Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Washington
landlord won't give copy of lease, etc.
We have been living in our house for two years. It is sort of an unstructured ''co-op''. People move in and out freely. At the moment I am on the lease, which expires December 1. When I signed it it said the dates I was agreeing to live here, that I agreed to ''other terms and conditions'', and that's all. We got a letter on our door yesterday stating that we had 20 days to clean out the house. The problem is: I have asked for a real copy of the ACTUAL lease for a year and a half - the landlords ''can't find it''. So I do not know what is on it. Secondly, they want us to clean out this house which has been inhabited by many, many people - most of which abandoned furniture, property, etc. We have a house full of junk, no money to get rid of it, no copy of the lease, and no money to move into a new house. What should we do regarding obtaining a copy of the lease (if only for peace of mind). Are we legally obligated to clean out this house? And how would we know if a deposit was made on the house, last month's rent, etc., if no one in the house has ever seen a copy of the lease and the landlord refuses to give us one?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: landlord won't give copy of lease, etc.
Write to your landlord. A phone call is useless. Write and ask for a copy of the lease. The lease will say whether or not there was a deposit paid and whether the deposit was to ensure compliance with all terms and conditions (security) or just a damage deposit.
Without a copy of the lease, neither you or the landlords can show what the condition of the premises was at the beginning of the lease. If neither of you can show the condition at the beginning, it is very hard to show that you, just one tenant of many, are responsible for damage, extra furniture, etc.
Leases in WA can run for up to a year without additional terms in them. After the initial year is over, you could sign a new lease for another year, or the tenancy can become a month to month.
Month to month tenancies can be ended on 20 days notice by either party, so long as the notice is given on or before the 10th of the month. Think of this as a "no-fault" notice. 20 days is not a lot of time, but that's the law.
You need to focus now on finding a new place. The landlord can make you leave by filing a lawsuit to regain possession of the property based on that notice you received. Best to comply, because an eviction will stay on your credit history for ten years if you don't.
Your legal obligation is to relocate yourself and remove your property. I don't see how on these facts you are obligated to remove property from previous tenants.
Your obligations decrease if the landlord cannot provide you with a copy of the lease. Be sure to ask for a copy in writing, so you can prove to a court you did that.
Hope this helps. Elizabeth Powell
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