Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee

ESSB 6378

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Brief Description: Concerning residential tenant protections.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Housing Stability & Affordability (originally sponsored by Senators Kuderer, Darneille, Das and Lovelett).

Brief Summary of Engrossed Substitute Bill

  • Amends the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act to:

    • amend the notice to pay or vacate and summons forms;

    • prohibit a landlord from threatening eviction for failure to pay certain charges other than rent;

    • provide for use of emergency rental assistance;

    • revise a provision with respect to attorneys' fees;

    • expressly allow the landlord to refuse cash, and require a receipt if cash payments are allowed; and

    • add a requirement with respect to claims made to the Landlord Mitigation Program.

Hearing Date: 2/26/20

Staff: Cece Clynch (786-7195).

Background:

Residential Landlord-Tenant Act.

The Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (RLTA) regulates the relationship between residential landlords and tenants, defines terms, and includes provisions regarding the duties of tenants and landlords, as well as remedies for violations of those duties. Subject to a few exceptions spelled out in statute, the rental of a dwelling unit for living purposes is generally covered under the RLTA.

Pursuant to 2019 legislation, a number of changes to the RLTA were made related to rent and unlawful detainer actions for failure to pay rent. As a result of these changes:

Rent.

The terms "rent" and "rental amount" are defined under the RLTA to mean recurring and periodic charges identified in the rental agreement for the use and occupancy of the premises, which may include charges for utilities. It is specified in the definition that these terms do not include nonrecurring charges for costs incurred due to late payment, damages, deposits, legal costs, or other fees, including attorneys' fees. An exception is included for nonrefundable fees or deposits which a landlord permits to be paid in installments.

A landlord must first apply any payment made by a tenant toward rent, before applying any payment toward late payments, damages, legal costs, or other fees, including attorneys' fees. Generally, a tenant's right to possession of the premises may not be conditioned on the payment of any amount other than rent. However, a landlord is not foreclosed from pursuing other lawful remedies to collect late payments, legal costs, or other fees, including attorneys' fees.

Unlawful Detainer for Failure to Pay Rent.

A tenant is liable for unlawful detainer when he or she continues in possession after a default in rent, and after a 14-day notice to pay rent or vacate has been served, and has remained uncomplied with for the period of 14 days after service. A 14-day notice to pay or vacate form is codified in statute, and notices are required to be substantially in this form. The summons form is also codified.

When a tenant is liable for unlawful detainer after default in the payment of rent, execution upon the judgment shall not occur until the expiration of five court days after the entry of the judgment. Before that time, the tenant or others on his or her behalf may pay into court or to the landlord the amount of the rent due, any court costs incurred, late fees if the fees are due under the lease and do not exceed $75 in total, and attorneys' fees if awarded, in which case any judgment entered shall be satisfied and the tenant restored to the tenancy. A tenant must pay an additional $50 for each time the tenant was reinstated after judgment within the previous 12 months prior to payment. Once the judgment is satisfied, the landlord must file a satisfaction of judgment.

The RLTA allows for, and prescribes a process for, a tenant against whom a judgment has been entered for the restitution of the premises and forfeiture of the tenancy due to nonpayment of rent to obtain a stay of the writ of restitution upon good cause and on such terms that the court deems fair and just for both parties. A number of conditions and requirements with respect to such a stay are specified, including:

If the tenant pays the one month's rent but subsequently defaults on the payment plan, the landlord may enforce the writ of restitution after serving a notice of default. The form of the notice of default is prescribed. Upon service of the notice of default, the tenant has three calendar days to vacate before the sheriff may execute the writ.

If a tenant seeks to satisfy a condition related to a stay by relying on an emergency rental assistance program provided by a government or nonprofit entity, the court shall stay the writ of restitution as necessary to afford the tenant an equal opportunity to comply.

Attorneys' Fees.

Under the RLTA, the court's authority to award reasonable attorneys' fees is limited in some cases. The court is not to award such fees if a judgment restoring possession of the property to the landlord is entered after the tenant has failed to appear in the proceedings or if the total amount of rent awarded in the judgment for rent is equal to or less than two months of the tenant's monthly contract rent or $1,200, whichever is greater. If a tenant has filed a motion to stay a writ of restitution from execution, the court may only award attorneys' fees to the landlord if the tenant is permitted to be reinstated, and the fees are subject to repayment.

Landlord Mitigation Program.

In the context of an application for a stay, the court must issue a finding as to whether the tenant is low-income, of limited resources, or experiencing hardship in order to determine if the parties would be eligible for disbursement from the Landlord Mitigation Program (Program). If the court finds that the tenant is low-income, has limited resources, or is experiencing hardship, the court may issue an order:

Summary of Bill:

Residential Landlord-Tenant Act.

The Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (RLTA) is amended in several ways.

Notice to Pay or Vacate Form.

The language in the 14-day notice to pay or vacate form is amended to:

Summons Form.

The summons form is also amended to add referral information for the Northwest Justice Project's CLEAR hotlines and the Washington Law Help website.

Use of Emergency Rental Assistance.

In an unlawful detainer action, if a tenant seeks to restore the tenancy and pay the amount of the judgment within five days of its entry with funds acquired through an emergency rental assistance program provided by a governmental or nonprofit entity, the tenant must provide a copy of the pledge of assistance and be allowed the opportunity to exercise the right. This may include a stay of the judgment as well as provision, by the landlord, of documentation necessary for processing the assistance.

The landlord must accept any pledge of emergency rental assistance funds provided to the tenant:

The landlord must suspend any court action for seven court days after providing necessary payment information to a nonprofit or governmental entity to allow for payment of the emergency funds. By accepting a pledge of emergency rental assistance, the landlord is not required to enter into any additional conditions not related to the provision of necessary payment information and documentation.

Cash Payments.

A landlord is expressly permitted to refuse to accept cash for any payment of rent made by a tenant. If, however, the landlord accepts cash, he or she must provide a receipt.

Threatening Eviction.

A landlord is prohibited from threatening a tenant with eviction for failure to pay nonpossessory charges.

Attorneys' Fees.

Rather than prohibit the award of attorneys' fees in instances in which the tenant fails to appear, an award of attorneys' fees is prohibited when the tenant fails to respond to a pleading or other notice requiring a response.

Landlord Mitigation Program.

Both the RLTA and the statute governing the Landlord Mitigation Program are amended to provide that any claim made to the Program for reimbursement for an unpaid judgment for rent, late fees, attorneys' fees, and costs after a court order finding that the landlord is eligible to apply for reimbursement from the Program must be accompanied by the court order staying the writ.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Not requested.

Effective Date: This bill contains two effective dates. Sections 1 through 4 (relating to: findings/intent; expressly allowing landlords to refuse to accept cash for payment of rent and providing that a receipt must be provided when cash is accepted; and, amendments to the notice and summons forms) take effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed. Sections 5 through 8 (relating to: providing for situations in which a tenant seeks to restore the tenancy and pay the amount through an emergency rental assistance program; prohibiting landlord threats to evict for nonpossessory charges; prohibiting attorneys' fees when the tenant fails to respond; and requiring that a Landlord Mitigation Program claim include the court order staying the writ of restitution) are subject to an emergency clause and take effect immediately.