5 Ways to Deal With Bad Tenants in Seattle, WA

Dealing with a bad tenant can be one of the most daunting challenges for landlords. Whether it’s persistent late payments, property damage, or disruptive behavior, knowing how to deal with a bad tenant is crucial to maintaining the integrity of your rental property. If you’re a property owner in Seattle, having effective strategies to address these issues is essential for protecting your investment and ensuring a smooth rental experience. In this blog, we’ll discuss five practical ways to deal with bad tenants in Seattle, WA, so you can safeguard your property and minimize stress.

My first tenants in my first rental house were a nightmare and I ended up having to evict them in small claims court.  I was 23 years old.  Whether experienced or not, almost everyone who’s been a landlord knows that headaches and hassles are simply part of the job description.  And number-one among those property management headaches/hassles is problem tenants.

In Seattle, WA, managing rental properties comes with its own set of challenges, especially given the city’s pro-tenant laws. Although some parts of Washington State may make things a little easier, King County in particular, requires landlords to navigate a complex web of regulations. If you don’t want to deal with property management or problem tenants, you might want to consider selling your rental property.

If you want to keep the property operating, getting good tenants in the unit, and teaching them what good behavior you expect, and what negative consequences they’ll encounter if they break your rules is important. Hard as it may be when someone gives you a sad story, you have to be strict and consistent from Day 1.

While evictions are always an option for tenants who refuse to pay the rent, use drugs, flout the rules, or damage property… kicking out a tenant who doesn’t pay their rent is a slow, expensive, and often painful process.

For property owners managing their own properties, it’s crucial to know tenants’ rights, understand landlord-tenant laws, and seek good legal advice.

For example, Did you know…

• You need to provide a receipt and hold your tenant’s security deposit in a separate account from your personal funds?
• You should have documentation and a written policy for how they can get their rental deposit back, and whether there are non-refundable cleaning or pet fees?
• If you evict a renter, you must try to re-rent the unit and the tenant shouldn’t owe rent for the days after the unit has been re-leased.
• A tenant may be able break the lease early if he is called away on military leave.
• If the property is damaged or out of service because the heater breaks or the basement floods, you must take steps to ensure the tenant has alternative living accommodations available.
• According to the residential landlord-tenant act, your renter may have rights to your rental unit, even without a written lease agreement.
• If your rental agreement conflicts with Washington State and local laws, components of it may not be enforceable, even if the tenant signed and agreed to the terms.

Landlords Have Rights, Too, When Dealing With Bad Tenants In Seattle, WA

Even though there are a long list of many rights and privileges that accrue to tenants in the Seattle area, Landlords have rights, too.  If you have to deal with bad tenants who are being disruptive and creating problems for their neighbors or  the police, if they are committing crimes or doing drugs, if they are breaking rules or damaging the property or – most commonly – living for free and paying late rent, or not paying at all, you may have grounds for an eviction.

However, it’s very time consuming to evict a tenant here in Seattle, WA.  Legal action can be costly, and you really have to proceed carefully to provide property eviction notice and follow the eviction process to a “T.”

There are alternatives to eviction that may save you time and money which you may want to consider first.

Below, I’ll walk you through five strategies you can use to deal with bad tenants in Seattle, WA —without resorting to a drawn-out eviction.

1. Bad Tenants Who Don’t Pay Rent

One of the most common issues landlords face is tenants who stop paying rent. 

I remember my first year as a landlord, another investor told me that when the Fair comes to town, the tenants were always late on their rent.  Now, he worked with a lot of Section 8 tenants who were on government rental assistance and had limited financial resources in the first place.  But he had noticed a pattern where they would go to the fair and ride the rides, buy the elephant ears, and play the carnival games and come home with a hole in their pockets and not enough money to pay the rent. 

Since then, I have switched toward buying nicer homes in nicer areas as investment properties, so I have been fortunate that I have not had to look up state laws and figure out how to evict Section 8 tenants who couldn’t pay.

The first time rent comes in late, you may assume it’s a fluke.  But depending on how you handle it, you may invite this to become an ongoing or repeating problem for your tenants.  If they discover you are “soft” on non-payment or late payment, you’ll go to the bottom of the priority list when they’re short on funds.  The squeaky wheel gets the grease so you need to let them know they need to always get you paid on time, or it’s going to spell trouble for them.

While it’s easy to assume tenants are just trying to avoid paying when the rent payment goes unpaid the first time, there are often more nuanced reasons—whether it’s financial hardship or a dispute over repairs. 

The key here is communication. The landlord must sit down with the tenant and assess whether a payment plan can help them get back on track. 

Do they need to break up the monthly rent into weekly draws this month?  When do they get paid and what bills threw them off course?

In Seattle, WA, where the rental market can be competitive, being flexible can foster goodwill and encourage tenants to stay current with their payments. Open communication about their situation can also demonstrate your willingness to support them during tough times, ultimately benefiting both parties.

If they have a problem that’s going to spell ongoing disaster, like a failing heart valve or a domestic abuse situation – helping them fix it and get back on their feet may benefit you both.  Job loss and medical bills are two of the more common problems.  Consider helping them connect with unemployment insurance, medicare, Section 8 vouchers, or other social programs designed to be a safety net for tenants going through financial hardship. There may be resources in your area that can help them, if the tenant knows where to find them.

2. Bad Tenants Who Cause Problems With Neighbors

Another common issue is how to deal with bad tenants who cause friction with their neighbors.  I just watched a video on Twitter today where a woman came up to her neighbor’s house carrying a pistol and yelling at him to turn down the music, or she was going to call the police.  (It had been 3 hours of very loud Salsa music, apparently!)

Despite your best efforts with tenant screening and credit checks, occasionally, a tenant might end up being too loud or disruptive. They may not understand or know about the rules, or just not have common sense when it comes to treating property nicely. In Seattle, WA, it’s essential to communicate your expectations clearly in the lease agreement to minimize misunderstandings. If disruptive behavior persists, addressing the issue promptly can help you maintain peace and ensure a harmonious living environment for all tenants.

While the property manager may be inclined to ask tenants and neighbors to resolve these problems amongst themselves, if the police have been involved, it may be a good idea to touch base with an attorney who can give you some legal help.  Most will do a 15 minute consultation free of charge to let you know if it’s a matter they think they can engage with you on, successfully.

When inviting a new tenant into your property, make sure you let them know about rules and expectations, including maintaining the exterior of the property – mowing the lawn, not storing junk, etc. and being quiet and courteous to their neighbors.  Include a clause in your lease requiring tenants to attempt mediation before they ask the landlord to solve their problems.  This is most helpful if you have a small apartment building, but may not make sense in a single-family house situation where yours is the only rental around. 

Their rights as a tenant allow them to peacefully enjoy the property, but they can’t break local ordinances in regard to loud parties, and so on.  This is often a problem for college-age students renting near campus or on “Fraternity Row.”  Make sure you show them the lease or rental agreement and its restrictions on disruptive behavior as well as fines or penalties that spell out potential consequences.

If you do need to step in, make sure the lease has clear rules regarding noise and neighbor relations, and explain the consequences calmly. If everyone knows the ground rules upfront, it will make the resolution smoother.

3. Bad Late-Paying Tenants

Tenants who consistently pay late can be frustrating, but sometimes the reason is as simple as forgetfulness. If tenants don’t remember to write the check and put it in the mail, you may need to mail them an invoice or notice to pay each month as a reminder. However, if the late payments continue despite your reminders, it may indicate a pattern of behavior typical of bad tenants in Seattle. In such cases, it’s important to assess whether additional measures, such as setting up an automatic payment system, are needed to prevent further issues with bad tenants.

Personally, in this modern era, I would not want to handle cash or checks, write a receipt and handle all that paperwork for my tenants unless absolutely necessary.  Most people have checking accounts and are familiar with ACH drafts or can use Zelle, Paypal, or Venmo, or even credit cards to pay rent.  I use TurboTenant.com which is a website that can help you with your tenant screening, leases and automatic payments.  

Whatever service you use, just make sure the tenant can’t cancel the payment afterwords (like a charge back on a credit card).  You don’t want to think the money’s in the bank, only to have a refund request from a vendor. In Seattle, WA, where managing rental properties can be particularly challenging, it’s crucial to utilize secure payment methods that minimize the risk of disputes. By choosing reliable payment platforms, you can safeguard your income and ensure a smoother transaction process with your tenants.

I don’t charge tenants for auto-drafts, and unless you’re running a very low-end rental, I would be nervous about a tenant who didn’t trust himself and his finances enough to move forward with a free auto-draft rent payment processing, so he would never have to be late on his rent.

Try discussing their situation to understand why they’re paying late. 

In other cases, they may pay late because of when they get paid at their job, or have other bills due, like childcare, groceries, alimony, etc.  Consider being flexible on the day of the month that rent is due, or breaking the payment up into two biweekly payments to help your tenants honor their commitments, even if they have weak money-management skills.

4. Non-Renewal of the Lease For Bad Tenants

If the softer approaches don’t work, another option is to simply not renew the lease. If you have rental properties in Seattle, WA, you may realize that this common suggestion is not as simple here as it may be in more “red” states. Landlords cannot evict without due legal process, even if a lease has expired. The good news is that ending a tenancy by non-renewal can be a viable strategy if you have “just cause.”

Seattle, WA defines just cause as a variety of “bad tenant behaviors” including ongoing unpaid rent problems, drug activity in the home, significant damage to the property, as well as other reasons, like wanting to sell the house or move into it yourself. 

Typically if you’re not renewing the lease for “just cause” you have to give your occupants 90 days notice.  Send a letter via certified mail with the proper legal information, including the tenant’s name and address and a copy of the lease to your tenant 90+ days prior to the end of the rental period.  Assert your rights as a landlord and let them know under what terms you’ll return the security deposit.  If you have any resources for helping them find new living arrangements, let them know that, too, so that they can start renting their next place as soon as possible.

Keep a copy of the letter and notes on any phone calls or other communication in your file in case you make it all the way to small claims court.  They may be entitled to free legal advice if they feel they have been treated unfairly, so always do everything properly, and document all your steps. 

Tenants must get time to make plans, and we all know sometimes it can be hard to find a new, affordable home, even if you are a well-qualified tenant.  It can be even harder, and take longer, if they are having financial hardships.

If you’re tired of being a landlord and just want to sell, we here at HomePro Associates are full-service real estate professionals and can help you with that.  We’ll help you sell your property for top dollar, sell directly to an investor, find a better property manager or Check out this article about how to sell a rental property with tenants in it, or just fill out this form to get more information, and I will communicate with you directly to create a strategy for your situation.

Along similar lines, some property owners try to raise the rents on their tenants to get them to “want” to move out.  In Seattle, the landlord can raise the rent by 10% per year, and this requires 180 days notice to the tenant.  If the rent is raised too high, too fast and the tenant can’t afford it and must move, the landlord may be responsible for paying a fee (equivalent to 3 months’ rent) to help relocate the tenant.  

If the tenant accepts the new rent rate, that may work for you- but if they are already having problems with late rent payments, chances are a higher rent will put them deeper in the hole, but you may still need to start the eviction for nonpayment of rent the first time another late payment comes in.

While this won’t solve the problem immediately, it allows you to move forward without an eviction. Just be sure to follow local laws, as Seattle and King County have specific rules on how much notice you need to give before the lease ends.

5. Offer Your Bad Tenants “Cash for Keys”

As a last resort, a way to deal with bad tenants having financial problems, drug problems, is a survivor of domestic violence, or you just want or NEED them out of the property very quickly, consider offering “cash for keys.”

In this scenario, you directly tell your tenants that they need to move out and to make it easier for them you will give them money when they surrender the property – including handing over their keys (you will change the locks and garage door codes) and signing off on documentation ending their lease.  Usually the cash required to make this work is several thousand dollars, but obviously, you can negotiate the amount to help the tenant.  Chances are they will need to pay “first and last months’ rent, plus security deposit” at their next residence, and if they’re broke, that money may be coming from you. 

While it might feel counterintuitive to pay a bad tenant to leave, it can actually be more cost-effective than an eviction. Instead of spending months in court and potentially thousands in legal fees, offer them a lump sum to vacate the property voluntarily. It’s a quick way to regain control during an ongoing bad or dangerous time, and re-lease the unit to a new, better-qualified tenant.

Final Thoughts On How To Deal With Bad Tenants in Seattle, WA

Navigating tenant issues in Seattle’s rental market can be quite tricky, but it’s not impossible with the right strategies.

Whether you’re dealing with non-payment, noisy tenants, dangerous payments who are laying waste to your home, or late payments, there are ways to protect your investment and avoid the hassles of eviction. If you’re unsure of the best approach to deal with a bad tenant or need personalized advice, reach out to me, Emily Cressey, at HomeProAssociates.com for a consultation.

Together, we’ll get your property back on track.

But Be Careful . . . 

Whatever method you choose to deploy to deal with bad tenants in Seattle, WA make sure you’re aware of all the legal ramifications and implications. Tenant-protection laws are far broader than they were just a few years ago, pre-COVID. Your best bet is to consult an experienced real estate professional in Seattle, WA to get help understanding exactly what you can and can’t do as a landlord.

So for assistance dealing with bad tenants in Seatte, WA, contact us today at (206) 578-3438.