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Cesar Uauy MBA 11/29/2012 Rental Law

In society today, the business of renting property has become a popular and smart investment for many people. Rentals provide a financial benefit to the landlord and forms of living with added bonuses for the tenant, for the landlords supply services and goods to the tenant that wouldnt be provided as easily for a homeowner. With the business of renting come legal issues, which is the basis for rental laws. Composed of statutory law and common law, rental laws insure that the tenant and landlord practice fair dealings in the process of renting a residence. From forming the rental agreement to the specific duties of the landlords and tenants, rental laws govern the rental of commercial and residential property (Rental Laws). Each state has a different set of laws for governing these rentals, but generally the responsibilities of parties involved are similar amongst states. Looking at the state of Washington specifically, the Washington State Landlord-Tenant Act outlines the laws of renting property and handling situations associated with the relationship between landlords and tenants. The landlord-tenant affiliation is a legally bound relationship on the basis of both the contract and property law. Both parties have interest in the property for different reasons; the tenant wishes to possess the land for a certain amount of time and the landlord wishes to make a profit off the rental property. Each person has their own duties to uphold in the relationship and these are outlined in the rental agreement. These duties are bound by common law or statutory law, regulating the provisions listed on the lease (Rental Laws). The landlord has the authority

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to create the document although they must follow the general guidelines listed in the Washington Landlord-Tenant Act. In order to outline the basic terms of tenancy, the landlord must create a rental agreement. This document is a legal contract that establishes the conditions for use and occupancy of a residence (The Washington-State Landlord-Tenant Act). The agreements can have two different components to it: month-to-month tenancy or a term lease. The month-to-month tenancy portion can either be oral or written, stating that the tenant will give notice when they will terminate the agreement, while the term lease is almost always written and specifies a period of time in which tenant will vacate the residence. It is always the safest option when the law is involved to get things is writing. The Washington State Landlord-Tenant Act includes a waiver of rights that cannot be written in the agreement. These include forcing a tenant to do things outside their legal right, permitting confiscation of property, and allowing the landlord to sue. In general, the waiver of rights is meant to protect the rights of the tenant, for the landlord has the majority of the legal responsibilities compared to the tenants. The terms in the rental agreement are never changed with the exception of a rent increase. The landlord then must give notice to the tenant within a certain period of time that there will be a change. Once the rental agreement is created and signed, it is completely enforceable under the terms. As any other contract, rental agreements should also include late fees, and restrictions of use of the property. Under the Washington State Landlord-Tenant Act, the landlords are required to uphold certain responsibilities to the property and tenant. The document lists certain specifics that the landlord must check, but in general the landlord must perform maintenance work and provide items to the tenant. From installing smoke detectors precisely to notifying changes in mail and garbage procedures, the landlord has a considerable amount of responsibility in the landlord-

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tenant relationship. Some of the maintenance duties outlined are caring for the general premise of the property, electrical and plumbing facilities, and structural components (Chapter 59.18 RCW). Although the tenant should take part in general maintenance procedures as well because they are the ones occupying the space, the landlord assumes total obligation for it. The LandlordTenant Act also specifies that the landlord provide both tangible items and services to the tenant during their occupancy. Physical goods such as a house key, garbage cans, deposit receipts, hot water, and contact information are required. Services, such as maintenance and pest control, are treated differently. In most situations, the landlord is required to perform total maintenance and pest removal if not already done so by the tenant. However, if the tenant causes a certain problem to occur, the landlord may not be liable to help. For instance, if the residence is rented by a single family and mice become a problem, the tenant assumes responsibility for removal. This is also the case if pests enter the residence due to the tenant, such as leaving food out or leaving doors open. For the most part, the landlord will usually take responsibility for the property. An interest case including to responsibilities of landlords refers to Roger Schelder vs Burt Wagner. Wagner owns a four apartment building. The building has two apartments down stairs, and two upstairs. They all have a common drive way. At the time in question the Schedlers were leasing, by an oral month to month lease, the lower east apartment. At the rear of their apartment was a door, porch, steps, and walk leading to Lidgerwood street. At the foot of the steps, there is a short walk which goes to the right and obliquely to the rear, where it connected with a driveway to the garage. These facilities were used exclusively by the Schedlers and were not used in common with the other tenants. One day Schelders wife took the trash out and had an accident. She went out of the door, onto the porch, down the steps, onto the walk leading to

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Lidgerwood, then obliquely to the right rear until she got to the driveway; then along the driveway to the garbage can, which was located at the side of the garage. She returned by the same route. Just as she turned from the oblique walk to go onto the porch she slipped on the ice and fell, striking her nose on the lower step. The land lord cleaned the snow off of all the steps and walks around the house, including these steps and walks used exclusively by the Schedlers. Wagner testified that he did this from the beginning of the winter until the last snowfall assuring that he cleaned them after each snow whenever they needed cleaning; that he never saw anyone else clean them; that it would thaw and freeze, and that he looked after it to the best of his ability. Schedler testified that all that winter neither she nor her husband cleaned the snow or ice from the steps or walks or any part adjacent to the house; that it was a regular pattern for the Wagners to do this work after each snowfall. At the trial, the court instructed the jury that, ordinarily, a landlord is under no obligation to his tenants to remove or otherwise dispose of snow and ice which naturally accumulates upon leased premises; that where, however, a landlord has assumed the duty to remove snow and ice, he is then under a duty to remove such snow and ice if an accumulation of this nature renders the premises unsafe. He placed the responsibility upon the plaintiffs to prove by a preponderance of the evidence the assumption of such duty by the landlords, their failure to use ordinary care in such performance, and that as a proximate result of such failure Schedler was injured. The jury found for the plaintiffs and judgment was entered accordingly. To emphasize, when landlords assumes the duty of cleaning such facilities of snow and ice, he removes the cover which exempts him from so doing where the accumulation is due to natural causes, and then becomes liable to the tenants for his negligence in so doing. With this in mind, landlords need to fully understand their duties before get involved in maintenance issues and determine if it is their responsibility to fix the problem.

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There are certain things a landlord should not do in order to avoid potential legal problems. These may seem like common sense, but there have been plenty of issues with these laws when tenants disrespect the property or fall short of their responsibilities outlined in a rental agreement. Unfair landlord practices include shutting off water or electricity intentionally, locking out a tenant, taking personal property, or retaliation (Chapter 59.18 RCW). If any of these actions occur, the landlord may be subject to fees and tenant damages. Also, if a tenant has exercised their legal rights in any situation and the landlord acts out in no reason, the landlord will be penalized. Actions involved in retaliation include raising rent, serving random eviction notices, or reducing maintenance services. Any of these things will be unfair to the tenant, even if the tenant has committed a wrong themselves, under the Washington State Landlord-Tenant Act. Change in rent is something that both parties need to be aware of. In general, rent is not able to increase once the lease agreement is made. Rent should stay at a fixed amount until the lease agreement expires. On the other hand, changes in rent can happen if the lease agreement allows it. Many tenants have periodic rental agreements. For example, a week-to-week or a month-to-month rental agreement is periodic rental agreement where the landlord can increase rent unless the agreement does not allows the change. The landlord must give proper advance written notice of the rent increase. The written notice tells how much the increased rent is and when the increase takes effect. The landlord must give at least 30 days' advance notice if the rent increase is 10 percent or less of the rent charged at any time during the 12 months before the rent increase takes effect. In the case of a larger increase, the landlord should give at least 60 days advance notice.

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Although the landlords have a large amount of responsibility in the landlord-tenant relationship, the tenants have a fair amount of duties as well. These obligations are not as involved as the landlords are. Some of the responsibilities stated in the Landlord-Tenant Act include paying rent, keeping the area clean, complying with the rules outlined in a rental agreement, and disposing of trash properly. All of these things are something that a reasonable person would able to complete as an occupant. One of the responsibilities that have a grey area is when the tenant leaves the residence permanently. The Act states that the tenant is expected to leave the place in the same or better condition than it was when at the beginning of the tenancy. Reasonable wear and tear is acceptable, but everything else is fair game, such as unauthorized wall painting or damaged appliances. This provides some grey area when the landlord evaluates the residence. The tenant may believe that one stain on the floor may be small enough to clean up while the landlord believes the same stain is too large and will need to be completely replaced. Things like stains, graffiti, and damaged fixtures seem to be judged according to each partys understanding of what is fixable or not. These issues are resolved in a case by case basis since each person and situation is different. Regardless, the majority of the tenants responsibilities are manageable to accomplish when renting. Like the landlords, there a short list of things that a tenant is not permitted to engage in. As mentioned above, the two main things mentioned in the Act dealt with damages to the property upon leave. Tenants and their guests shall not excessively, intentionally, or negligently damage any part of the property. The part about guests is also outlined in the tenant responsibilities section. No guests should be permitted on the property if they are a nuisance or engaging in drug related activities with or without the tenant (The Washington State LandlordTenant Act). If the landlord suspects any of these suspicious behaviors and asks to enter the

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residence, giving notice, the tenant cannot deny entrance. Fines will be issued if this occurs as well as any other type of punishment of illegal activities. The landlord is not personally liable for the behavior of the tenants, but if the property is harmed or affected in any way as a result from the activities of tenants, then the owner has the authority to take action. If a tenant believes they are being treated unfairly, they have the right to report violations to outside offices in Washington. When it comes to individual rights for society, renting or not, privacy is something that is understood by all. Tenants are no different. They are entitled to the same amount of privacy as homeowners are. The only difference is that the landlords have the authority to enter the residence while the tenant is living there, under certain conditions. They are not allowed to randomly barge in on the tenant without giving at least two days notice or receiving consent from the tenant, preferably in the form of writing. Tenants cannot act unreasonably if the landlord gives notice of coming to the residence, especially if the landlord has a good reason for coming over. The reasons could be to repair something, inspect an area, or show the dwelling to a buyer if the tenant is to vacate soon. If either the landlord or tenant violates the terms of privacy outlined in the Landlord- Tenant Act, they both could face fees and other consequences for the violation of privacy. Landlords sometimes require that the tenant provide a deposit before moving into the rental. These deposits are refundable after the tenant vacates the rental under certain terms outlined in the rental agreement. The purpose of providing a deposit is to insure that the tenant keeps the residence in good condition throughout the entire residency. If the occupant leaves the rental a mess, the deposit does not get refunded to the tenant. In Washington state, it is required that the rental agreement describe the conditions in which the deposit will not be refunded as

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well as an inspection list showing the condition of the place before occupancy (Chapter 59.18 RCW). The entire amount does not have to be refunded, although the courts may get involved if the landlord does not specify why the full amount is not refunded. Deposits seem to benefit the tenant more than the landlord in the end because the courts would usually grant judgment in favor of the tenants. Regardless, collecting deposits is a smart way to hold tenants accountable for keeping their unit in good condition. As described earlier, it is the landlords responsibility to repair any damages that the tenant is aware of. The landlord should be notified by means of a written notice because anything written about an incident can be kept with the tenants records until the end of occupancy. This can be especially helpful if there are disputes between the two parties. The law does not define a specific amount of time that the work be completed, but it does state that the repairs be done as soon as possible after the receipt of notice (The Washington State Landlord-Tenant Act). Recommended times to respond to complaints are between one and ten work days for anything other than an emergency. Ultimately, it is up to the landlords discretion. If for some reason the landlord misses something needing repairs during an inspection, the tenant is not liable for damages and has the authority to contact a building department if there is a violation in a building code. They are not required to notify the landlord beforehand although it is probably the smarter thing to do to avoid potential conflict. It is common for a rental unit to be occupied by a new tenant quite frequently. From personal experience, renters tend to occupy a rental for a few years before they give notice of leave, though there have been a couple exceptions. When a tenancy is terminated, it can be for one of two reasons; either the tenant moves voluntarily or the landlord terminates the tenancy. The month-to-month agreement allows for the tenant or landlord to give a twenty day notice of

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the leave and the term lease allows for the tenant to leave at the specified date in the agreement, or ask the landlord for an extension. The last type of termination is when the landlord gives a short notice to the tenant. Short notice can only be given by a variety of situations. These situations are failure to pay rent, failure to correct a violation of the rental agreement, destruction of property, causing a nuisance, conducting illegal business or engaging in drug related activities (Chapter 59.18 RCW). Once any one of these events occurs, the tenant is given three days to either pay or vacate the premises. If the tenant does not cooperate with the landlord, then it brings reason for an eviction. The eviction process is not favorable for both the landlord and tenant. Even though the tenant is the one at fault, the landlord has to deal with a lot of legal issues to receive payment and remove the tenant. From personal experience, it is difficult to see an eviction through because typically the renter will never pay rent or damages if it goes to the courts. This is why background checks are important before the landlord allows the lease agreement to be signed; landlords should know who they are renting to and if they have a history of legal issues. The type of lawsuit served to a tenant is called an unlawful detainer. It is obtained by the landlord after a tenant refuses to leave. Once it is served, the tenant and landlord must appear in court to protect their rights. If the landlords are found in favor of, the sheriffs become involved in the case and personally move the tenants out if they do not leave on their own (The Washington State Landlord-Tenant Act). Sometimes they renters personal belongings are moved outside the home and left there to be picked up. The tenant assumes responsibility for any damages they have caused the landlords as well as additional fees. Although evictions do not favor the landlords sometimes, the process is necessary if the tenants are consistently resistant to the landlords notices.

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Dealing with unlawful detainer is not an easy thing. To emphasize, it can be costly for landlords and there is the possibility of not getting the outcome they expect. An example includes Cecil Ingram and The Fair Housing Council vs Armine Oroudjian case. In this case, Armie Oroudjian rented his apartment to Cecil Ingram who is disable and confined to a wheelchair. In May of 2008, Ingram's bank did not honor his rent check and the landlord initiated an unlawful detainer action against Ingram in state court. While the state action was pending, Appellants filed this federal lawsuit alleging, among other things, discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act and violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act. Ingram eventually prevailed in the unlawful detainer action and maintained possession of his apartment. After learning Ingram succeeded in the unlawful detainer action, the district court strongly encouraged the parties to settle this case. Instead, according to the district court, counsel for Appellants took unreasonable settlement positions and prolonged the litigation, forcing appelles to pursue litigation alternatives, including a motion for summary judgment. With an opening demand of $425,000, the case later settled for payments of $30,000 to Ingram and $2,000 to the Fair Housing Council, an offer which had been rejected by Appellants one month before settling for that amount. Following settlement, Appellants moved for an award of attorney fees in the amount of $88,857.50. The district court awarded $30,485. In total the landlord had to pay $62,485. With this in mind, landlords have to be careful and reasonable with tenants. If they rush like in the previous case, it could be very costly and harmful for their finances. For landlords that are not willing to take the risk of renting their property to unknown tenants, there are state programs where they rent the property thru the state Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUB). Then, the property is administered by the Public

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Houses Authorities, and the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) commonly known as Section 8 voucher program. Through Section 8, landlords receive the portion of a tenant's rent that, in most cases, exceeds 30 percent of his household income. The other part of the payment comes from vouchers that the HUB gives to tenants. With this in mind, no matter if the tenant misses some payments; the landlord will still get a portion of the rent. The rights that HUD landlords enjoy fall in line, generally, with local and state regulations that govern traditional tenancies. To have her unit accepted as an HCV rental, a landlord must pass a HUD quality inspection. Each year, HUD must recertify the apartment. Overall, HUD requires landlords to provide HCV tenants with decent, safe, and sanitary housing. The housing agency will provide landlords the number of people on the voucher, current and previous address, and current and previous landlord. Some housing agencies will also share any other information they have. However, the housing agency's main concern is checking that the applicant meets the income limits and other Section 8 eligibility requirements. Screening the tenant is the landlord's responsibility. With this in mind, it is the landlords responsibility to check possible tenants history and make decisions based on that. Finally, the last benefit for landlords is that they do not have to deal with termination. The termination process is made by the HUD which provides more security for landlords. On the tenant side, HUDs mission is to make rent affordable for tenants. It also provides opportunities for low income and disabled people. Also, project-based tenants in Washington State also have the right to get one years notice if the landlord is planning on opting out of the program in order to rent the units at market rate. This gives tenant groups time to organize to preserve the long-term affordability of their building. Abandonment of a rental unit is a less common way to end a tenancy and has more laws regarding how it is to be handled. This occurs when a tenant does not pay rent and has indicated

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a possible leave. The tenant is held liable in this situation for the balance of rent and fees upon abandonment and the landlord is then free to open the place up to another renter. The issue then deals with the treatment of the tenants belongings. In the state of Washington, the landlords have authority to remove the belongings into a secure storage and then notify the tenant of the location of the storage. If the tenant does not respond within a week, the landlord is free to sell the belongings as long as the value of the items is less than $50 (The Washington State Landlord-Tenant Act). If the property is more than $50, the landlord must wait forty-five days to sell the items. After the completion of a sale, the money made must cover the costs of the missed rent, and if there is more left over, it is left for the tenant to collect within one year. Otherwise, the landlord keeps the income. Throughout the process, abandonment seems to work out in favor of the landlords more than the tenants. Martin v. Siegley is an excellent example to illustrate the risk associated with abandoning a lease agreement. A landlord leases certain premises to a corporation. Pursuant to a lease, the lessee placed with the landlord a security deposit in the form of liberty bonds that equals to $ 5000. The renter later became bankrupt and surrendered the premises to the landlord who rerented the premises to a third party. The landlord's claim in federal court to the bonds was denied and the lessee's trustee in bankruptcy filed an action to recover the bonds. The trial court entered a judgment in favor of the trustee and the landlord sought review. On appeal, the court determined that despite the fact that the landlord obtained a new tenant he was still entitled to damages for losses incurred as a result to the lessee being unable to fulfill the contract. Those damages should be deducted from the amount of the security deposit. The take away in this case is that deposits can be made in more way than just cash, and that the amount of the deposits taken has to equal the damage caused to the landlord. In this particular case, the court of appeals

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determined that if the damaged caused to the landlord was higher than $5000 then the case would be dismissed but if damages were less than the bonds value then the old tenant should receive the difference. Fortunately for the first tenant, the landlord found a second tenant diminishing the damages caused by the abandonment of the first tenant. Finally, businesses need to be careful at the time of offering stocks or bonds as deposits based on the future value that they might bring in the future. With this in mind, the value those types of deposits will increase with time which is beneficial for the landlord. Even though the courts get involved in disputes between landlords and tenants more often than not, that is not the only way to resolve an issue. There are plenty of services offered in the state of Washington that provide arbitration and free mediation. The Better Business Bureau and the Dispute Resolution Center are examples of these places. Volunteers form a judgment based on the landlords and tenants arguments, and process does not take nearly as long as the courts would. The Washington State Landlord-Tenant Act states that mediation and arbitration services should be strongly considered. Rental law covers a wide variety of topics, each of equal importance in the business of renting property. The relationship between landlords and tenants is very involved, for each person has a fair amount of responsibilities to uphold in order to avoid legal issues. As discussed previously, breaking those responsibilities can be very expensive for both parties. Whether it is on destructing property, loosing deposits, dealing with abandonment the process of terminating a lease has it risks. Landlords also need to understand the duty that they owe to tenants. As a strategic decision, landlords should perform only they legal duty and do not enforce extra activities for tenants. As described previously on the Shedler vs Wagner case the landlords consistency on performing duties he was not suppose to perform affected him on a monetary

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way. Since his actions were consistent, the court determined he had an obligation to perform that duty holding him liable for the tenant accident. Another interesting point about rental law is that eliminates discrimination by the intervention of government agencies low income people are able to get involved in leases. This type of agreement is supervised by the HUD which pays for a portion of the rent and also deals with the legal issues. This is beneficial for both tenant and landlords diminishing the risk of dealing the costly situations. If by chance legal action is necessary, the courts can become involved and the laws are supported as written in the Washington State Landlord-Tenant Act. In the end, the laws seem fair and just in protecting the rights of the landlords and tenants involved.

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Works Cited

"Chapter 59.18 RCW: Residential Landlord-tenant Act." Washington State Legislature. Web. 10 Nov. 2011. <http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18>. "Rental Laws | Rental Lease Laws | Renting Laws | Attorneys | Lawyers | Law Firms." Public Legal Information Center | GetLegal.com. Cornell Law School, 2 Oct. 2008. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. <http://public.getlegal.com/legal-info-center/rental-laws>. "The Washington State Landlord-Tenant Act." Web. 10 Nov. 2011. <http://housing.asuw.org/resources/pdf/WashLandlordTenantAct.pdf>. Martin v. Siegley , 123 Wash. 683, 212 P. 1057, 1923 Wash. LEXIS 790, 49 Am. B.R. 674 (1923) Ingram v. Oroudjian, 647 F.3d 925, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 15399 (9th Cir. Cal. 2011)
Schedler v. Wagner, 37 Wn.2d 612, 225 P.2d 213, 1950 Wash. LEXIS 453, 26 A.L.R.2d 604 (1950)

http://books.google.com/books?id=srMEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA5&lpg=PA5&dq=H.+A.+Johnso n+et+al.,+Respondents,+v.+George+Zufeldt+et+al.,+Appellants.1+Landlord+and+Tenan t&source=bl&ots=MldLDbn3by&sig=Uqg08VF0X27jomGiECrQ2SBGBbk&hl=en&sa= X&ei=7aW3UKGBajtiQKg_4G4DQ&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=H.%20A.%20Johnson%20et %20al.%2C%20Respondents%2C%20v.%20George%20Zufeldt%20et%20al.%2C%20A ppellants.1%20Landlord%20and%20Tenant&f=false

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http://www.solid-ground.org/Tenant/Pages/LowIncomeHousingRights.aspx