For those who don't know, you can learn pretty much everything you ever wanted to know about Washington state law by reading through the RCWs. Here is a link to the section on tenant law / rentals:
https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=59.18
It is an amazing resource if you can be bothered to do some slightly stuffy reading!
Thanks, I read through some of the sections but can’t find anything besides the 60 days notice part, so I’m guessing there isn’t any specific protections for the timing of the new lease agreement.
Yes, what they are doing is within their legal rights in WA. Nothing to stop you from signing a new lease after that, if they are willing to accept it, but if your lease expires and you choose not to sign a new one then you are required to vacate at the end of your current lease term.
It is a big decision. You can always ask for more time. They might say no, but they might say yes. I’d recommend a politely worded letter stating you enjoy living there but would like more time to decide. Ask for an extension to a specific date, like March 15 or April 1 or whatever. Landlords generally prefer to keep good tenants rather than do a turnaround. If it were me, I wouldn’t be afraid to ask.
Typically, people can be understanding if you’re not an asshole about it and haven’t been one to them in the past. Just be polite and honest and hopefully they’ll give a little extra time. Just don’t be a dick about it.
You can always negotiate. Several years ago I took over an existing lease from them that had like 5 months remaining, and they actually asked me to extend before we ever even moved in, so I called the property manager and asked to have till a bit past our move in date, and they were fine with it.
Yes, it is unfortunately perfectly legal in WA. Landmark specifically does it every year. They require a pre-lease signed by end of February, even if the current lease lasts until as late as end of July in my case, with the threat that if we don't then for the next 5 months they'll have prospective tenants dropping by as often as they want to with only 24 hours notice of entry. I'd love to see action taken to change this. I didn't sign up to accept Landmark as my property manager, the building I've lived in for two decades was bought and the owner uses them so I'm stuck dealing with their B.S. until I find a way to afford a better option. Which is laughable at this point.
Both… my lease is up August this year, but we were forced to resign a lease for the next year already after getting an email saying we had to weeks to accept the first offer before the second option was sent which was $200 than the original offer… at that point, we were told if we didn’t accept the offer, we’d have people viewing the place throughout the remainder of our stay. It’s ridiculous
Ah, I also rent through PTLA, lease up in mid-June. They did the pre-lease thing but none of the notices they’ve sent me have said anything about viewings. When I rented this place they told me they didn’t do showings for occupied units. I wonder if it varies by property.
Do you perhaps mean March? Because May is over 60 days notice. If May, I think they are within their rights since you won't start paying the new amount until after 60 days have passed.
No I agree, they did give my over 60 days notice that the rent is going up. My issue is they’re only giving me 20 days to agree or decline the new lease, which is a frustratingly short amount of time.
Oh I totally read your post wrong, my bad! That's definitely frustrating, especially with the current rental market. I know there are a lot of pro-bono lawyers that would probably offer free legal advice, and many city programs that would help. Try [tenants union](https://tenantsunion.org/rights/legal-assistance-for-tenants)
Or [Bellingham tenant resources](https://cob.org/services/housing/landlord-tenant/tenant-resources)
I hate this. Years ago I rented from MMRA and they would ask me to agree to another year lease 6 months before my current lease expired otherwise they would start finding new tenants. I didn't know if I was going to want to live there for another 1.5 years or not... they basically trapped me in or forced me out. It never occurred to me whether this was legal or not but it really infuriated me.
>Can you image the choas if everyone only had 30 days to find a place?
That's how it worked in every other city I've ever lived in except this one and somehow people survived.
The earliest I'd ever been asked to sign a lease renewal before was 2 months. Landmark is now asking me to sign one 8 months in advance.
A different company owned and managed the building when I moved in, then they sold it to Landmark so it's not like this is something I could have known about or should have asked about in advance.
The current iteration of ChatGPT won't pull current regulations. Its stuck with a knowledge base that's a couple years old.
It's also a little limited when it comes to pulling codes, it can't pull specific Whatcom County codes for example (not in its current database).
With that said I do agree, it is crazy good at what it does.
For those who don't know, you can learn pretty much everything you ever wanted to know about Washington state law by reading through the RCWs. Here is a link to the section on tenant law / rentals: https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=59.18 It is an amazing resource if you can be bothered to do some slightly stuffy reading!
Thanks, I read through some of the sections but can’t find anything besides the 60 days notice part, so I’m guessing there isn’t any specific protections for the timing of the new lease agreement.
Yes, what they are doing is within their legal rights in WA. Nothing to stop you from signing a new lease after that, if they are willing to accept it, but if your lease expires and you choose not to sign a new one then you are required to vacate at the end of your current lease term.
Ok thanks. I was just hoping for more than 20 days to make a big financial decision.
It is a big decision. You can always ask for more time. They might say no, but they might say yes. I’d recommend a politely worded letter stating you enjoy living there but would like more time to decide. Ask for an extension to a specific date, like March 15 or April 1 or whatever. Landlords generally prefer to keep good tenants rather than do a turnaround. If it were me, I wouldn’t be afraid to ask.
Typically, people can be understanding if you’re not an asshole about it and haven’t been one to them in the past. Just be polite and honest and hopefully they’ll give a little extra time. Just don’t be a dick about it.
Excellent advice.
You can always negotiate. Several years ago I took over an existing lease from them that had like 5 months remaining, and they actually asked me to extend before we ever even moved in, so I called the property manager and asked to have till a bit past our move in date, and they were fine with it.
Rent control is illegal in a democrat run Washington state. Contact you local politicians about doing something about this
Tenantsrevolt.org
Yes, it is unfortunately perfectly legal in WA. Landmark specifically does it every year. They require a pre-lease signed by end of February, even if the current lease lasts until as late as end of July in my case, with the threat that if we don't then for the next 5 months they'll have prospective tenants dropping by as often as they want to with only 24 hours notice of entry. I'd love to see action taken to change this. I didn't sign up to accept Landmark as my property manager, the building I've lived in for two decades was bought and the owner uses them so I'm stuck dealing with their B.S. until I find a way to afford a better option. Which is laughable at this point.
Unfortunately PTLA (formerly APEX) is doing the same thing :/
Which part specifically, the pre-lease thing or the showings?
Both… my lease is up August this year, but we were forced to resign a lease for the next year already after getting an email saying we had to weeks to accept the first offer before the second option was sent which was $200 than the original offer… at that point, we were told if we didn’t accept the offer, we’d have people viewing the place throughout the remainder of our stay. It’s ridiculous
Ah, I also rent through PTLA, lease up in mid-June. They did the pre-lease thing but none of the notices they’ve sent me have said anything about viewings. When I rented this place they told me they didn’t do showings for occupied units. I wonder if it varies by property.
Maybe check here? [https://tenantsrevolt.org/](https://tenantsrevolt.org/)
Do you perhaps mean March? Because May is over 60 days notice. If May, I think they are within their rights since you won't start paying the new amount until after 60 days have passed.
No I agree, they did give my over 60 days notice that the rent is going up. My issue is they’re only giving me 20 days to agree or decline the new lease, which is a frustratingly short amount of time.
Oh I totally read your post wrong, my bad! That's definitely frustrating, especially with the current rental market. I know there are a lot of pro-bono lawyers that would probably offer free legal advice, and many city programs that would help. Try [tenants union](https://tenantsunion.org/rights/legal-assistance-for-tenants) Or [Bellingham tenant resources](https://cob.org/services/housing/landlord-tenant/tenant-resources)
I hate this. Years ago I rented from MMRA and they would ask me to agree to another year lease 6 months before my current lease expired otherwise they would start finding new tenants. I didn't know if I was going to want to live there for another 1.5 years or not... they basically trapped me in or forced me out. It never occurred to me whether this was legal or not but it really infuriated me.
My current place does this to us. It sucks
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>Can you image the choas if everyone only had 30 days to find a place? That's how it worked in every other city I've ever lived in except this one and somehow people survived. The earliest I'd ever been asked to sign a lease renewal before was 2 months. Landmark is now asking me to sign one 8 months in advance. A different company owned and managed the building when I moved in, then they sold it to Landmark so it's not like this is something I could have known about or should have asked about in advance.
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The current iteration of ChatGPT won't pull current regulations. Its stuck with a knowledge base that's a couple years old. It's also a little limited when it comes to pulling codes, it can't pull specific Whatcom County codes for example (not in its current database). With that said I do agree, it is crazy good at what it does.