About the Tenants Union

The Tenants Union is a non-profit membership based organization of tenants. Since 1976, the Tenants Union has provided information to tenants and fought for stronger tenants' rights laws. The Tenants Union promotes the right of tenants to organize and negotiate collectively with landlords. The Tenants Union also serves as a center for information, training, and action for people seeking tenants' rights in a landlord-controlled market.

Why organize?

Many of the problems we face are too big for one individual to tackle alone. We have found it is easy for a landlord or city official to ignore one phone call or throw away one letter of complaint. But there is no way that landlord or city official can ignore 30 angry Tenants Union members standing in the office demanding satisfaction. By working together on common goals we can and have made progress.

What is the Hotline?

The TU hotline is a valuable resource for all Washington State tenants. Trained tenant counselors can answer your questions about the State Landlord-Tenant Act and give you the information you need to solve your problems...whether it is getting basic repairs done, stopping landlord harassment, getting a deposit returned, or fighting an eviction. We answer 13,000 calls each year on our hotline. For information about how to get assistance from a hotline counselor, visit the Tenants Union home page.

Hotline staff are not attorneys and so can not give you legal advice. What they can do is tell you what your rights are under the law, different things other tenants have done in similar situations, and if necessary refer you to other resources.