S-1842.1  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 6121

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      57th Legislature     2001 Regular Session

By Senators Kline, Winsley, Prentice, Oke and Kohl‑Welles

Read first time 02/23/2001.  Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

Authorizing landlords to change locks when a tenant is the subject of a protection order.

    AN ACT Relating to protection orders involving tenants; and adding a new section to chapter 59.18 RCW.

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:

    (1) If a tenant is the petitioner in an action for a protection order under chapter 26.50 RCW and he or she notifies the landlord of the existence of a protection order that excludes the respondent from the dwelling unit that the parties share, the petitioner may request the landlord to change the locks of the rental premises.  The landlord may change or rekey the locks and may charge the petitioner a reasonable fee for the service.

    (2) The issuance of the protection order shall not relieve the respondent from the financial obligations of the rental agreement or lease.

    (3) The petitioner shall notify the landlord of the expiration date of the protection order, if any.

    (4) Nothing in this section affects any duty on the part of the landlord to provide security or to take other actions to protect the petitioner from harm.

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