What responsibilities does a landlord have when asking you to move out?

Question

I am asking on behalf of a friend who has lived in his Seattle, WA apartment for 7 years. Last year he went to sign his next 1 year lease and the manager suggested he sign a 2 year lease so his rent couldn't be raised during that time. He did so and since then a new manager has taken over. There should be one year left on this two year lease, but today (Nov 19) he received a letter stating that he has to be out by the end of this month. This is in 11 days! The letter states that the length of the lease is invalid but doesn't say why. It gives him until the end of the month to be out so that they can renovate the unit. Can they do that? There has been no claim that the lease was broken by the tenant, simply that "it is invalid" and they want to renovate. Do they need to provide him more time, or money to move? He would like to stay, at least for the year remaining on his lease, but doesn't want to live in a hostile environment either. Anyone have any advice? Washington State

Answer 1

Your friend does not have to move out with 11 days notice.

Tell the landlord that he needs to honor the lease that was signed by the previous landlord, and to go to court if he wants to evict.

Your friend may want to re-read the lease however and see if there is a 30 or 60 day cancellation clause

Answer 2

He needs to respond with a registered letter that he "has a lease and that no judge has deemed his lease invalid to his knowledge". Some landlords know that most people don't know their rights........and will just do what they are told.

Not all new landlords know what the state rights and responsiblities of landlords and tenants are.

The validity of any contract rests entirely with the judge. Only he can say whether the contract is valid or not. The new landlord cannot. Let them take your friend to court to get him out. He should not leave on his own just because they said he has to. There is a process and just declaring a lease invalid is not it, nor is 30 days notice on a lease situation.

That would only apply to a month to month. I'm sure there is a legal aid organization in Washington State. He needs to go talk to someone there. They deal with this stuff everyday. Hopefully he has a copy of his lease. In our state (CA) they have to honor the lease agreement.

Good Luck

OBA™

Answer 3

Usually a lease of over a year's time in Washington State isn't considered to be valid except under certain circumstances, all of which are designed to protect the tenant rather than the landlord. So it is highly unlikely that the lease is void. Even if it was, then he would have to be given more than 11 days in which to vacate the premises. The least he should be given considering the circumstances would be 20 days. If your friend doesn't mind losing his deposit, then since those 20 days would extend into next month he could stay through the end of December.


Check out the RCW of Washington State for reference:

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18

Answer 4

First, I hope your friend has a copy of all the leases he signed with the prior manager.
Second 11 days notice is not legal. To break a lease the laws vary by city to city or even state to state. Usually a 30 day to 90 day notice is required to vacate and in some cases, the manager pays for expenses. Your friend should speak with someone of the housing authority in Seattle. The new managers is suppose to honor the lease regardless of the previous managers errors. It really sounds good for your friend.

Answer 5

Your friend does not have to move in 11 days. A landlord can end a lease for any reason with a 30 day written notice. If your friend gets a notice like that he can choose to ignore it. That will force the landlord to take eviction action which will buy your friend more time, usually another 30 days.

Answer 6

Renters and Landlords rights vary from state to state and you can find the laws in booklet form on-line. Where I live we just type in "renters rights" and the state and we get a booklet or a web page. In general though, 30 days is standard. I think he should contact the county he lives in and they can direct him to the county office that regulates these things. Here, it happens to be the department of human services but it varies. I'm sure if you call the county courthouse you can find out what you need to know. In my state, they can only evict you for non-payment, gross neglect or breaking the law that makes it unsafe for you or other tenants so it is possible that they can't force him out before his lease is up, HOWEVER, each state has it's own laws so you'll have to do some digging in the area where your friend lives. Good luck.

Answer 7

First of all a clear cause for the lease b eing invalid should be provided. secondly a tenant does not have to move out in less than 14 days unless being evicted in thta case 72 hours. Secondly if the letter was not recieved certified mail it never happened.

Answer 8

The new manager must legally honor the terms of existing lease agreement.

If they are going to renovate the apartment they must offer him another apartment or pay for his relocation and rental till the renovation is done.

Answer 9

IF he signed a TWO YEAR LEASE and his rent is CURRENT NO they CAN NOT MAKE HIM LEAVE!!! He needs to contact the better business beaurau and also an attorney...as long as he is CURRENT on his rent he has a two year lease, even with a new owner they can't just move people out...I would fight it....

Answer 10

The landlord has no valid reason to boot the person out. He should see a lawyer immediately and find out what to do about it.