My rental house in Tacoma is an old house and part of ceiling collapsed. It is has bird lived there and water was one causing the problem. It smells bad in the house and uninhabitable. What is my option for my tenant required by law. Need some help please.
Real Estate Agent · Redmond, 🌧️ Seattle Investor-Agent | 🤑 Helped 400+ Clients Invest in Real Estate | 🏘️ Owns 23 WA Rentals & Airbnbs | 🏗️ Built 5 DADU's | 📈 You Can Do It Too · Member since 2016 · 724 posts · 3k+ votes
6y
Please consult WA Landlord Tenant law - although I'm sure @David Clay means well what they're suggesting isn't allowed here in WA state.
Investor · Shelton, WA · Member since 2017 · 6k+ posts · 6k+ votes
6y
@Charles D. You put them up in a hotel or motel. They pay the rent as usual and you pay the hotel. Fix the problem and move them back in. All the best!
Real Estate Investor · Chattahoochee, FL · Member since 2014 · 133 posts · 107 votes
6y
It sounds like you are a new or relatively new LL. If so, you may not be able to sustain a hotel rental as suggested by @Bjorn Ahlblad. I like his idea if you have sufficient cash flow to cover it or sufficient reserves. It would also depend on how long it will take to make the repairs. My mother-in-law had a fire in her home and was put up by her LL for about a month in an extended stay. That's always a good idea if possible. However, I advise my tenants to get renter's insurance to help cover such concerns. You can't always know what will happen. You will need to fix the damage in a timely manner, but it is not your responsibility to house them otherwise. It is an individual's responsibility to manage his or her own personal financial life and saving for emergencies is a part of that. I could be wrong here, but I do not believe you are obligated in any regard other than to effect a repair as quickly as possible. If you want to maintain a good relationship and establish a good policy, then find an extended stay hotel and put them in there and get the repairs completed without dickering too much about price and comps. My MIL's LL has 135 rentals, 85 free and clear. He has a crew and a whole infrastructure to manage his units. Thus, a month's stay somewhere doesn't hurt his bottom line quite as much as it would mine or other new LL's. Shoulder shrug. Your choice honestly, but you should do what you think is best for your business. Maybe talk to your tenant and ask if they have a place to stay for a week or two. One of my tenants vacated her unit for months after serious water damage. She asked me to put her up in a hotel. I refused and I'm glad I did. It would have bankrupted me (insurance issues, amount of damage, getting the contractors working, etc. took a while). I gave her the option of canceling her lease, getting her deposit back, and moving to a new place. She chose to wait. I hope these stories help, but to reiterate, I don't think Bjorn's advice is "wrong" at all, but it might not fit your situation.
Investor · Shelton, WA · Member since 2017 · 6k+ posts · 6k+ votes
6y
@David Clay all my tenants have insurance and that might or might not cover things in this situation. @Charles D. said the place was unihabitable-his words. Ceiling should be fixable in a few days-two weeks tops-right? Then get the tenant back in. I can't imaging forcing someone to move for this situation? And I would go out of my way to accommodate a tenant during covid-wouldn't you?
Real Estate Agent · Redmond, 🌧️ Seattle Investor-Agent | 🤑 Helped 400+ Clients Invest in Real Estate | 🏘️ Owns 23 WA Rentals & Airbnbs | 🏗️ Built 5 DADU's | 📈 You Can Do It Too · Member since 2016 · 724 posts · 3k+ votes
6y
Please consult WA Landlord Tenant law - although I'm sure @David Clay means well what they're suggesting isn't allowed here in WA state.
Real Estate Investor · Chattahoochee, FL · Member since 2014 · 133 posts · 107 votes
6y
@Bjorn Ahlblad Accommodating during COVID: whether I would do so is situational. I’d certainly love to do it as I’d like to run a well managed business, but it may not be practical or financially feasible. We live in a rural community which has some small barriers to extended stay facilities (drivable, but is it reasonable for the tenant and their work?). Also, depends on a discussion with tenant. Can they move in with a relative or a friend for duration? Can I pay the friend or relative a fair amount for their inconvenience, and lots of other situation dependent concerns. I certainly wouldn’t just rule it out, but as I mentioned above it is not my responsibility to ensure that my tenants have money for emergencies.
Please consult WA Landlord Tenant law - although I'm sure @David Clay means well what they're suggesting isn't allowed here in WA state.
You're right, I have no ill intent, so, take the following as part of an intelligent discussion and maybe we can help the poster with some information in the end. Is he from WA? I can't see his profile b/c its private, so, I don't know if this is relevant to him.
Which law are you referring to? What part of what I said is not allowed? My main position is that the LL is not responsible for ensuring that the tenant has a place to stay when the LL is in the process of repairing serious damage that makes the unit unhabitable. I'd love to pay for them to stay somewhere, but that may not be possible. Other details were just context and personal experiences really.
Per your recommendation, I looked up the WA law and found no reference in it that indicated a LL needed to pay for housing for a tenant (I've read Florida Law in the past and found no such reference in it). As a courtesy to the original poster here is the link to LL responsibilities - RCWs > Title 59 > Chapter 59.18 > Section 59.18.060: http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/defa...(I may have double-linked here two links to the same page).
Here is what is relevant when there is damage to a rental unit and the time frame for when a task shall be completed. It seems that there is an arbitration process if the LL does not take appropriate action. RCW 59.18.060 delineates the LL's overall responsibility (see above) and this information below adds to that. If the LL does not resolve maintenance concerns then the tenant may opt to terminate the lease, but I suspect there's a process for ensuring interested parties are accommodated fairly (shoulder shrug). Maybe you have a specific reference to help Michael to resolve this question? I do like your reference to the statutes as I think it is best to use facts instead of speculation. You could be right about the rules of play in WA as this is a cursory review of the statute, not a detailed analysis. BTW, I really like how they make it easy to get to the details you need. Florida's process is not quite as user friendly. This made the review much, much easier and pleasant. :)
Landlord—Failure to perform duties—Notice from tenant—Contents—Time limits for landlord's remedial action.
If at any time during the tenancy the landlord fails to carry out the duties required by RCW 59.18.060 or by the rental agreement, the tenant may, in addition to pursuit of remedies otherwise provided him or her by law, deliver written notice to the person designated in *RCW 59.18.060(14), or to the person who collects the rent, which notice shall specify the premises involved, the name of the owner, if known, and the nature of the defective condition. The landlord shall commence remedial action after receipt of such notice by the tenant as soon as possible but not later than the following time periods, except where circumstances are beyond the landlord's control:(1) Not more than twenty-four hours, where the defective condition deprives the tenant of hot or cold water, heat, or electricity, or is imminently hazardous to life;(2) Not more than seventy-two hours, where the defective condition deprives the tenant of the use of a refrigerator, range and oven, or a major plumbing fixture supplied by the landlord; and(3) Not more than ten days in all other cases.In each instance the burden shall be on the landlord to see that remedial work under this section is completed promptly. If completion is delayed due to circumstances beyond the landlord's control, including the unavailability of financing, the landlord shall remedy the defective condition as soon as possible.
