Washington · Eviction

Facing Eviction in Washington: What Can I Do?

This is not legal advice. We explain what the law says. We cannot tell you what to do in your situation. For that, talk to a lawyer. Find free legal and rent help in Washington.

Washington law limits why and how a landlord can evict you. This page covers the notices your landlord must give, the court steps, and the defenses you can raise. It also covers what happens if you lose and how a physical eviction happens.

The notice

  1. If you do not pay rent on time, your landlord must give you written notice before filing an eviction case. This is called a 14-day notice to pay rent or vacate (move out of) the home. It says you must pay the total amount due within 14 days after it is served on you, or move out. If you do neither, the landlord may go to court to evict you.

    Sources:
    1. RCW 59.18.057(1), Washington State Legislature. Law.
    2. RCW 59.12.030(3), Washington State Legislature. Law.

  2. Washington law sets a required form for the 14-day notice. The notice must be substantially in that form. It must list the Attorney General's website, atg.wa.gov/landlord-tenant. That website has the notice in many languages and information on rental assistance (money to help pay rent). The notice must give you the phone number for the Eviction Defense Screening Line, 855-657-8387, for free legal help if you qualify. It must also tell you that you can call 211 for more help.

    Source:
    1. RCW 59.18.057(1), notice form, Washington State Legislature. Law.

  3. Your landlord can usually end your rental only for reasons listed in state law. These are called 'just cause.' In 2 cases a lease can end without a reason when its term ends. One is a first lease of 6 to 12 months that then goes month to month. The other is a lease of 12 months or more, or back-to-back leases of 6 months or more, that has never been month to month. Either way, you must get at least 60 days' written notice before the lease ends.

    Source:
    1. RCW 59.18.650(1)(a)-(c), Washington State Legislature. Law.

  4. Your landlord usually needs a reason listed in state law to end your rental. This rule does not apply at the end of a first lease of 6 to 12 months that then continues month to month. Your landlord can end that rental without a reason when the first term ends. Your landlord must give you at least 60 days' written notice before the first term ends.

    Source:
    1. RCW 59.18.650(1)(a)-(c), Washington State Legislature. Law.

  5. Your landlord can end a lease without a reason when it expires only if all of these are true. Your first lease was for 12 months or more. Or, since you moved in, you have signed back-to-back leases of 6 months or more with no gap. Your rental has never been month to month at any point. And your landlord gave you at least 60 days' written notice before the lease ended.

    Source:
    1. RCW 59.18.650(1)(a)-(c), Washington State Legislature. Law.

  6. How much notice you get depends on the reason your landlord gives. For a lease violation, you get at least 10 days to fix it. If the owner or their family wants to move in, or wants to sell a single-family home, you get at least 90 days. The move-in reason applies only if no equivalent unit in the same building is empty.

    Source:
    1. RCW 59.18.650(2)(e), Washington State Legislature. Law.

  7. Suppose your landlord tries to evict you within 90 days after a good-faith, lawful act. That can be a complaint to a government agency about unsafe conditions, or using landlord-tenant rights. This applies only while you follow the landlord-tenant law. The law starts by treating it as retaliation. This reverses if you are behind on rent or breaking your lease when your landlord gives notice ending your rental. Then you must prove retaliation. Otherwise, your landlord can overcome the starting point by showing repairs are not practical while you stay.

    Sources:
    1. RCW 59.18.250, Washington State Legislature. Law.
    2. RCW 59.18.240, Washington State Legislature. Law.

Paying to stop the case

  1. If you lose at the hearing, the court enters a judgment (the court's final decision in your case) against you. If the case was for unpaid rent, you have 2 ways to stay. First, you have 5 court days to pay everything you owe under the judgment and stay in your home. This includes rent, court costs, late fees up to $75, and any lawyer's fee the court awarded.

    Source:
    1. RCW 59.18.410(2), Washington State Legislature. Law.

  2. The second way to stay after losing a case for not paying rent is a payment plan. You can ask the court for a payment plan of up to 90 days. The court may allow it if you show good cause. Both ways to stay apply only when the case is for unpaid rent.

    Source:
    1. RCW 59.18.410(3), Washington State Legislature. Law.

  3. You usually cannot ask for a payment plan after 3 or more pay-or-vacate notices (notices telling you to pay rent or move out). That means 3 or more in the 12 months before the notice in this case. The bar does not apply if the court finds any of those notices invalid. It also does not apply if you can pay through the state landlord mitigation program (a state fund that pays your landlord for you).

    Source:
    1. RCW 59.18.410(3), Washington State Legislature. Law.

Going to court

  1. If your landlord sues to evict you, you get an eviction summons (a court paper with your deadline to respond). You must respond by that deadline. If you miss it, you lose your right to defend yourself in court.

    Source:
    1. RCW 59.18.365, Washington State Legislature. Law.

  2. If you cannot afford a lawyer, the court must appoint one for you at no cost, if state funding is available. You qualify if your income after taxes is 200% or less of the federal poverty level. For example, if the yearly limit for one person is $15,000, 200% of that is $30,000.

    Source:
    1. RCW 59.18.640(2)(b), Washington State Legislature. Law.

  3. First, your landlord asks the court to set a hearing date. Then the judge sets that date between 7 and 30 days after you are served with the order. This hearing is called a show cause hearing.

    Source:
    1. RCW 59.18.370, Washington State Legislature. Law.

  4. At the show cause hearing, you can answer out loud or in writing. You can raise defenses like needed repairs or retaliation, your landlord punishing you for using your rights. The judge decides who keeps the home.

    Source:
    1. RCW 59.18.380, Washington State Legislature. Law.

After the court decides

  1. If the court orders your eviction, it issues a writ of restitution (the court order that tells the sheriff to remove you). The sheriff must give you a copy of this order. Then the sheriff must wait 3 days before making you leave the home.

    Source:
    1. RCW 59.18.390(1), Washington State Legislature. Law.

Published by Nazanin, September 24, 2026. Sources checked November 12, 2026. Is something on this page wrong or out of date? Tell us.