Wash. Court of Appeals published opinion — 850318.pdf

Citation: Wash. Court of Appeals published opinion — 850318.pdf
Jurisdiction: Washington (state)
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Original Source: https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/850318.pdf ↗

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Amicus’s interpretation would result in a far-reaching ban on a range of evictions

that Congress likely would not have intended. Indeed, applying such an

interpretation to eviction actions in Washington State, landlords would not have

been permitted to issue a notice to vacate in response to circumstances such as

a tenant’s substantial breach of a rental agreement or a landlord’s desire to sell

the unit or, in more extraordinary circumstances, a tenant’s criminal conduct or

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For the current opinion, go to https://www.lexisnexis.com/clients/wareports/.
No. 85031-8-I/15

nuisance behavior on the premises, a unit having become uninhabitable or

condemned, or a tenant having engaged in unwanted sexual advances or other

acts of sexual harassment toward the property owner or another tenant based on

such individual’s race, gender, or other protected status. See, e.g., RCW

59.18.650(2)(a)-(p). It appears to us unlikely that Congress would have intended

to leave landlords helpless to evict those living in uninhabitable covered

dwellings for a period of four months or to condemn tenants to live for such a

period of time alongside those who engage in the listed antisocial activity. Thus,

the unlikely circumstances that might result from the Amicus’s broad

interpretation suggest that such an interpretation was not intended by Congress.

Similarly, such an interpretation cannot plausibly be extended to a

permanent 30-day notice requirement for all covered dwelling evictions from

subsection (c)(1). Indeed, it is difficult to imagine Congress requiring a

landlord—or neighboring tenants—to wait 30 days for the eviction of a tenant

engaging in criminal activity or nuisance on the premises. Thus, a broad