CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION AND APPLICATION OF LANDLORD TENANT LAW
A. Introduction
Owning and managing residential investment properties can be rewarding and financially fulfilling business. Being a landlord is a complicated business that requires a substantial learning curve. Perhaps the greatest obstacle facing landlords is that they fail recognize that they are operating a highly regulated business. Landlords complain that the cards are stacked against them, but tenants make the same complaints. Most of the “regulations” are found in Washington’s Residential Landlord Tenant Act (RLTA) which is found at Title 59, Chapter 18 of the Revised Code of Washington (59.18 RCW). Other “regulations” may be found in the Federal United States Code (e.g. The Fair Housing Act which is found at 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601-3619, and the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 found at 42 U.S.C. § 4852, also known as Title X.).
Historically, Landlords had all the power. The Sheriff of Nottingham could dispossess a tenant of the rental property upon the King’s decree by moving the tenant and his possessions out of the residence and the tenants could be sent to debtor’s prison. Those notions changed forever when the American colonists revolted and formed a new kind of government that focused on individual rights and the notion that laws should flow from the people and not from a dictatorial leader. Although the concept of individual rights (versus all power to the King) was born of the Magna Carta, the notion that a person could not be deprived a life, liberty or property without “due process of law” was born out of Constitution of the United Sates and the Constitutions of each state. In addition to the statutory procedures, state and federal appellate courts have construed the statutes and established processes to insure that the laws were constitutional and to apply the law to actual sets of fact. The appellate courts law is referred to as “the common law.”
The RLTA identifies the rights and duties of landlords and tenants, and identifies the process that is due for enforcing the rights and remedies. The RLTA, whether right or wrong, recognizes an inherent unequal bargaining position between landlord and tenant and is an attempt to level the playing field. As long as a landlord knows the law and follows the law, the RLTA works remarkably well. It is true, however, that “ignorance of the law is no excuse.” Landlords who “cut corners” or who fail to comply with the RLTA and other laws, either through ignorance or wanton disregard of the law, do so at their own peril. These materials are an overview of the RLTA and include a number of other legal requirements for landlords. Obviously, a “one size fits” all approach does not account for individual situations. For that reason, you are strongly encouraged to seek legal advice if a situation arises that you do not know how to handle.
B. The Duty of Good Faith
“Every duty under the Residential Landlord Tenant Act which must be performed as a condition precedent to the exercise of a right or remedy under this chapter imposes an obligation of good faith.” RCW 59.18.020. “Good faith” (from the Latin bona fides) is variously defined as acting in accordance with the standards of honest, trust and sincerity, in fairness with lawful purpose and includes the absence of any intent to defraud, act maliciously, or take unfair advantage. This sounds almost like the “golden rule”—do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It also incorporates the saying that “two wrongs do not make a right.” Just because a tenant has acted dishonestly or illegally does not excuse the landlord from the duty of good faith.
C. Application of the RLTA and Exclusions
Landlords cannot lawfully draft residential lease provisions that attempt to waive or forgo rights or remedies provided for by the Landlord-Tenant Act. Such provisions are unenforceable. RCW 59.18.230. There is a narrow exception to this rule that is rarely applicable. According to RCW 59.18.360, a landlord and tenant may agree, in writing, to exempt themselves from the provisions of RCW 59.18.060, RCW 59.18.100, RCW 59.18.110, RCW 59.18.120, RCW 59.18.130, and RCW 59.18.190 if all of the following conditions have been met:
·The agreement may not appear in a standard form lease or rental agreement;
·There is no substantial inequality in the bargaining position of the two parties;
·The exemption does not violate the public policy of this state in favor of the ensuring safe, and sanitary housing; and
·Either the local county prosecutor's office or the consumer protection division of the attorney general's office or the attorney for the tenant has approved in writing the application for exemption as complying with these requirements.
The provisions of the Landlord-Tenant Act do not apply to any lease of a single family dwelling for a period of a year or more or to any lease of a single family dwelling containing a bona fide option to purchase by the tenant. RCW 59.18.415.
Most residential tenancies are covered by the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act. Even if one of the narrow exceptions to the Act apply, an attorney for the tenant must approve on the face of the agreement any leases exempted from the provisions of the Landlord-Tenant Act. The following living arrangements are excluded from the Residential Landlord Tenant Act (see RCW 59.18.040):
·Residence at an institution where residence is merely incidental to detention or the provision of medical, religious, educational, recreational, or similar services;
·Occupancy under a bona fide earnest money agreement to purchase or contract of sale of the dwelling unit;
·Residence in a hotel or motel;
·Property that has been acquired by the State through condemnation pursuant to RCW 47.12;
·Single family residences which are incidental to leases or rentals entered into in connection with a lease of land to be used primarily for agricultural purposes;
·Rental agreements providing housing for seasonal agricultural employees while provided in conjunction with such employment;
·Rental agreements with the State of Washington, Department of Natural Resources, on public lands governed by Title 79 RCW; or
·Occupancy by an employee of a landlord whose right to occupy is conditioned upon employment in or about the premises.