Rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants
An overview of the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants can be found in the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (RLTA).
- The text of the RLTA is in Chapter 59.18 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW)
- Washington LawHelp's resource, Your Rights as a Tenant in Washington State, explains residential tenants' and landlords' rights and responsibilities in Washington as described in the RLTA.
Additional material at Washington LawHelp covers many specific issues related to tenants' rights including:
- What to Do if You Need Repairs
- Getting Your Security Deposit Back
- Can My Landlord Do That?
- And much more.
The Clark County Rental Association is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to educating landlords. They offer newsletters, publications, mentorship, classes, and forms.
If tenants and landlords need help working toward a resolution of issues they may have with each other, mediation is available from Community Mediation Services. They provide mediation resources to facilitate dialogue and negotiation between tenants and landlords to resolve issues.
Eviction
A rough outline of the eviction process is provided in an article from Doorloop as well as an article from iPropertyManagment. These demonstrates a general idea of the steps and timeline, but be aware that they may not include all possible steps or local rule requirements.
Recent legislation changed many forms, procedures, and requirements. The following resources highlight some of the changes:
- Pierce County Law Library has a series of videos in which attorney Adam Birnbaum discusses the changes made to the Residential Landlord Tenant Act (RLTA) and the eviction process.
- A summary of the major changes is available in an article from Avail.
- Additional information about some of the changes to the law is available from the law library.
- Information about changes effective July 23, 2023 is available from Washington LawHelp.
- Landlords are now required to give a "good" reason to end a tenancy or not renew a lease.
- The Attorney General’s Office Landlord-Tenant page includes information about the law and some resources including a new form for a 14-day notice as well as an unpaid rent repayment plan worksheet.
- Community Mediation Services (CMS) has a Landlord Portal with some information.
- Low income tenants are entitled to a free attorney
Self-help kits from other counties
The Clark County Law Library does not currently sell a self-help eviction kit, and does not endorse the materials that are in kits from other counties.
The King County Law Library has an eviction kit for sale that is designed for King County and includes local rules for that county. This kit is designed to be used by property owners who have a landlord-tenant relationship, i.e., lease agreement with the other party(ies). The kit includes a 14-day Pay Rent or Vacate Notice, a 10-Day Comply or Vacate Notice, and a Notice to Terminate a Periodic Tenancy.
The Pierce County Law Library has a residential eviction kit for sale that is designed for Pierce County and includes local rules for that county. This kit is designed to be used by property owners who have a landlord-tenant relationship, i.e., lease agreement with the other party(ies). The kit includes a 14-day Pay Rent or Vacate Notice, a 10-Day Comply or Vacate Notice, and a Notice to Terminate a Periodic Tenancy.
Because every local government may have its own requirements, you may need to customize forms or modify procedures to remove information related to King and/or Pierce County rules and to comply with local rules for Clark County. You should consult with an attorney if you have any questions about the process or how to customize the forms within the kit.
Eviction defense
Legislation in the past few years has made substantial changes to the law about evictions. Some of the changes are:
- A landlord must give a "good" reason to end a tenancy or not renew a lease.
- Free attorneys can be appointed for low-income tenants under the Clark County Superior Court General Order 21-06A.
Eviction Help in Clark County includes information from Washington LawHelp about free attorneys for eligible tenants under the new Right to Counsel program.
Washington LawHelp also has information and forms for specific situations. Some examples:
- Information for tenants about how to respond to various eviction notices.
- I Need to Respond to an Eviction Lawsuit as Soon as Possible
- Going to Your Unlawful Detainer (Eviction) Hearing
- Vacating (Canceling) a Judgment and Staying (Stopping) Enforcement of a Writ after You Defaulted in your Unlawful Detainer (Eviction) Case (if you did not go to court and did not file an answer for a good reason, such as the landlord didn’t serve you with the summons and complaint).
- And much more
If tenants and landlords need help working toward a resolution of issues they may have with each other, mediation is available from Community Mediation Services
The Clark County Volunteer Lawyers Program has a page about eviction and rent help, and the Washington Attorney General has a page with residential landlord-tenant resources.
