Expand Tenants Rights: Support the Tenants Union!
Washington State tenants have won important legal protections, but these rights don't go far enough. Help build the movement to protect and expand tenants rights and make the promise of safe, healthy, affordable housing a reality: 
Avoiding Eviction
Lost your job? Have to fly to a funeral? Can’t make your rent? The landlord doesn’t usually care what the reason is—he hits you with a 3-day pay or vacate notice anyhow. The laws in Washington are so bad that landlords can give us a 3-day notice if we are just a day late or a dollar short paying the rent.
But the landlord cannot kick you out at the end of those 3 days. If he changes the locks, turns out the lights, or takes your stuff it is illegal and you can call the police at 911. Or in some cities there is a community services office of the police department. In Seattle they are at 206-684-4790 and in unincorporated King County at 206-296-3333.
The first of the three days starts the day after you receive the notice. The landlord does not have to take the rent after the third day. So your best bet is to get some help paying the rent. There are three places you can go for emergency rent assistance. Your church is a good place to start.
If you have minor children in the home and are receiving public assistance, you may be eligible for rental assistance from DSHS one time per year if you have an eviction notice. If you are not on public assistance but have minor children in the home, ask about emergency assistance at your local Community Service Office (CSO). Their number is in the blue pages of your phone book.
There are other rent assistance programs that you can find out about by calling your local crisis line. In Seattle call 461-3200, in Thurston County call 923-4844, and in Bellingham call 647-5926. Be patient; you will usually get $100 from one place, $50 from another – so it takes some running around!
If you still can’t scrape up the rent you can try getting the landlord to accept partial payment. Sometimes it helps if you set up a payment plan and promise to pay $100 a week. The important thing is to get it in writing, with the landlord’s signature and a date, saying that he or she is accepting partial payment and will not proceed with eviction proceedings against you.
Posted: Monday, December 6, 2004
Disclaimer: The information contained in or linked to the Tenants Union website is for informational purposes only. The Tenants Union makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to its web site.
The Tenants Union cannot act as your attorney, and its staff members are not attorneys. The Tenants Union makes no representations, expressed or implied, that the information contained in or linked to its web site can or will be used or interpreted in any particular way by any governmental agency or court. As legal advice must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case, and laws are constantly changing, nothing provided herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel.