[WSBARP] Seattle Commercial Non-Payment of Rent GURUs

[Kaitlyn Jackson]

As you may have gathered, I mainly practice in Residential unlawful
detainer cases. But, an interesting fact pattern came across my desk today
for a commercial landlord in Seattle. So I'm hoping that there's a
commercial attorney who is familiar with Seattle's eviction moratorium on
small businesses on this listserv who can point me in the right direction
before I start issuing notice to the tenant.

Tenant owes almost $200,000.00 in commercial rent. Has been making zero
payments since Pandemic started. Property in Seattle so a landlord/owner
has been paralyzed until the moratorium lifted at the end of February.

According to Seattle Ordinance 126066,

*A. A small business or nonprofit tenant that fails to pay rent when due
during or within six months after the termination of the civil emergency
proclaimed by Mayor Durkan on March 3, 2020, may elect to pay its overdue
rent in installments during that period on a payment  schedule. *

*B. A written installment payment schedule shall be negotiated between the
lessor and the small business or nonprofit for the payment of rent in
arrears, provided that *

*1) the repayment  schedule may not require the small business or nonprofit
to pay, in addition to rent due for the month or period, more than 1/3 of
late rent within any month or period following the month or period for
which full rent was not paid unless agreed by the tenant, and*

*2) rent in arrears shall be paid in full to the lessor no later than one
year after the termination of the civil emergency proclaimed by the Mayor
on March 3, 2020.  *


My questions are:
1. How did this not get overturned? (Just kidding - that's not my
question).
2. If a tenant owes $200,000.00 in unpaid rent, is the payment plan really
limited to 1/3 of the monthly rent plus staying up to date on current rent?
3. If that's true, when new rent due is not paid, does that also have to be
lumped into payment plans of 1/3 of that month's rent?
4. If the tenant and landlord cannot agree on a repayment plan in
compliance with this ordinance, can the landlord just serve a pay or vacate
according to RCW 59.12.030 and move forward with an eviction?

Thanks in advance!

-- 

Thank you,



Kaitlyn R. Jackson, Senior Associate Attorney

Dimension Law Group, PLLC

*Office:*  206-973-3500│*Fax:*  206-577-5090

*Email: **kaitlyn**@dimensionlaw.com <http://dimensionlaw.com/>*

*www.dimensionlaw.com <http://www.dimensionlaw.com/>*

130 Andover Park East, Suite 300, Tukwila, WA 98188



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