WA Passes 'Just Cause' Eviction Bill: What It Means For Renters

OLYMPIA, WA — Washington now requires landlords to give a reason before they evict a tenant.

Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday signed a bill into law requiring "just cause" for evictions in the Evergreen State. Under the law, a "just cause" for an eviction can be anything from a failure to pay rent, destruction or property, breaking the lease agreement, or illegal activity — but the landlord now has to cite specifically the reason for the eviction.

As the bill made its way through the state Legislature, lawmakers heard testimony from several tenants who said they had been evicted for asserting their legal rights or for asking their landlord for basic repairs, the exact sort of thing this bill is designed to prevent.

“The bill before us is simple—it requires landlords to provide a reason to tenants when they ask them to move out of their home. I want to be clear—stopping evictions means preventing homelessness,” said Rep. Nicole Macri (D-Seattle) following the bill's passage.

Macri and other supporters say that, under the new law, landlords still have all the legal rights they had before. Landlords can still choose not to renew leases without giving cause and can do what they want with their rental properties, but tenants now have a stronger protection against illegal evictions.

Extra protections for tenants are an especially thorny issue now, during the tail end of the pandemic.

“The COVID-19 pandemic exposed that the status quo is leaving too many vulnerable," Macri said. "We cannot go back to a system where renters can easily be forced into homelessness for no fault of their own. That’s just not fair.”

Washington state has had been under an eviction moratorium since February 2020, meaning some tenants could be more than a year behind on rent. When the moratorium ends, landlords are required to establish repayment plans with tenants who could not pay rent during the pandemic. The passage of the just cause legislation means those tenants have increased protection against any potential retaliation from landlords.

The moratorium is set to expire June 30.