Washington Code 59.18.352 – Threatening behavior by tenant — Termination of agreement — Written notice — Financial obligations
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If a tenant notifies the landlord that he or she, or another tenant who shares that particular dwelling unit has been threatened by another tenant, and:
Terms Used In Washington Code 59.18.352
- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- 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
- 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
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Orders: means written official military orders, or any written notification, certification, or verification from the service member's commanding officer, with respect to the service member's current or future military status. 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
- 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
(1) The threat was made with a firearm or other deadly weapon as defined in RCW 9A.04.110; and
(2) The tenant who made the threat is arrested as a result of the threatening behavior; and
(3) The landlord fails to file an unlawful detainer action against the tenant who threatened another tenant within seven calendar days after receiving notice of the arrest from a law enforcement agency;
then the tenant who was threatened may terminate the rental agreement and quit the premises upon written notice to the landlord without further obligation under the rental agreement.
A tenant who terminates a rental agreement under this section is discharged from payment of rent for any period following the quitting date, and is entitled to a pro rata refund of any prepaid rent, and shall receive a full and specific statement of the basis for retaining any of the deposit together with any refund due in accordance with RCW 59.18.280.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a landlord to terminate a rental agreement or file an unlawful detainer action.
[ 1992 c 38 § 5.]
NOTES:
Intent—1992 c 38: “The legislature recognizes that tenants have a number of duties under the residential landlord-tenant act. These duties include the duty to pay rent and give sufficient notice before terminating the tenancy, the duty to pay drayage and storage costs under certain circumstances, and the duty to not create a nuisance or common waste. The legislature finds that tenants are sometimes threatened by other tenants with firearms or other deadly weapons. Some landlords refuse to evict those tenants who threaten the well-being of other tenants even after an arrest has been made for the threatening behavior. The legislature also finds that some tenants who hold protective orders are still subjected to threats and acts of domestic violence. These tenants with protective orders must sometimes move quickly so that the person being restrained does not know where they reside. Tenants who move out of dwelling units because they fear for their safety often forfeit their damage deposit and last month’s rent because they did not provide the requisite notice to terminate the tenancy. Some tenants remain in unsafe situations because they cannot afford to lose the money held as a deposit by the landlord. There is no current mechanism that authorizes the suspension of the tenant’s duty to give the requisite notice before terminating a tenancy if they are endangered by others. There also is no current mechanism that imposes a duty on the tenant to pay drayage and storage costs when the landlord stores his or her property after an eviction. It is the intent of the legislature to provide a mechanism for tenants who are threatened to terminate their tenancies without suffering undue economic loss, to provide additional mechanisms to allow landlords to evict tenants who endanger others, and to establish a mechanism for tenants to pay drayage and storage costs under certain circumstances when the landlord stores the tenant’s property after an eviction.” [ 1992 c 38 § 1.]
Effective date—1992 c 38: “This act shall take effect June 1, 1992.” [ 1992 c 38 § 11.]