Eviction reform passed by state Legislature
Tenants in Washington state will have much greater eviction protections once a bill passed by the Legislature is signed into law.
The bill, known as SB 5600, will require landlords to give tenants 14 days notice to pay rent before eviction proceedings can begin, increasing it from the current three-day requirement. It also requires landlords give renters 60 day notice for rent increases. Additionally the bill gives judges the ability to consider factors such as the effect eviction would have on tenants during eviction proceedings. The bill was sponsored by Bellevue state Sen. Patty Kuderer.
“It’s landmark legislation,” Kuderer said. “You know we really haven’t had reforms to the (Residential Landlord-Tenant Act) in roughly 40 years, and it was the result of many, many, many hours of private landlords and public landlords and tenant advocates and tenants sitting at the table and working through some very difficult issues.”
The bill’s passage was applauded by housing advocates, including Xochitl Maykovich of the Washington Community Action Network. Maykovich also sat on the Seattle Women’s Commission, which along with the Housing Justice Project, produced a report detailing the cost of evictions for people living in Seattle.
Read more: https://www.seattleweekly.com/news/eviction-reform-passed-by-state-legislature/