access to program and/or requires denial of claim if landlord commits fraud. Creates affiliated, appropriated account. Miscellaneous Prohibits pro se agreements between landlord and tenant pursuant to an eviction action in which tenant agrees to pay more than statutory judgment limits, amounts other than rent to retain tenancy, or any tenant rights under judicial discretion or RLTA. Prohibits dissemination of mediation sessions if they fail to resolve dispute between the parties under RLTA. Limits dissemination of eviction actions due to nonpayment of rent resulting from COVID-19. Requires landlords to pay the balance of a UD filing fee after the mediation session or before the trial on the pleadings. Removes prohibition on judicial discretion eligibility if tenant received three or more pay or vacate notices within previous 12 months. Declares an emergency. To voice your opinion on the draft, you can contact the Senator and her staff. Provided below is their contact information: Senator Patty Kuderer's email Patty.Kuderer@leg.wa.gov Also provided is her assistant's email: tanya.lavoy@leg.wa.gov Also provided is a link to her website with additional contact info: Contact - Sen. Patty Kuderer - Washington State Senate Democrats (wastateleg.org) To Download a PDF of this summary, please download the PDF below. Also included is the full bill of the Eviction Reform. (please see 2nd PDF attachment below for the full bill. ![]()
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2 Comments
12/21/2020 05:13:49 pm
This is unfair to landlords. We have sacrificed and struggled through this virus and had problem tenants damage and destroy our hard earned property. We need some tools to help us, not just making housing easy for tenants. This makes it to difficult to get problem tenants to follow the rules or be evicted.
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JODII GUILBEAU
2/10/2021 05:02:15 pm
This is government sanctioned theft of private property. Both the federal and state consititutions prohibit governemnt interfering with contracts and stealing private property without fair compensation. The endless moratioriums have taken private property and given it to tenants for free; granted tenants legal counsel at no cost, and transferred all rights to tenants, essentially siezing a landlord's private investment property with no legal recourse, no compensation and continues to endanger good residents while providing blanket protections for bad tenants. Policies like these have driven me to sell all 8 of my rental properties, removing them from the market. Multiply that by hundreds of similar small housing providers. These policies drive me and other investors away from WA creating further housing shortages rather than incentivizing housing providers. You create the very problems you say you seek to avoid. Shame on you!
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