RCW 59.18.240

Reprisals or retaliatory actions by landlord—Prohibited.

Known as the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act

The act spans §§ 59–59 (94 sections).

Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case Lian v. Stalick (2001)

Most recently applied in Helfrich v. Valdez Motel Corp. (May 2009)

2010 c 8 s 19025; 1983 c 264 s 9; 1973 1st ex.s. c 207 s 24.

How often courts cite this section

citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

So long as the tenant is in compliance with this chapter, the landlord shall not take or threaten to take reprisals or retaliatory action against the tenant because of any good faith and lawful:

(1) Complaints or reports by the tenant to a governmental authority concerning the failure of the landlord to substantially comply with any code, statute, ordinance, or regulation governing the maintenance or operation of the premises, if such condition may endanger or impair the health or safety of the tenant; or

(2) Assertions or enforcement by the tenant of his or her rights and remedies under this chapter.

"Reprisal or retaliatory action" shall mean and include but not be limited to any of the following actions by the landlord when such actions are intended primarily to retaliate against a tenant because of the tenant's good faith and lawful act:

(a) Eviction of the tenant;

(b) Increasing the rent required of the tenant;

(d) Increasing the obligations of the tenant.

Official source: Washington State Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Washington statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.