If you are a landlord an eviction notice is an essential legal instrument you need to prepare with care. Personalize your own Washington eviction notice with our step-by-step template designer.
Last Update May 20th, 2023
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- Washington Eviction Notice Types
- Washington Eviction Laws
- Washington Eviction Process
- Washington Eviction Notice Sample
- FAQs About Washington Eviction Notices
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Washington Eviction Notice Types
It’s necessary to provide the correct type of Washington eviction notice to the tenant you’re removing from your property. If you don’t, the eviction could be overturned or take significantly longer to complete.
You must give your tenant the precise legal document for the situation, detailing a valid legal reason for the eviction under WA statutes. This will also affect how long you must give the resident as notice before they have to leave the property.
As seen below, there are a few different options in Washington when completing an eviction.
14-Day Notice to Quit (Non-Payment)
If a tenant doesn’t comply with the rental payment schedule, the landlord may present them with a 14-Day Notice to Quit. This obliges them to pay rent or quit within 14 days.
If the tenant complies and pays the rent then the notice will be nullified. If they refuse to pay or vacate the property, the landlord will be able to pursue the matter further through the courts.
10-Day Notice to Quit (Non-Compliance)
If the tenant commits a lease violation the landlord can issue a 10-Day Notice to Quit. This will give the resident 10 days to leave the property or to cure the problem that the landlord has raised (if allowed).
This can be conditional or unconditional depending on the severity of the infraction. In the case of an incurable notice, the tenant will have no chance to cure or fix the violation. If they refuse to comply within the time given, the landlord will then be able to file a court case against them.
20-Day Notice to Quit (Month-to-Month)
20 Day-Notice to Quit documents are used to evict month-to-month tenants or those who don’t have a fixed lease without providing any given cause. This allows the landlord to inform the tenant that they must vacate the property within 20 days or face a legal challenge.
Washington Eviction Laws
An eviction notice in Washington is only legally valid if it provides the correct amount of notice based on the purpose for the lease termination. The reason you evict the resident must also comply with WA law.
In Washington, you may evict someone for the following reasons:
Nonpayment of rent: 14 days’ notice
Lease violations: 10 days’ notice
Termination of a lease: 20 days’ notice
Waste or nuisance violations: 3 days’ notice
Washington Eviction Process
Evicting a tenant in Washington follows a strict legal process. When issuing an eviction notice, you must make sure that you correctly:
Detail the reason the lease is being terminated.
Provide sufficient time for the tenant to respond.
Serve the notice in a legally appropriate manner.
In most cases, that is enough to make a tenant vacate on their own. However, as an eviction is a lawsuit procedure, it may be necessary to take additional steps if the resident refuses to leave.
To complete an eviction process in Washington, you will need to:
Serve an eviction notice with the correct notice period and a legal reason to evict.
File for an eviction in a local court if the tenant doesn’t obey the notice.
Attend the court hearing in person to make your case to the judge.
Request a Writ of Restitution from the clerk of the court if the judge rules in your favor.
Deliver the Writ to local law enforcement, so they may carry out a forced eviction.
Washington Eviction Notice Sample
When you prepare your own Washington
eviction notice, it can be hard to have a clear idea of what the final document will look like. If you need a little extra guidance on how your legal document will appear, simply review our eviction notice sample below.
FAQs About Washington Eviction Notices
Before starting your eviction notice for real, it is sensible to understand the ins and outs of these important legal documents. Read more about Washington’s eviction notices in our FAQs below and learn how to use these forms effectively.
How to Evict Someone in Washington?
To successfully evict a tenant in Washington state, the landlord or property manager must serve a legally valid WA eviction notice. This must provide the correct number of days’ notice and a legitimate reason to evict. It can be served in person, to a family member, someone else living on the premises, or left in a conspicuous location.
If the tenant doesn’t comply and vacate the property as instructed, the landlord will then have to petition a court. If the judge rules in their favor they will then be able to use a local marshal or sheriff to forcibly evict the tenant.
How Long is the Eviction Process in Washington?
The eviction process in Washington usually only takes around 3 weeks to complete. If a valid eviction notice is delivered, this is often enough to get the tenant to leave or cure the issue (if allowed). This can reduce the time down to as little as 3 days from when the notice has been served.
How Many Days Notice Does a Landlord Need to Give in Washington?
The notice period a landlord needs to give in Washington always depends on their reason to evict. When a Washington eviction notice is served it must provide the correct duration for the infraction or it won’t be valid. This can be as few as 14 days for a missed rental payment and up to 20 days when terminating a lease.