Washington Code 59.18.130 – Duties of tenant
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Each tenant shall pay the rental amount at such times and in such amounts as provided for in the rental agreement or as otherwise provided by law and comply with all obligations imposed upon tenants by applicable provisions of all municipal, county, and state codes, statutes, ordinances, and regulations, and in addition shall:
Terms Used In Washington Code 59.18.130
- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- Criminal history: means a report containing or summarizing (a) the prospective tenant's criminal convictions and pending cases, the final disposition of which antedates the report by no more than seven years, and (b) the results of a sex offender registry and United States department of the treasury's office of foreign assets control search, all based on at least seven years of address history and alias information provided by the prospective tenant or available in the consumer credit report. See Washington Code 59.18.030
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Dwelling unit: is a structure or that part of a structure which is used as a home, residence, or sleeping place by one person or by two or more persons maintaining a common household, including but not limited to single-family residences and units of multiplexes, apartment buildings, and mobile homes. See Washington Code 59.18.030
- Gang-related activity: means any activity that occurs within the gang or advances a gang purpose. See Washington Code 59.18.030
- Landlord: means the owner, lessor, or sublessor of the dwelling unit or the property of which it is a part, and in addition means any person designated as representative of the owner, lessor, or sublessor including, but not limited to, an agent, a resident manager, or a designated property manager. See Washington Code 59.18.030
- Person: means an individual, group of individuals, corporation, government, or governmental agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, or association, two or more persons having a joint or common interest, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Washington Code 59.18.030
- Premises: means a dwelling unit, appurtenances thereto, grounds, and facilities held out for the use of tenants generally and any other area or facility which is held out for use by the tenant. See Washington Code 59.18.030
- Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
- rental amount: means recurring and periodic charges identified in the rental agreement for the use and occupancy of the premises, which may include charges for utilities. See Washington Code 59.18.030
- rental property: means all dwelling units on a contiguous quantity of land managed by the same landlord as a single, rental complex. See Washington Code 59.18.030
- tenant: is a ny person who is entitled to occupy a dwelling unit primarily for living or dwelling purposes under a rental agreement. See Washington Code 59.18.030
- Wear resulting from ordinary use of the premises: means deterioration that results from the intended use of a dwelling unit, including breakage or malfunction due to age or deteriorated condition. See Washington Code 59.18.030
(1) Keep that part of the premises which he or she occupies and uses as clean and sanitary as the conditions of the premises permit;
(2) Properly dispose from his or her dwelling unit all rubbish, garbage, and other organic or flammable waste, in a clean and sanitary manner at reasonable and regular intervals, and assume all costs of extermination and fumigation for infestation caused by the tenant;
(3) Properly use and operate all electrical, gas, heating, plumbing and other fixtures and appliances supplied by the landlord;
(4) Not intentionally or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair, or remove any part of the structure or dwelling, with the appurtenances thereto, including the facilities, equipment, furniture, furnishings, and appliances, or permit any member of his or her family, invitee, licensee, or any person acting under his or her control to do so. Violations may be prosecuted under chapter 9A.48 RCW if the destruction is intentional and malicious;
(5) Not permit a nuisance or common waste;
(6) Not engage in drug-related activity at the rental premises, or allow a subtenant, sublessee, resident, or anyone else to engage in drug-related activity at the rental premises with the knowledge or consent of the tenant. “Drug-related activity” means that activity which constitutes a violation of chapter 69.41, 69.50, or 69.52 RCW;
(7) Maintain the smoke detection device in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations, including the replacement of batteries where required for the proper operation of the smoke detection device, as required in RCW 43.44.110(3);
(8) Not engage in any activity at the rental premises that is:
(a) Imminently hazardous to the physical safety of other persons on the premises; and
(b)(i) Entails physical assaults upon another person which result in an arrest; or
(ii) Entails the unlawful use of a firearm or other deadly weapon as defined in RCW 9A.04.110 which results in an arrest, including threatening another tenant or the landlord with a firearm or other deadly weapon under RCW 59.18.352. Nothing in this subsection (8) shall authorize the termination of tenancy and eviction of the victim of a physical assault or the victim of the use or threatened use of a firearm or other deadly weapon;
(9) Not engage in any gang-related activity at the premises, as defined in RCW 59.18.030, or allow another to engage in such activity at the premises, that renders people in at least two or more dwelling units or residences insecure in life or the use of property or that injures or endangers the safety or health of people in at least two or more dwelling units or residences. In determining whether a tenant is engaged in gang-related activity, a court should consider the totality of the circumstances, including factors such as whether there have been a significant number of complaints to the landlord about the tenant’s activities at the property, damages done by the tenant to the property, including the property of other tenants or neighbors, harassment or threats made by the tenant to other tenants or neighbors that have been reported to law enforcement agencies, any police incident reports involving the tenant, and the tenant’s criminal history; and
(10) Upon termination and vacation, restore the premises to their initial condition except for wear resulting from ordinary use of the premises or conditions caused by failure of the landlord to comply with his or her obligations under this chapter. The tenant shall not be charged for normal cleaning if he or she has paid a nonrefundable cleaning fee.
[ 2023 c 331 § 6; 2011 c 132 § 8; 1998 c 276 § 2; 1992 c 38 § 2; 1991 c 154 § 3; 1988 c 150 § 2; 1983 c 264 § 3; 1973 1st ex.s. c 207 § 13.]
NOTES:
Findings—Intent—2023 c 331: See note following RCW 59.18.030.
Intent—Effective date—1992 c 38: See notes following RCW 59.18.352.
Legislative findings—1988 c 150: “The legislature finds that the illegal use, sale, and manufacture of drugs and other drug-related activities is a statewide problem. Innocent persons, especially children, who come into contact with illegal drug-related activity within their own neighborhoods are seriously and adversely affected. Rental property is damaged and devalued by drug activities. The legislature further finds that a rapid and efficient response is necessary to: (1) Lessen the occurrence of drug-related enterprises; (2) reduce the drug use and trafficking problems within this state; and (3) reduce the damage caused to persons and property by drug activity. The legislature finds that it is beneficial to rental property owners and to the public to permit landlords to quickly and efficiently evict persons who engage in drug-related activities at rented premises.” [ 1988 c 150 § 1.]
Severability—1988 c 150: “If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.” [ 1988 c 150 § 15.]