H-4745

AN ACT Relating to the termination of rental agreements; amending RCW 59.18.075 and 59.18.180; adding new sections to chapter 59.18 RCW; and providing an effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 59.18 RCW to read as follows:

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. 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.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 59.18 RCW to read as follows:

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:

(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.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 59.18 RCW to read as follows:

If a tenant is threatened by the landlord with a firearm or other deadly weapon as defined in RCW 9A.04.110, and the threat leads to an arrest of the landlord, then the tenant may terminate the rental agreement and quit the premises without further obligation under the rental agreement. The tenant is discharged from payment of rent for any period following the quitting date, and is entitled to a prorata 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.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 59.18 RCW to read as follows:

If a tenant notifies the landlord in writing that:

(1) He or she has a valid order for protection under chapter 26.50 RCW; and

(2) The person to be restrained has violated the order since the tenant occupied the dwelling unit; and

(3) The tenant has notified the sheriff of the county or the peace officers of the municipality in which the tenant resides of the violation; and

(4) A copy of the order for protection is available for the landlord;

then the tenant may terminate the rental agreement and quit the premises without further obligation under the rental agreement. A tenant who terminates a rental agreement under this section is discharged from the 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.

Sec. 5. RCW 59.18.075 and 1988 c 150 s 11 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Any law enforcement agency which seizes a legend drug pursuant to a violation of chapter 69.41 RCW, a controlled substance pursuant to a violation of chapter 69.50 RCW, or an imitation controlled substance pursuant to a violation of chapter 69.52 RCW, shall make a reasonable attempt to discover the identity of the landlord and shall notify the landlord in writing, at the last address listed in the property tax records and at any other address known to the law enforcement agency, of the seizure and the location of the seizure of the illegal drugs or substances.

(2) Any law enforcement agency which arrests a tenant for threatening another tenant with a firearm or other deadly weapon, shall make a reasonable attempt to discover the identity of the landlord and notify the landlord about the arrest in writing, at the last address listed in the property tax records and at any other address known to the law enforcement agency.

Sec. 6. RCW 59.18.180 and 1988 c 150 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:

If the tenant fails to comply with any portion of RCW 59.18.130 or 59.18.140, and such noncompliance can substantially affect the health and safety of the tenant or other tenants, or substantially increase the hazards of fire or accident that can be remedied by repair, replacement of a damaged item, or cleaning, the tenant shall comply within thirty days after written notice by the landlord specifying the noncompliance, or, in the case of emergency as promptly as conditions require. If the tenant fails to remedy the noncompliance within that period the landlord may enter the dwelling unit and cause the work to be done and submit an itemized bill of the actual and reasonable cost of repair, to be payable on the next date when periodic rent is due, or on terms mutually agreed to by the landlord and tenant, or immediately if the rental agreement has terminated. Any substantial noncompliance by the tenant of RCW 59.18.130 or 59.18.140 shall constitute a ground for commencing an action in unlawful detainer in accordance with the provisions of chapter 59.12 RCW, and a landlord may commence such action at any time after written notice pursuant to such chapter. The tenant shall have a defense to an unlawful detainer action filed solely on this ground if it is determined at the hearing authorized under the provisions of chapter 59.12 RCW that the tenant is in substantial compliance with the provisions of this section, or if the tenant remedies the noncomplying condition within the thirty day period provided for above or any shorter period determined at the hearing to have been required because of an emergency: PROVIDED, That if the defective condition is remedied after the commencement of an unlawful detainer action, the tenant may be liable to the landlord for statutory costs and reasonable attorney's fees.

If drug-related activity is alleged to be a basis for termination of tenancy under RCW 59.18.130(6), 59.12.030(5), or 59.20.140(5), the compliance provisions of this section do not apply and the landlord may proceed directly to an unlawful detainer action.

If a tenant threatens another tenant or the landlord with a firearm or other deadly weapon, and the tenant who made the threats is arrested as a result of making the threats, then the compliance provisions of this section do not apply and the landlord may proceed directly to an unlawful detainer action against the tenant who made the threats.

A landlord may not be held liable in any cause of action for bringing an unlawful detainer action against a tenant for drug-related or threatening behavior under this section, if the unlawful detainer action was brought in good faith.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. This act shall take effect June 1, 1992.