Everything you're responsible for as a landlord in Washington

Renting in an HOA or Condo in Seattle: What Move-In Rules Can the Association Require?

A landlord lines up a tenant, signs the lease, and assumes move-in day is just a matter of handing over keys. Then the building's managing agent asks for an elevator reservation the landlord didn't know existed, a move-in deposit that isn't in the lease, and proof the tenant's dog was cleared with the office. None of that is set by state law. It's set building by building, and getting it wrong costs a delayed move-in, not a legal violation.

When a Tenant Breaks HOA or Condo Rules in Seattle, Is the Landlord Responsible?

A tenant leaves a bike blocking the hallway for the third time, and the violation letter that follows is addressed to the owner, not the renter. That surprises a lot of landlords who assumed the association would deal with the tenant directly. It generally won't, and understanding why changes how a lease should be written before the first violation ever happens.

Can a Seattle HOA or Condo Association Approve or Reject Your Tenant?

A landlord who previously owned in a New York co-op assumes the Seattle condo board will run its own tenant interview and approval process the same way. It generally won't. Washington condo and HOA boards don't hold the statutory power to approve or reject a tenant the way a co-op board does, so the actual screening decision, and the legal limits on it, sit almost entirely with the landlord, not the association.

Can a Seattle HOA or Condo Association Restrict Long-Term Rentals?

An owner buys into a Seattle condo building planning to rent it out within a year, and only later learns the declaration already caps rentals at a fixed number of units, with a waiting list they're now behind on. A block away, a building with no cap at all would need a vote from 90 percent of every owner to add one, a bar so high it rarely happens after the fact. Whether a unit can be rented in Seattle comes down almost entirely to what a specific building's declaration already says, and how hard that declaration is to change.

Seattle Pet Rent and Junk Fee Ban 2027: Recurring Pet Rent and Several Other Fees End July 1, 2027

A Seattle landlord who built pet rent, a package-room fee, and a payment-processing surcharge into the standard lease now has to unwind all 3. Seattle City Council Bill 121254, passed 8-0 and signed into law by Mayor Katie Wilson, bans a specific list of recurring and junk fees starting July 1, 2027, and requires an all-in cost disclosure wherever a unit is advertised.