Landlord360 Questions & Answers for February 2024

First published on Landlord360 on February 29, 2024

These are the questions that were asked by Landlord360 clients in February 2024:

• (Seattle) We have been issuing a 180-day notice and starting the rent raise at the fulfillment of the notice even though it is after the Lease Extension has gone into effect. One of our tenants is pushing back at this practice, citing this City website that says the raise has to start at the "beginning of the rental period." We are interpreting the rental period as the start of the month, not the term. Can you please let us know the correct way to handle these situations?
  
  

  • answer from attorney David Britton:
    
    You can't unilaterally raise rent during a written 1-year term lease or written term renewal lease without mutual assent, because it's a written contract.  A holdover lease is basically an oral contract, so you have to provide the proper notice, and the tenant can decide whether to take it or leave it.
    
    "City of Seattle renters' rights" is NOT the Code provision. I tend not to depend on "informational" brochures that were probably written by non-lawyers when giving legal advice.
    
    If you have a tenant on a term lease, the rent increase can only take place at the beginning/end of the lease term. You should wait until the term ends unless the tenant agrees to the increase in writing before the end of the term.