New Landlord/Tenant Legislation
Starting July 2019, there are three new laws to pay attention to in property management in Washington State: ESHB 1440, HB 1462 & ESSB 5600
ESHB 1440: Landlords must provide 60 days’ written notice of a rent increase. This had previously been 30 days.
For more information, please click here: House Bill Report ESHB 1440
HB 1462: Requires Landlords to provide a minimum 120-days written notice for termination of tenancy when converting use, demolishing the property, or doing substantial rehabilitation. If Landlord fails to provide this notice, they could be liable for up to three times (3x) the monthly rent to the tenant.
For more information, please click here: House Bill Report HB 1462
ESSB 5600: This bill has the most implications for Landlords. It relates to notices of late rent and notice periods for evictions. Basically, this bill removes the 3-day notice, which has now changed to 14-day pay rent or vacate notice, and a mandatory form must be used. When calculating late payments, fees and/or damages cannot be used as a reasoning and/or cause of the eviction. Also, in the bill is a new process to evict tenants, which is very time-consuming. The court now will limit late fees to a maximum of $75.00 in any eviction period. Also, the court has been given full authority to limit fees, reinstate the tenant’s tenancy and set up payment plans.
For more information, please click here: Final Bill Report ESSB 5600