The Definitive Landlords Guide

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If your revenue from subletting exceeds 40, kr however, you will have to pay taxes for the revenues exceeding 40, kr. In other words, if your subletting income is less than 40, kr it is tax-free. The 40, kr reduction can be applied each year and for each residence. We will of course guide you through the whole process and be at your service for the duration of the rental period if you choose to rent out your apartment with us!

You can get started directly below. The definitive guide for renting out your apartment. Your email address will not be published. You may use these HTML tags and attributes: You can find an updated version of this guide here: Read this article in Swedish Differences between subletting and renting out a condominium The first question you should ask yourself is if what your renting out is a rental or condominium.

Here you can read more about subletting an apartment you yourself are renting. Here you can read more about renting out a condominium you own. Rental permits for your apartment.

Here you can read more about permits. How high you can set your rates The rent is another important factor when renting out. You can read more about setting rent. If you want to see how high rates are for apartments similar to yours you can try out Hyreskollen a rent calculator. How to write a subletting contract Writing a valid subletting contract is not that easy. Here you can read more about insurance when subletting an apartment. Taxes on subletting apartments When renting out a residence one may be taxed for it. Renting out your home , The law , Uncategorized Tags: Tips for a successful Open House February 20, Frauds on the housing market: Save time with a digital open house March 26, Previous Post Find housing in Stockholm.

The idea behind default judgments is that, if a defendant fails to respond within the set time, the defendant must not be interested in contesting the allegations against them. Therefore, the court will grant a default judgment in favor of the plaintiff. When your tenant has failed to respond appropriately to either document, obtaining a default judgment should be almost automatic.

Read Step 9 to learn more about answer requirements and whether your tenant has met them. Alternatively, you can also default the tenant if they have answered appropriately but then failed to attend the show cause hearing. However, this rarely comes up in evictions since landlords usually cannot get the tenant out of the unit unless they follow through and get a judgment and writ.

A defendant appears in an action when he or she answers,.

As discussed in Step 9 , a tenant must correctly answer the summons with a notice of service to avoid default. However, even if the tenant served you an inadequate answer, that will still constitute an appearance that entitles the tenant to notice of the default hearing.

Likewise, if you have issued a nonpaying tenant both a notice of nonpayment and a summons, and the tenant has only correctly answered one but not the other, then you will have to issue your tenant a notice of default. Fortunately, there will be no way for the tenant to stop a writ from being issue if the tenant has not conformed to the response requirements under RCW The notice of default does not have to be fancy or formal unless more than a year has elapsed since you sent the summons.

The only requirements are as follows:. The notice of default and any supporting affidavit must be served at least 5 days before the hearing on the motion. Typically, you can present these documents to the judge presiding over ex parte motions and they will sign them after a few questions back and forth. You should request a writ of restitution, since that is the only legal way to eject the tenant and restore you to possession of the premises. Typically, the court will give you whatever money damages you cited in the motion for default, within reason per CR55 b 1.

That means the only relief you can request in a default is a writ of restitution to restore you to possession of the premises. If the court grants your motion for default judgment, then your tenant can still move to rescind i. However, many tenants do not know about this recourse. And even if they did, it is often impractical to make a motion to set aside because, once the writ of restitution is issued following default, the defendant may have as little as 4 days before the sheriff forcibly removes the tenant. Burris , Wn. Practically speaking, it is rare for the court to set aside the default unless there is a serious defect in one of the documents above.

For example, CR55 c 2 specifically allows the court to set aside default judgments where venue was improper. Even if the default judgement were set aside, the court would set a show cause hearing, and the tenant would still have to argue that they are not in unlawful possession of the premises. A show cause hearing is like an informal trial in the sense that both you and the tenant will have the opportunity to explain your sides of the case, and then the judge will make a decision.

However, many of the formalities of real trial are suspended in the hearing setting. In many cases, it may be enough to state the basis of your claim e. In practice we have found that courts usually do not want a long explanation from the landlord unless the case is unusually complicated. Beyond that, arguing an unlawful detainer action is highly case-specific. If you obtain a favorable judgment, the court will also issue you a writ of restitution per RCW If you lose the show cause hearing, you can have the judge set a trial date so you can continue to pursue the eviction in open court.

However, this is usually not a cost-effective or practical option. If the judge determines that there is a dispute of material fact in the case, she may set your case for trial to sort out the factual matters. Once the writ is issued, the only thing you have to contend with is the nitty-gritty of moving the tenant out. It will usually take days to move a tenant out once you have the writ. The sheriff will issue the writ to the defendant. This usually occurs the day after the judgment. The tenant then has three days to vacate the premises. If the tenant has not voluntarily vacated within those three days, the landlord or his attorney must contact the sheriff to schedule a physical eviction.

Depending on scheduling, the sheriff may not schedule the physical eviction for weeks. When moving the tenant out, you and the sheriff must comply with all the requirements of RCW It is usually easier for the tenant to move on rather than continue to fight. Therefore, it is fairly uncommon to encounter the following tenant recourses. The tenant must pay this bond within three days of issuance of the writ. This rarely happens, since tenants who are deficient on their rent are usually short on cash, and so do not have the means to pay.

Technically, the tenant has 30 days to appeal after issuance of the writ of restitution. Appeals are rare, since they require the tenant to pay all the costs assessed against them, and also hire an appellate attorney most free counsel available to tenants will not represent tenants at the appellate level. This is fine if the tenant has belongings that are worth some money, since the landlord may then sell off the belongings pursuant to RCW The Definitive Guide to Evicting a Residential Tenant in Washington State Welcome to the most comprehensive online guide for Washington evictions We know from firsthand experience how frustrating and confusing evictions can be on the landlord side.

How to Use this Guide The process to evict a tenant will vary substantially depending on the reason s for the eviction and the responsiveness of the tenant you are trying to evict. If your situation does not fall into one of the 6 categories below, you probably do not have the right to terminate the tenancy: The tenant fails to pay on time; The tenant fails to comply with the terms of the lease; The tenant commits waste, nuisance, a minor i.

Reason to Terminate Tenancy: The tenant fails to pay on time If a tenant is actually late on rent and does not comply with a properly served and processed 3-day pay or vacate notice, then you have grounds to terminate the tenancy and proceed with an unlawful detainer action. Your 3-day pay or vacate notice must at minimum include: A good faith statement of the amount you believe your tenant owes.

This is required because the purpose of the 3-day pay or vacate notice is to allow the tenant an opportunity to conform to the terms of the lease.

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Second Reason to Terminate Tenancy: Tenant Fails to Comply with the Lease If your tenant actually fails to comply with the terms of the lease other than being late on rent, covered above and your tenant fails to conform to a properly-served day comply or vacate notice, then you can terminate the tenancy and proceed with an eviction. Did the tenant actually violate the lease?

What about late fees, utility costs, or other non-rent money the tenant owes? Tips for Gathering Evidence of Noncompliance If your tenant is violating the terms of the lease, you should make sure to document the noncompliance as best you can. Your day pay or vacate notice must at minimum include: A reference to the rule or statute that the tenant has violated. This is because the purpose of the notice is to allow the tenant an opportunity to conform to the terms of the lease.

Third Reason to Terminate Tenancy: Tenant commits waste, nuisance, minor criminal acts, or unlawful business If your tenant commits waste, nuisance, minor i. These categories have a lot of crossover: Waste Waste is a reason to terminate the tenancy under RCW Nuisance Nuisance is a reason to terminate the tenancy under RCW Unlawful business Unlawful business is a reason to terminate the tenancy under RCW No-Notice Eviction for Drugs-Related Activity Nearly any kind of drug-related activity allows you to evict a tenant without notice. To qualify for a no-notice eviction under that statute, the criminal act must: One party chooses not to renew the tenancy When a tenancy is month-to-month which often happens automatically after the one-year term of the lease has ended , either you or the tenant can choose not to renew the tenancy.

However, there are some caveats: It is illegal to use the no-cause notice to discriminate or retaliate against a tenant. A day written notice is not sufficient for all tenants in all municipalities. For example, if your tenant is disabled in a way that makes it difficult for them to move out, they may be entitled to a reasonable accommodation under federal, state, or local fair housing laws e.

The lease expires naturally As with other contracts, leases can end naturally after a set period of time. This is for two main reasons: Serve the relevant prelawsuit unlawful detainer notice If you have a reason to evict your tenant, and you have prepared the appropriate notice, then the next step is to serve that notice.

When should you serve the prelawsuit unlawful detainer notice? Do you have to hire someone to serve the prelawsuit unlawful detainer notice? How to serve the prelawsuit unlawful detainer notice Serving an unlawful detainer notice is trickier than you might think.

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Hand a copy of the notice to each tenant. This can be handy in court if your tenant tries to claim that you never actually sent the notice. Avoid sending the notice via certified or registered mail for several reasons. First, Washington State only requires regular first-class mail, and certified and registered mail are more expensive. Second, certified and registered mail require the recipient to sign for the letter, which your tenant the recipient probably will not be inclined to do.

If your tenant rejects delivery, the court may determine that service was not effective, in which case you would have to reissue your notice and your tenant would have another opportunity to pay, comply, or vacate. Tips for Posting the Notice The notice must be conspicuously posted on the door ; it cannot be slid under the door or through a mail slot.

Tape the notice to the door with the letters out so that the purpose of the notice is immediately obvious. How time is calculated for the purposes of service The lease controls ; if the lease allows for shorter or longer periods, or for other different rules, then those will usually control rather than the defaults set out below.

The day you serve the notice does not count. If you mail the notice, one additional day is added to the earliest possible commencement day of your unlawful detainer action. Holidays and weekends count. In other words, you do not have to add a weekend or legal holiday on to the statutory waiting period. The mailbox rule applies to payment of rent by mail. The kind of notice you have sent will dictate the responses that are in conformity with the notice: In this section, we will walk through a number of possible tenant responses.

Welcome to the most comprehensive online guide for Washington evictions

You can skip the rest of this section and move on to hiring an attorney, or However, if your tenant does conform to the notice, or partially conforms to the notice, then you may not be able to move forward with the unlawful detainer action. What if your tenant fully vacates within the compliance period? What if your tenant completely vacates after the compliance period has ended?

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In the words of the Washington State Supreme Court: What if your tenant tenders partial payment? Do I have to hire an attorney? Strategize about how to initiate your unlawful detainer lawsuit After you have correctly issued a prelawsuit unlawful detainer notice for a legally valid reason as explained above, the next phase of the process involves initiating your lawsuit with the goal of obtaining a writ of a restitution.

Initiating an unlawful detainer lawsuit usually involves serving the following documents on the tenant: Summons and complaint always filed and served together Notice for nonpayment of rent optional Order to show cause However, you can file and serve these documents in different sequences depending on the strategy you are trying to pursue. The two main strategies The following strategies apply to any unlawful detainer action, including those dealing with nonpayment of rent.

Cheaper but potentially slower: Serve an unfiled summons and complaint by itself prior to sending the order to show cause Note: Timeline Serve the tenant with an unfiled summons and complaint. File and serve the summons and complaint along with an order to show cause and set the show cause hearing date. Then, proceed with the show cause hearing.

Default tenant if they do not show up. Save filing fee if your tenant fails to timely answer: If your tenant fails to timely answer the summons and complaint within the 7-day time limit, then you can default the tenant by filing the summons and complaint later along with an affidavit stating that the defendant failed to answer. This will save you some court costs and filing fees.

Gives tenant one last chance: Normally, when a lawsuit is filed against a person in Washington State, that lawsuit becomes part of their permanent record.

Wastes time and costs the same amount if your tenant does timely answer: If your tenant does timely answer, you will still have to file the complaint the normal way when you set a show cause hearing, which will force you to spend the same filing fee you avoided by sending an unfiled complaint. Additionally, if you tenant timely answers, you will have to schedule the show cause hearing a minimum of 7 days out. Duplicate service costs if tenant timely answers: If the tenant timely answer, you will have to serve the tenant with an order to show cause.

This will incur additional service costs that are not present if you serve the summons and complaint along with the order to show cause per Strategy II below. Pricier but potentially faster: Serve a filed summons and complaint along with the order to show cause The benefits and downsides to this strategy are basically the opposite of Strategy I above. Timeline File and serve the summons, complaint, and the order to show cause at the same time.

Proceed with the show cause hearing. Potentially saves time if the tenant timely responds: By serving both together, you no longer have to wait for both the summons and complaint 7-day waiting period and the order to show cause 7-day waiting period. Instead, both these waiting periods elapse concurrently. However, this waiting period difference will only matter if the tenant timely answers.

If the tenant does not timely answer, this strategy would take the same amount of time as Strategy I because, either way, you will be obtaining a default. No duplicate service cost if defendant timely responds: If the tenant timely responds, you will not have to serve the tenant with an order to show cause. Wastes filing fee and court costs if the tenant does not answer: However, if you proceed under Strategy II, you have already paid to schedule the show cause hearing so you cannot save the filing fees for that amount.

Optional strategy for nonpayment of rent only: How does a notice for nonpayment of rent work? By delivering a copy of the payment notice or sworn statement to the person who signed the notice to the street address listed on the notice; By mailing a copy of the payment notice or sworn statement addressed to the person who signed the notice to the street address listed on the notice; By facsimile to the facsimile number listed on the notice.

Service by facsimile is complete upon successful transmission to the facsimile number listed upon the notice; or As otherwise authorized by the superior court civil rules. When can you serve the notice of nonpayment? Strategy I cheaper but potentially slower: However, if your tenant responds to the summons and complaint, you can serve a notice of nonpayment prior to, or alongside, the order to show cause as long as the summons and complaint have been filed. Strategy II pricier but potentially faster: You can send the notice of nonpayment immediately alongside the summons, complaint, and order to show cause.

This will create a bundle of things for your tenant to deal with simultaneously and increase the possibility that the tenant fails to answer. When must your tenant respond to the notice of nonpayment? Draft Eviction Summons and Complaint The summons and complaint must be served together. The summons must strictly comply with RCW The summons must include your street address not PO box and if you have a fax machine, your fax number.

What to include in the complaint The complaint is more complicated than the summons. To achieve these two main purposes, your complaint must state the following: Names of parties, attorney if any , and the court in which the case is being brought probably Washington State Superior Court. City of Sequim, Wn. However, it is better to err on the side of including too much information rather than too little. Typically, we list out any potentially applicable claims we can think of e. After listing out the claims, we state out any potentially applicable relief we can think of e. Location of the premises.

Amount owed for non-payment cases. Your signature and address or if you are an attorney, your signature, address, and bar number. Allege service of the prelawsuit unlawful detainer notice if prelawsuit unlawful detainer notice was required. Draft Both the Motion and Order to Show Cause The Motion to Show Cause and the Order to Show Cause are two different documents; the motion is a request that the court grant the order, and the order merely requires the tenant to come to the courthouse for the show cause hearing.

Summons and complaint always filed and served together Notice for nonpayment of rent optional In this section, we will explain how to assess and react to various tenant responses. What is the correct way to answer a summons and complaint? How must the tenant serve the notice of appearance? By delivering a copy of the answer or notice of appearance to the person who signed the summons at the street address listed on the summons; By mailing a copy of the answer or notice of appearance addressed to the person who signed the summons to the street address listed on the summons; By facsimile to the facsimile number listed on the summons.

Service by facsimile is complete upon successful transmission to the facsimile number listed upon the summons; As otherwise authorized by the superior court civil rules. What is the correct way to answer a notice for nonpayment? Service by facsimile is complete upon successful transmission to the facsimile number listed upon the notice; OR As otherwise authorized by the superior court civil rules. What if your tenant fails to respond correctly?

If your tenant fails to respond, you can move for a default judgment. What if your tenant responds correctly? When can you obtain a default judgment against your tenant? Summons Notice for nonpayment of rent When your tenant has failed to respond appropriately to either document, obtaining a default judgment should be almost automatic. Is there any rush to filing a motion for default? Do you need to provide the tenant with notice of default? How to fill out and serving your notice of default The notice of default does not have to be fancy or formal unless more than a year has elapsed since you sent the summons.

The Definitive Guide to Evicting a Residential Tenant in Washington State

The only requirements are as follows: It must be written. It must be served as described in Step 8. Timing The notice of default and any supporting affidavit must be served at least 5 days before the hearing on the motion. What documents do you need to initiate a default motion? You will usually need the following at a minimum: Motion for default, including: Statement establishing proper venue. An explanation of the relevant facts that entitle you to the default we like to include this in the motion for default itself, though some people make it an accompanying affidavit Usually the most important thing is to include a detailed explanation of the timeline.

Include every notice, every deadline, and an explanation of how the tenant failed to conform with their answer requirement. Order of default for the judge to sign Proof of service of summons and complaint on file with the court.

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