Full question:
I have six more months until my lease contract is up. I am a student and decided to move to Ellensburg to continue my education after getting my AA degree. I gave my landlord notice that I would be out at the end of January and I paid them rent through January. They sent me a three day notice to pay or vacate right after I told them I was moving; saying that I did not pay rent for January. They called my cosigner and gave notice of eviction and non payment before they even called me. I think this was retaliation. I went down and showed them the receipt for January and all of a sudden, they found it in the computer. If the two three day Pay To Quit notices that they sent to me in the mail before they ever talked to me are enough to legally end the lease.
- Category: Landlord Tenant
- Subcategory: Lease Termination
- Date:
- State: Washington
Answer:
In Washington state, a lease is not automatically terminated by a pay or quit notice. If a tenant fails to pay rent, the landlord must notify them to pay or vacate within ten days. If the tenant pays within that time frame, the tenancy continues (RCW 59.04.040).
However, if the tenant does not pay and the landlord learns of the abandonment, the landlord may seek damages. For month-to-month tenancies, the tenant is liable for rent for the next thirty days or until the landlord learns of the abandonment. For longer leases, the tenant owes either the remaining rent or the rent accrued during the time needed to re-rent the property, plus costs incurred (RCW 59.18.310).
In your case, since you provided proof of payment for January, the landlord should not have been able to terminate your lease based on the pay or quit notices sent before they confirmed your payment.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.