[WSBARP] Spokane To Potentially Have The Same City of Seattle Unlawful Detainer 'Just Cause' Ordinance? Question For City of Seattle Eviction Practitioners
Roger Hawkes
Roger at law-hawks.com
Wed Jan 14 09:34:55 PST 2015
From a landlord perspective it’s quite difficult to deal with. Small landlords in particular tend to assume the state law governs; and they get in trouble with the Seattle tenant protection ordinance. The larger landlords have lawyers or managers who know the law and generally comply.
Roger Hawkes, WSBA # 5173
19909 Ballinger Way NE
Shoreline, WA 98155
www.hawkeslawfirm.com<http://www.hawkeslawfirm.com>
206 367 5000
Fax is 206 367 4005
From: Rob Rowley [mailto:rob at rowleylegal.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2015 9:00 AM
To: WSBA RPPT
Subject: [WSBARP] Spokane To Potentially Have The Same City of Seattle Unlawful Detainer 'Just Cause' Ordinance? Question For City of Seattle Eviction Practitioners
I would like to hear from one or more of the city of Seattle eviction practitioners as to their experiences with the ‘just cause’ ordinance which I understand has been around for close to 30 years. What is your practical experience of conducting an eviction within the city of Seattle versus outside of the city of Seattle. Being from Spokane we do not currently have a ‘just cause’ ordinance. For non-eviction practitioners, a ‘just cause’ ordinance effectively does away with the residential ‘no cause’ 20 day notices (and by effect month-to-month tenancies.)
There is a move afoot for the a city of Spokane to adopt on almost identical ordinance which is set forth below. I'm wanting to get a feel for what one could expect as a practitioner and what counsel I could give to my landlord clients (as they are already calling). Also, I am also a residential landlord myself.
Considering the political makeup of the city of Spokane Council it appears all but inevitable. Though, with politics you never know for sure.
Thank you.
[cid:image001.jpg at 01D02FDD.5AC08A30]Robert R. Rowley | Attorney at Law
505 W. Riverside Ave, Suite 500
Spokane, WA 99201
Telephone: (509) 252-5074
Mobile: (509) 994-1143
Facsimile: (509) 928-3084
Email: rob at rowleylegal.com<mailto:rob at rowleylegal.com>
Web Site: www.rowleylegal.com<http://www.rowleylegal.com/>
Practice concentrated on business, real estate and general legal matters in Washington and Idaho.
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Ordinance No. C-______
AN ORDINANCE relating to just cause eviction of tenants; adopting a new section ______ to chapter _____ of the Spokane Municipal Code.
The City of Spokane does ordain:
Section 1. That there is adopted a new section ___ to chapter ____ of the Spokane Municipal Code to read as follows:
_________ Just Cause Eviction
A. Pursuant to provisions of the state Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (Chapter 59.18 RCW) owners may not evict residential tenants without a court order, which can be issued by a court only after the tenant has an opportunity in a show cause hearing to contest the eviction (RCW 59.18.380). In addition, owners of housing units shall not evict or attempt to evict, nor endeavor to recover possession of a rental unit from any tenant unless the owner can prove in court that just cause exists. The reasons for termination of tenancy or refusal to renew a lease are listed below, and no others, shall constitute just cause under this section.
1. The tenant fails to comply with a three day notice to pay rent or vacate pursuant to RCW 59.12.030(3); a ten day notice to comply or vacate pursuant to RCW 59.12.030(4); or a three day notice to vacate for waste, nuisance (including a drug-related activity nuisance pursuant to RCW Chapter 7.43) or maintenance of an unlawful business or conduct pursuant to RCW 59.12.030(5);
2. The tenant habitually fails to pay rent when due which causes the owner to notify the tenant in writing of late rent five or more times in a twenty four (24) month period;
3. The tenant fails to comply with a ten (10) day notice to comply or vacate that requires compliance with a material term of the rental agreement or that requires compliance with a material obligation under RCW 59.18;
4. The tenant habitually fails to comply with the material terms of the rental agreement which causes the owner to serve a ten day notice to comply or vacate four or more times in a twelve (12) month period;
5. The owner seeks possession and gives the tenant at least 90 days written notice prior to the date set for vacating, which date shall coincide with the end of the term of a rental agreement, or if the agreement is month to month, with the last day of a monthly period, so that the owner or a member of his or her immediate family may occupy the unit as that person's principal residence and no substantially equivalent unit is vacant and available in the same building. "Immediate family" shall include the owner's domestic partner, spouse, parents, grandparents, children, brothers and sisters of the owner, of the owner's spouse, or of the owner's domestic partner. There shall be a rebuttable presumption of a violation of this subsection if the owner or a member of the owner's immediate family fails to occupy the unit as that person's principal residence for at least 60 consecutive days during the 90 days immediately after the tenant vacated the unit pursuant to a notice of termination or eviction using this subparagraph as the cause for eviction;
6. The tenant's occupancy is conditioned upon employment on the property and the employment relationship is terminated;
7. The owner seeks to do substantial rehabilitation in the building; provided that, the owner must obtain at least one permit necessary for the rehabilitation.
8. The owner elects to demolish the building, convert it to a cooperative, or convert it to a nonresidential use; provided that, the owner must obtain a permit necessary to demolish or change the use before terminating any tenancy.
9. The owner seeks to discontinue use of a housing unit unauthorized by the Spokane Municipal Code after receipt of a notice of violation thereof. The owner is required to pay relocation assistance to the tenant(s) of each such unit at least two weeks prior to the date set for termination of the tenancy, at the rate of:
a) $2,000 for a tenant household with an income during the past 12 months at or below 50 percent of the County median income, or
b) Two months' rent for a tenant household with an income during the past 12 months above 50 percent of the County median income;
1. The owner seeks to reduce the number of individuals residing in a dwelling unit to comply with the maximum limit of individuals allowed to occupy one dwelling unit , as required by Spokane Municipal Code, and:
a) The owner is unable to obtain a permit to allow the unit with that number of residents.
b) The owner has served the tenants with a 30 day notice, informing the tenants that the number of tenants exceeds the legal limit and must be reduced to the legal limit,
c) After expiration of the 30 day notice, the owner has served the tenants with and the tenants have failed to comply with a ten day notice to comply with the limit on the number of occupants or vacate, and
d) If there is more than one rental agreement for the unit, the owner may choose which agreements to terminate; provided that, the owner may either terminate no more than the minimum number of rental agreements necessary to comply with the legal limit on the number of occupants, or, at the owner's option, terminate only those agreements involving the minimum number of occupants necessary to comply with the legal limit;
11. a) The owner seeks to reduce the number of individuals who reside in one dwelling unit to comply with the legal limit after receipt of a notice of violation, and:
i) The owner has served the tenants with a 30 day notice, informing the tenants that the number of tenants exceeds the legal limit and must be reduced to the legal limit; provided that, no 30 day notice is required if the number of tenants was increased above the legal limit without the knowledge or consent of the owner;
ii) After expiration of the 30 day notice or at any time after receipt of the notice of violation if no 30 day notice is required pursuant to subsection1.1.a, the owner has served the tenants with and the tenants have failed to comply with a 10 day notice to comply with the maximum legal limit on the number of occupants or vacate; and
iii) If there is more than one rental agreement for the unit, the owner may choose which agreements to terminate; provided that, the owner may either terminate no more than the minimum number of rental agreements necessary to comply with the legal limit on the number of occupants, or, at the option of the owner, terminate only those agreements involving the minimum number of occupants necessary to comply with the legal limit.
b) For any violation of the maximum legal limit on the number of individuals allowed to reside in a unit that occurred with the knowledge or consent of the owner, the owner is required to pay relocation assistance to the tenant(s) of each such unit at least two weeks prior to the date set for termination of the tenancy, at the rate of:
i) $2,000 for a tenant household with an income during the past 12 months at or below 50 percent of the county median income, or
ii) Two months' rent for a tenant household with an income during the past 12 months above 50 percent of the county median income;
12. An emergency order requiring that the housing unit be vacated and closed has been issued and the emergency conditions identified in the order have not been corrected.
13. The owner seeks to discontinue sharing with a tenant of the owner's own housing unit, i.e., the unit in which the owner resides, seeks to terminate the tenancy of a tenant of an accessory dwelling unit that is accessory to the housing unit in which the owner resides or seeks to terminate the tenancy of a tenant in a single-family dwelling unit and the owner resides in an accessory dwelling unit on the same lot.
B. Any rental agreement provision which waives or purports to waive any right, benefit or entitlement created by this section shall be deemed void and of no lawful force or effect.
C, With any termination notices required by law, owners terminating any tenancy protected by this section shall advise the affected tenant or tenants in writing of the reasons for the termination and the facts in support of those reasons.
D. If a tenant who has received a notice of termination of tenancy claiming any subsection set forth above as the ground for termination believes that the owner does not intend to carry out the stated reason for eviction and makes a complaint to Code Enforcement, then the owner must, within ten days of being notified by the Code Enforcement of the complaint, complete and file with Code Enforcement, a certification stating the owner's intent to carry out the stated reason for the eviction. The failure of the owner to complete and file such a certification after a complaint by the tenant shall be a defense for the tenant in an eviction action based on this ground.
E. In any action commenced to evict or to otherwise terminate the tenancy of any tenant, it shall be a defense to the action that there was no just cause for such eviction or termination.
F. It shall be a violation of this section for any owner to evict or attempt to evict any tenant or otherwise terminate or attempt to terminate the tenancy of any tenant using a notice which references any subsection set forth above as grounds for eviction or termination of tenancy without fulfilling or carrying out the stated reason for or condition justifying the termination of such tenancy.
G. An owner who evicts or attempts to evict a tenant or who terminates or attempts to terminate the tenancy of a tenant using a notice which references any subsection set forth above as the ground for eviction or termination of tenancy without fulfilling or carrying out the stated reason for or condition justifying the termination of such tenancy shall be liable to such tenant in a private right for action for damages up to $2,000, costs of suit or arbitration and reasonable attorney's fees.
H. For the purposes of this section, a “tenant” shall mean a person occupying or holding possession of a building or premises pursuant to a rental agreement, including an expired rental agreement.
I. A code compliance officer is authorized to issue and serve a violation notice upon reasonable belief that a violation of one or more provisions of this section has occurred.
1. The violation notice shall be issued to the property owner of record.
2. The violation notice may be served by means of personal service, or by mailing a copy of the abatement notice to such person at his last known address as determined by the code compliance officer by certified mail, with a five-day return receipt requested.
3. The violation notice shall contain substantially the following information:
a. The name and address of the person to whom the notice is issued.
b. The location of the subject property by address.
c. A description of the reasons for which the City deems there to be a violation of this section.
d. A description of the corrective action necessary to eliminate the violation.
e. The date by which the corrective action must be completed.
f. A statement that the person(s) to whom the notice of violation is issued, if they wish to appeal the notice, they may submit a written notice of appeal and pay the appeal fee in SMC 8.02.087 to the office of the hearing examiner.
g. A statement that if any of the persons to whom the notice of violation is issued fail to submit a notice of appeal within ten calendar days of the date of the notice or fail to voluntarily remedy the violation by the date required, the City or its designee may issue a class 1 civil infraction.
J. Hearings on contested violation notices are to be scheduled and heard before the hearing examiner.
1. The hearing examiner will conduct the hearing required by this section no more than eighteen calendar days after the appeal is filed.
2. An appellant may appear in person at the hearing or present a written statement to explain the grounds for appeal. The hearing examiner must receive the written statement in time for consideration at the hearing. The appellant may be represented by counsel at the hearing, may present evidence and ask questions related to the notice of violation, and may call witnesses to testify on his behalf.
3. Any tenant of the property subject to a violation notice shall have a right to appear, to testify, and to present evidence regarding the facts supporting the notice of violation.
4. The hearing examiner shall determine whether the City has established, by a preponderance of the evidence that a violation has occurred and that the required corrective action is reasonable and shall affirm, modify, or vacate the decisions regarding the alleged violation and/or the required corrective action.
PASSED by the City Council on ____.
Council President
Attest: Approved as to form:
City Clerk Assistant City Attorney
Mayor Date
Effective Date
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