§19.3 - Sample Rental Agreement

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§19.3 sample rental agreement

The sample rental agreement to which the comments below refer is provided as Form 19-1 on the CD accompanying this deskbook.

Most residential rental agreements traditionally have contained clauses favoring the landlord. However, the Act places restrictions on the types of clauses that are permitted in residential rental agreements. This sample rental agreement attempts to omit provisions that favor either landlords or tenants and may be amended or supplemented as deemed necessary.

In analyzing a particular tenancy, you first should determine whether the living arrangement that the agreement covers is excluded from the Act. RCW 59.18.040 sets forth eight types of living arrangements that are not covered by the Act. Even if the living arrangement is not covered by the Act, remember that an implied warranty of habitability may still be applicable. See Foisy v. Wyman, 83 Wn.2d 22, 515 P.2d 160 (1973).

RCW 59.18.415 further provides that the Act is not applicable

to any lease of a single family dwelling for a period of a year or more or to any lease of a single family dwelling containing a bona fide option to purchase by the tenant: Provided, that an attorney for the tenant must approve on the face of the agreement any lease exempted from the provisions of...