Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Washington

3-day notice

I just recently got laid off and having trouble coming up with rent on time and will not be back to work for another week. I have spoken to the property management of my apartment and have informed them that the rent will be 2 weeks late and of the my job situation. But to my surprise they are not willing to work with me on this and have told me that as soon as the rent is late i will receive my three day notice and if I don't pay it by the end of the three days they will no longer except the rent and it will be handed over to the sheriff's department and even if they were to except it, the eviction would still stand. When i looked over the lease there is nothing stated about being late or there eviction polices yet they are going to charge me $50 for the first day and $5 for every day up to the day they re-rent the unit. it is a year lease and we have been there for 6 months, we have never been late and we have never had a complaint against us. I'm supporting a pregnant girlfriend 7 months along, and a child not even two. and this just sounds off, I've never heard of a place so unwilling to work with a tenant, is there anything I can do to prevent my family from becoming homeless and is what there doing legal?


Asked on 12/21/08, 5:12 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thuong-Tri Nguyen Thuong-Tri Legal Services, PLLC

Re: 3-day notice

The landlord is not legally required to work with you when you are late with rent.

As soon as a tenant is late with the rent, the landlord can start the notice procedure required by the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act or the lease, whichever one requires more days.

If you do not want to be evicted, you likely should look for the money to pay the rent.

You can delay the eviction by procedural means for a few days. However, unless you have some valid defenses, you will end up evicted and incurring more attorney's fees for the landlord. Under the RLTA, the winning party may get reasonable attorney's fees in an eviction.

You can review your facts with an attorney to see if you have any valid defense. Many counties have volunteers who help tenants facing eviction.

Both the tenant and the landlord will have to follow the statutory procedures. The statutes can be read at http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?Cite=59 .

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Answered on 12/21/08, 7:19 pm


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