“Mom & Pop” Landlords in Washington, Let’s Get Your House in Order!
Landlords, I’m talking to you. I’m the guy you call to write your leases and notices. The one who helps you stay compliant so that – when the defecation hits the oscillation – you don’t find yourself scrambling.
My legal debut began in the spring of 2021 working as a law clerk for a boutique business litigation firm in Spokane, Washington. As often happens with new hires, I was promptly tasked with some non-billable work. A new House Bill with a LOT of updates to the Washington Residential Landlord Tenant Act was just signed into law by Governor Inslee. I was tasked with deciphering it and writing a blog post for the firm website. The firm had existing and prospective clients in the property management industry. We wanted to make sure we thoroughly understood the updates and make a post to show property managers the firm had subject matter experts.
To put it simply, the new law was – and still is – an absolute mess. Summing up the changes in a few short sentences was pretty much impossible. Best I could do was 697 words – with a ton of bullet points and lists.
I imagine, when the folks who wrote the bill picture a landlord, they see an evil, selfish, greedy, conniving person looking out at their vast network of slums from the top of a castle and handing out eviction notices like candy at a Labor Day parade. It is clear the law was written with protecting tenants in mind – a noble and necessary cause – however, it quite obviously went too far.
Make no mistake, I’m not anti-tenant. I have and will continue to help people in disputes with their landlords. It’s just that, at a certain point, we must draw the line. This law makes evictions a lot more difficult and includes confusing provisions making fixed-period leases (e.g., 12 months) automatically continue at the end of their term (which defeats the purpose of having a fixed-period lease).
This was still near the beginning of the pandemic. Over the next 12 months, Governor’s proclamations, orders from the CDC, Washington State Supreme Court orders, local and federal eviction moratoriums, federal executive orders, and changes to local laws further complicated the issue. I had the pleasure of writing 6 more of those blog posts – attempting to decipher the waves of changes to state, federal, and local law. All the while, I watched as my colleagues – who often represented property management companies – fought their way through protracted eviction proceedings.
I never personally handled an eviction proceeding and I have absolutely no desire to. What I did do, was draft all manner of notices for property management companies, advised them on what actions they could and couldn’t take, and created standardized lease agreements which complied with Washington State and federal law.
Now that the dust is settled, I’d imagine just about every property management company in Washington State has sorted out their leases and created systems to ensure they comply with these laws – but who’s looking out for the ole’ “Mom & Pop” landlord?
With every person getting a side hustle, everybody wanting passive income, and millennial and gen x homebuyers eating up property across Washington State, I’m certain there are a lot of folks out there absolutely flying by the seat of their pants when it comes to this stuff. That doesn’t have to be you.
Whether it’s apartments, a duplex, a single-family home, or an Airbnb – whether it’s explaining a notice requirement, rewriting a lease, or interpreting the next batch of jacked-up laws sure to be passed in the near future – whether you’re a landlord, tenant, or property manager – I’m happy to help!
Just fill out the intake form. We’ll see whether your issue is one I can assist with.
Let’s get your house in order.
– Tyler O’Brien –