Start with a cause the statute allows
Washington is a just-cause state. Under RCW 59.18.650(1), you can’t evict, refuse to continue a tenancy or end a month-to-month tenancy except for a listed cause, and each cause has its own notice. Our Washington landlord-tenant law guide lists all of them; the ones that drive most apartment evictions are below.
The narrow exception is the first lease. If the tenancy began with a 6- to 12-month lease that rolls to month-to-month, you can decline to continue it at the end of that initial term with at least 60 days’ written notice, RCW 59.18.650(1)(b). After that, just cause applies for as long as the tenant stays.
- Unpaid rent: 14-day pay-or-vacate notice, RCW 59.12.030(3) and 59.18.650(2)(a).
- Material lease breach other than money: comply-or-vacate notice with a cure date at least 10 days after service, 59.18.650(2)(b).
- Waste, nuisance, unlawful activity affecting the premises or substantial interference with neighbors: 3-day notice to quit, 59.18.650(2)(c).
- Four or more cured violations in 12 months, each with a written warning: 60-day notice, 59.18.650(2)(n).
- Other legitimate economic or business reason: 60-day notice, and the court can stay the writ up to 60 more days, 59.18.650(2)(m).
The 14-day notice has to follow the state form
Every 14-day notice must be in substantially the form set out in RCW 59.18.057. It lists rent, utilities and other recurring charges by month, the total due and where to pay, and it carries required text about the Attorney General’s translated notices, rental assistance, the Eviction Defense Screening Line and dispute resolution centers. The form has lines only for rent, utilities and recurring or periodic charges, so leave one-time charges such as late fees off.
Serve it the way RCW 59.12.040 allows: hand it to the tenant; or, if the tenant is absent, leave it with a person of suitable age and discretion and mail a copy; or, if neither works, post it on the unit, deliver a copy to anyone living there and mail one. When any part of service is by mail, you must wait five extra days before filing. RCW 59.12.040, as amended in 2026, also requires a termination notice to state the date by which the tenant must vacate or comply.
Filing in superior court and the show cause order
Evictions are unlawful detainer cases in the superior court of the county where the building sits. The summons follows the statutory form in RCW 59.18.365, headed “Eviction Summons (Residential),” and gives the tenant a deadline to send a written response, which can be a simple notice of appearance. Under RCW 59.12.070, the response date must be at least 7 and no more than 30 days after service.
To get possession, ask the court for an order to show cause under RCW 59.18.370. The judge sets a hearing at least 7 and no more than 30 days after the order is served. At the hearing the tenant may answer orally or in writing and raise any legal or equitable defense, and if you show a right to possession the court orders a writ of restitution, RCW 59.18.380. If the court finds real factual disputes, it sends the case to trial instead.
Appointed counsel and default
The court must appoint a lawyer for an indigent tenant in an unlawful detainer case, subject to state funding, under RCW 59.18.640. Indigent means receiving one of the listed public benefits or earning 200% of the federal poverty level or less after taxes. Expect a represented tenant in many nonpayment cases, and expect notice defects to be found.
If the tenant doesn’t respond by the summons deadline, the summons form itself warns that the tenant loses the right to defend and to an appointed lawyer. Before you take a default, file the military status declaration the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act requires, 50 U.S.C. 3931.
After judgment: redemption, payment plans and fee limits
Winning doesn’t end a nonpayment case right away. Under RCW 59.18.410(2), the judgment can’t be enforced until five court days after entry, and during that time the tenant can pay the rent due, court costs, late fees of up to $75 in total and any attorney fees awarded to reinstate the tenancy. A tenant with a pledge letter from a government or nonprofit rental assistance program has until the eviction date, and a tenant reinstated more than once in 12 months pays an extra $50 each time.
The court can also stay the writ on a payment plan of up to 90 days if the tenant shows good cause, with one month’s rent due within five court days, under 59.18.410(3). A tenant served with three or more pay-or-vacate notices in the prior 12 months can’t ask for that plan.
Attorney fees are limited too. RCW 59.18.290(3) bars a fee award when the judgment followed the tenant’s failure to respond, or when the rent awarded is two months’ rent or $1,200 or less, whichever is greater. In a typical one-month nonpayment case, plan on paying your own lawyer.
The writ of restitution and lockout day
The sheriff serves the writ on the tenant or posts it on the unit and must wait three days before executing it, RCW 59.18.390. Once the writ is served, taking a partial payment won’t stop it unless you and the tenant sign a written agreement and the tenant gives the sheriff a copy.
At execution you take possession of the tenant’s property under RCW 59.18.312. You must store it if the tenant asks in writing within three days of service of the writ; otherwise you may store it or place it on the nearest public property, unless the tenant objects. Stored property worth over $250 can be sold 30 days after notice of sale, and property worth $250 or less after seven days, except personal papers, family pictures and keepsakes.
No lockouts, and the 90-day retaliation presumption
Removing or excluding a tenant without a court order is unlawful under RCW 59.18.290(1). The tenant can recover possession or end the lease, collect actual damages and, as the prevailing party, recover attorney fees.
Retaliation carries a presumption. Under RCW 59.18.250, an eviction filed within 90 days after a tenant’s good-faith complaint to a code agency or assertion of rights is presumed retaliatory, though that flips in your favor if the tenant was behind on rent when you served the notice.
Federal notice rules
If the building has a federally backed mortgage, such as a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or FHA-insured loan, or takes part in a covered federal housing program, the CARES Act may require a 30-day notice to vacate under 15 U.S.C. 9058(c). The 120-day moratorium ended in 2020, but the 30-day text remains in the statute and courts have split on whether it still applies. At a covered building, giving 30 days instead of 14 avoids the question.
Washington eviction timeline at a glance
The deadlines below assume a nonpayment case with personal service of every notice.
| Step | Deadline | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Serve 14-day pay-or-vacate notice | 14 days after service, plus 5 if mailed | RCW 59.12.030(3), 59.12.040 |
| Serve summons and complaint | Response due 7 to 30 days after service | RCW 59.12.070, 59.18.365 |
| Show cause hearing | 7 to 30 days after the order is served | RCW 59.18.370 |
| Writ ordered | At the show cause hearing | RCW 59.18.380 |
| Tenant’s right to pay and reinstate | Until 5 court days after judgment | RCW 59.18.410(2) |
| Court payment plan, if granted | Up to 90 days | RCW 59.18.410(3) |
| Sheriff serves writ | 3 days before execution | RCW 59.18.390 |
| Request to store belongings | Within 3 days of writ service | RCW 59.18.312 |
Worked example: one unit in a Tacoma building
Assume a 30-unit building in Tacoma where one tenant pays $1,950 a month and misses rent on the 1st. You hand-deliver the 14-day notice on the 2nd. Assume $1,500 in attorney fees for a case that ends at the show cause hearing; your counsel’s quote may differ.
On the fastest path, you file and serve the summons and show cause order on day 15 after the notice, and the hearing is set 7 days later, on day 22, a Monday. Five court days must pass before execution, which ends the following Monday, and the sheriff serves the writ during that week, so the earliest lockout is day 30 after the notice. From the 1st, that’s 31 days of unpaid occupancy.
A day of rent is about $64.11, so 31 days is $1,987 in lost rent. With the assumed fee, the floor is $3,487, and RCW 59.18.290(3) means you likely can’t recover the fee from the tenant. Mail service alone adds five days and brings lost rent to $2,308.
Alternatives, and selling with a case open
Because the tenant can redeem after judgment, many Washington owners settle earlier. A written repayment agreement or a cash for keys deal with a firm move-out date can cost less than a contested show cause hearing, especially once appointed counsel is involved.
You can sell mid-case. The buyer takes title subject to the tenancies and can be substituted as plaintiff, so pass along the 14-day notice, proof of service, ledger, pleadings and any writ. Tenant estoppel certificates confirm rent, deposits and defaults for the rest of the building, and remember that a sale is not itself a just cause to end any apartment tenancy.
Selling your Washington apartment building to Skyline
Skyline Capital Investments buys apartment buildings with five or more units across Washington, including occupied buildings with nonpaying tenants and unlawful detainers already filed. We buy the building with its leases as they are, so you don’t need to finish the case first.
Send the address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977. We typically respond within 48 hours.
