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Writer's pictureHelen

20 Day No Cause Eviction

Updated: Dec 21, 2022

20 day “no cause” eviction process and specifically for those of you who live in Washington State, this post is for you!

It is a hideous law and one with clear unintended (?) consequences. What it means is that if your lease expires and a lease is not renewed and you are renting month to month, landowners are indicating they may be intending to use the 20 day no cause notice to vacate against you.

This provision can only be used in month-to-month or presumably during the last month of when a lease is going to expire. Absent any effort to renew a lease by one or both parties, RCW 59.18.220 (1) states: tenancy ends when the lease expires. If you receive a “no cause notice” and fail to leave within the 20 days, you are considered “holding over” and the landlord can seek a court order to have you and your possessions removed. While there are still the ordinary and customary defenses against a landlord for retaliation or wrongful eviction, these defenses have been weakened further by the Washington State judiciary with its pro – landowner stance. It is unfortunate but true.

Of course, once an Unlawful Detainer action is started, it mars and makes difficult your ability to rent any where else. Certain areas where rent amounts have gone sky high such as in Vancouver, Washington, there is a tremendous level of distrust between tenants and landlords. A silver lining seems to have happened in Portland, Oregon at least. While landlords want maximum rights to evict tenants for no reason, the 20 day limitation places undue hardship on families. Portland passed a law and effective immediately that requires landlords to pay for moving expenses! This is a sensible solution to the original law that allowed gross abuses by land owners. (#legalguideservice) http://www.opb.org/news/article/portland-passes-emergency-bill-requiring-payments-to-tenants-for-no-cause-evictions/


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