OVER REGULATION = LOSS OF RENTALS

In response to increasing rental prices, A Regional Coalition for Housing (ARCH) recently proposed changes to local laws.  With rising expenses, interest rates and the lifting of the moratorium on rent increases, ARCH reports that HUD will allow rent to be increased as much as 16% for local tenants with subsidized housing. ARCH sent letters to multiple mayors and city councils suggesting the following changes to local laws:

1. Require landlords to provide a minimum of 120 days’ written notice of rent increases greater than 3% and 180 days’ notice of increases greater than 10%.
2. Cap fees for late rent at 1.5% of one month’s rent.
3. Limit move in fees and security deposits to the equivalent of one month’s rent and allow tenants to pay in installments.

A coalition of rental housing organizations wrote to oppose ARCH’s proposal, which they assert would increase, “the already onerous burdens placed on small housing providers.”  They conclude:

“We have seen over 11,000 rental housing units leave the Seattle market over the last year. A survey of our membership shows that 40% of respondents sold their rental properties in 2021 due to increased regulatory burdens. As rental supply is dwindling across the state, now is not the time to increase the already onerous burdens and push more housing providers out of the market.”

We are here to help you and your clients with all aspects of the rental market. Please contact us for further assistance!

Nothing found herein should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of law. You should not rely solely on this information. We encourage our clients to work with a lawyer experienced in commercial and/or residential real estate matters as they can be complicated and confusing.

SELLING A RENTAL PROPERTY?

When a property is sold with a tenant in place, the purchase and sale agreement should address how tenant deposits and pre-paid last month’s rent will be transferred to the buyer.  The buyer will need a copy of the original move in inspection report.  Without one, the tenant cannot be charged for any cleaning required at move out or for any damage done to the property. 

The seller must inform the tenant in writing that the deposit is being transferred to the buyer and the new landlord is responsible for informing the tenants of the Washington State bank and branch where the tenant’s deposits will be held in trust.  The new owner will be responsible for refunding any deposit owed the tenant at move out, per the terms of the lease, even if funds aren’t transferred at closing.

We are here to help you and your clients with all aspects of the rental market. Please contact us for further assistance!

Nothing found herein should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of law. You should not rely solely on this information. We encourage our clients to work with a lawyer experienced in commercial and/or residential real estate matters as they can be complicated and confusing.

TENANT APPROVAL CRITERIA

Prior to obtaining any information about a prospective tenant, Washington State Law (RCW 59.18.257) requires that landlords provide their screening criteria in writing to prospective applicants.

In the city of Seattle there are some screening limitations which differ from the rest of the state.

Click on the buttons below to view our current criteria for tenant approval.

We are here to help! Check out our website for more details. http://www.cbbainrentals.com

Nothing found herein should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of law. You should not rely solely on this information. We encourage our clients to work with a lawyer experienced in commercial and/or residential real estate matters as they can be complicated and confusing.

MEMORIAL DAY – 2022

WASHINGTON LEASES.

A lease is a legally binding contract. Everybody knows that, RIGHT?  But do you know what that means?

• Even though the landlord owns the property, it is the tenant’s home.  Once a tenant moves in, even if the owner raised their children in the house, it is now an investment property and, as such, the owner doesn’t get to do whatever they want, even though they may think they can.
• In Washington State tenancy cannot be ended, even at the end of the lease or month-to-month term without cause (a reason) and proper notice.
• The owner cannot terminate a lease mid-term because the landlord’s job overseas didn’t work out and they want to move back in, or because the owner wants to sell, not even if the owner has terminal cancer and wants to settle their affairs.
• The landlord cannot increase rent via text or tell the tenant to vacate via email. 
• The owner can’t change the locks, remove windows or doors or stop utility services because the tenant hasn’t paid rent without a court order.
• Unannounced “visits” are not allowed; except in the case of a bona fide emergency, the tenant has the right of prior notice and has the reasonable right to say no to a proposed date and time.

We are here to help you and your clients with all aspects of the rental market. Please contact us for further assistance!

Nothing found herein should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of law. You should not rely solely on this information. We encourage our clients to work with a lawyer experienced in commercial and/or residential real estate matters as they can be complicated and confusing.

WHAT COVID-19 WROUGHT.

The pandemic caused a variety of changes in the rental market?  The impact was varied and many changes appear to be permanent.

Rents went down and then increased over the course of the pandemic.  In 2020, when many were working remotely, there was an exodus of tenants from cities to less expensive rural markets.  This exodus resulted in higher vacancies and lower rents. However, as mortgage rates went down and the sales market heated up, many investment owners decided to sell and the market changed from a renter’s market to a landlord’s, with lower vacancy rates and increasing rents.

The pandemic also changed leasing protocols as remote systems became necessary.  Online marketing and virtual tours became the norm.  Prospective tenants no longer have to be local to view a potential property.  Applications are often completed online and leases can be signed electronically. 

As common amenities, such as swimming pools and fitness centers, reopened, many apartment and condominium communities implemented a practice of scheduling usage in order to limit the number of simultaneous users.  The added privacy has been so popular, many communities intend to continue the practice.

The stay-at-home mandate also changed the space demands of tenants.  Roommates working remotely and kids attending school from home decided that more separation and space were important for sanity. 

The most significant changes to the rental market are a result of the eviction moratorium, the impacts of which are ongoing, as well as changing rental laws.

We are here to help you and your clients with all aspects of the rental market. Please contact us for further assistance!

#cbbainrentals

Nothing found herein should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of law. You should not rely solely on this information. We encourage our clients to work with a lawyer experienced in commercial and/or residential real estate matters as they can be complicated and confusing.

SHOWING A RENTAL PROPERTY

The landlord has the right to show a rental property to a prospective buyer or tenant with a 24-hour notice while the tenant has the right of quiet enjoyment.  These two rights are sometimes in conflict. The Landlord Tenant Act says that the tenant may not “unreasonably withhold consent.”  However, the landlord may, “not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant…A landlord shall not unreasonably interfere with a tenant’s enjoyment of the rented dwelling unit by excessively exhibiting the dwelling unit.”

We are here to help you and your clients with all aspects of the rental market. Please contact us for further assistance!

Nothing found herein should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of law. You should not rely solely on this information. We encourage our clients to work with a lawyer experienced in commercial and/or residential real estate matters as they can be complicated and confusing.

FAIR HOUSING COMPLAINT #1

That the majority of Fair Housing complaints are regarding disability?  Of those, an increasing  number are regarding reasonable accommodation requests for service animals. 

According to the Fair Housing Assistance Program, 44 percent of complaints included disability as a basis, followed by race at 20 percent and national origin at just under 10 percent.  In 2020 there was an uptick in the “other” category of complaints regarding source of income, sexual orientation, domestic violence, military status, and retaliation. The number of source-of-income complaints has been steadily increasing since 2017.

We are here to help you and your clients with all aspects of the rental market. Please contact us for further assistance!

Nothing found herein should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of law. You should not rely solely on this information. We encourage our clients to work with a lawyer experienced in commercial and/or residential real estate matters as they can be complicated and confusing.

I NEED TO SELL MY RENTAL. WAIT A MINUTE!!

Before giving a notice to vacate because a landlord wants to sell a rental, the owner must determine which laws apply and what type of property the investment property is considered to be.  Besides state law, there are numerous local laws that may take precedence.  State law allows a landlord to give a 90-day notice to vacate if a landlord wants to sell a single-family residence.  In Seattle, a landlord may give a 90-day notice to vacate if the property is a single-family dwelling unit. 

State law defines a “single-family residence” as a structure maintained and used as a single dwelling unit. Notwithstanding that a dwelling unit shares one or more walls with another dwelling unit, it shall be deemed a single-family residence if it has direct access to a street and shares neither heating facilities nor hot water equipment, nor any other essential facility or service, with any other dwelling unit.

Seattle defines a single-family dwelling units as detached structures that contain one dwelling unit.  The law specifically says that a condo, apartment, duplex, triplex, or townhome are specifically excluded.

We are here to help you and your clients comply with all aspects of rental laws. Please contact us for further assistance!

Nothing found herein should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of law. You should not rely solely on this information. We encourage our clients to work with a lawyer experienced in commercial and/or residential real estate matters as they can be complicated and confusing.

CREDIT REPORTS – BEWARE!

A seller cannot give the buyer copies of existing tenants’ credit reports when the property sells without the tenants’ written permission.  It is a violation of the fair credit reporting act for landlord to show anyone the credit applications except for landlord’s credit agency or their lawyer.

We are here to help you and your clients comply with all aspects of rental laws. Please contact us for further assistance!

Nothing found herein should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of law. You should not rely solely on this information. We encourage our clients to work with a lawyer experienced in commercial and/or residential real estate matters as they can be complicated and confusing.