Eviction notices in Washington

For residential tenancies, the landlord must serve a 14-day notice to pay rent or vacate, in the form set by RCW 59.18.057; the tenant is in unlawful detainer if it is not complied with within 14 days after service. The notice may be served any time after rent is due (RCW 59.12.030(3)).

Can the tenant pay to stop it? The tenant can stop the eviction by paying the total amount due within 14 days after service. After judgment, the tenant can still reinstate by paying rent, costs, up to $75 in late fees and any awarded attorney fees within 5 court days.

Type:

Pay or move out

Notice period:

14 days

Law:

RCW 59.12.030(3); RCW 59.18.057

For breach of a lease term other than rent, the landlord serves a written notice to comply or vacate; the tenant is in unlawful detainer if it is not complied with within 10 days after service (RCW 59.12.030(4); RCW 59.18.650(2)(b)).

Chance to fix it: The tenant has 10 days after service to perform the lease term and save the tenancy.

Type:

Fix it or move out

Notice period:

10 days

Law:

RCW 59.12.030(4); RCW 59.18.650(2)(b)

A 3-day notice to quit (no right to cure) may be served for waste, nuisance, unlawful business or activity, or substantial or repeated interference (RCW 59.12.030(5); RCW 59.18.650(2)(c)). Gang-related activity is a separate ground (RCW 59.12.030(7)). Four or more cured violations with written warnings within 12 months allow a 60-day notice to end the tenancy (RCW 59.18.650(2)(n)).

When it applies: Waste, nuisance, unlawful activity affecting others' use of the premises, or substantial or repeated unreasonable interference with the landlord's or neighbors' use and enjoyment.

Notice period:

3 days

Law:

RCW 59.12.030(5); RCW 59.18.650(2)(c)

Time is computed by excluding the first day and including the last, unless the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, in which case it is also excluded (RCW 1.12.040). If any copy is served by mail, service is complete when mailed from within Washington, but 5 additional days must be allowed before the landlord may file (RCW 59.12.040).

Personal delivery; or, if the tenant is absent, leaving a copy with a person of suitable age and discretion at the premises AND mailing a copy; or, if no such person can be found, posting a copy in a conspicuous place on the premises AND mailing a copy to the tenant at the premises (RCW 59.12.040). The notice must state the date by which the tenant must vacate or comply.

A landlord may not evict, refuse to continue, or end a periodic tenancy except for causes listed in state law (e.g. unpaid rent, uncured lease breach, nuisance, owner move-in or sale with 90 days' notice), with limited no-cause ending of certain fixed-term leases with 60 days' notice. (RCW 59.18.650)

The landlord files an unlawful detainer action in superior court. The summons is returnable not less than 7 nor more than 30 days after service, and the tenant must serve a written response by the deadline in the summons (RCW 59.12.070; RCW 59.18.365). In nonpayment cases, judgment cannot be executed until 5 court days after entry, during which the tenant may pay to reinstate (RCW 59.18.410(2)). Only the sheriff executes a writ of restitution, and it is unlawful for a landlord to remove or exclude a tenant without a court order (RCW 59.18.290(1)).

• Seattle: Seattle's Just Cause Eviction Ordinance requires a listed reason to end or not renew a tenancy, requires specific notice language, requires criminal-activity notices to be recorded with the city, and limits displacement of students/school employees during the school year and of low- to moderate-income renters between Dec. 1 and March 1 for landlords with 4+ units.

• Low-income tenants have a right to appointed counsel in unlawful detainer cases; the 14-day notice must say so (RCW 59.18.057).
• Payment toward a 14-day notice must be applied first to the amount shown on the notice (RCW 59.18.057).
• RCW 59.18.650 has a version taking effect Jan. 1, 2028 (2024 c 321, condo-conversion cross-references).

• Washington notice to end a month-to-month tenancy (no-cause notice by tenant or landlord)
• Washington security deposit law: deadlines after move-out
• Federal 30-day notice for covered properties (CARES Act)

• RCW 59.12.030 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• RCW 59.12.040 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• RCW 59.18.057 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• RCW 59.18.650 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• RCW 59.12.070 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• RCW 59.18.365 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• RCW 59.18.410 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• RCW 59.18.290 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• RCW 1.12.040 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• Seattle SDCI: Just Cause Eviction Ordinance Retrieved October 13, 2026.

Laws change. This page was checked against the sources above on October 13, 2026. It is legal information, not legal advice; if you have an eviction case, contact your state's legal aid. See our methodology.