• Introduction
• What are domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking?
• I am a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking and I need to move out of the place I rent. Can I end my lease with my landlord and move out without having to pay for the rest of the lease?
• I am a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking and my landlord has threatened to evict me or is refusing to renew my lease because I am a victim of abuse. What can I do?
• I have a court order that excludes someone who is on my least from my rented apartment. Can I change my locks?
• Important Information

Introduction

Tenants who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking now have increased protection under the Residential Landlord Tenant Act (RLTA). The RLTA is found in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW 59.18). The law applies only to the rental of residential premises such as an apartment or house, or where both the mobile home and the space are rented in a mobile home park.

As of March 15, 2004, survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking can benefit from new protections available under the RLTA. Under the new law, a survivor of one of these crimes can get out of a lease early, and has the right to be free from discrimination by a landlord when entering into or renewing a lease.

What are domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking?

Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior used by someone to control an intimate partner. The abuse can be physical, sexual, verbal, emotional, or psychological. The legal definition of domestic violence is similar. Under Washington state law domestic violence exists when a person:

? Hits you, assaults you, or harms you physically in any way, or
? Causes you to fear immediate physical harm, assault or injury.

The person causing the harm or threatening you must be

? A family member and/or
? Someone you live with or lived with in the past and/or
? Someone with whom you have or had a dating relationship and/or
? Someone with whom you have a child.

Sexual assault is any unwanted sexual contact, either physical or verbal.

Stalking can be any intentional incident of threatening, harassing, following, surveillance and/or coercive behavior that occurs more than once and causes you to fear for your safety, the safety of someone you know, or your property.

No one has the right to threaten or hurt you. If you think you may be a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking, you can find support and resources near you by contacting the Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-562-6025.

I am a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking and I need to move out of the place I rent. Can I end my lease with my landlord and move out without having to pay for the rest of the lease?

Under the new law, you and/or your household members (your children or any adults other than the abuser who reside with you) who are survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and/or stalking may end a lease with your landlord if you meet the following three conditions:

1) You and/or your household members must either have:

? a valid order for protection (an order for protection is a court order that may help protect you and your children from domestic violence; see our brochure Domestic Violence: How the Legal System Can Help Protect You for information on how to get an order for protection)

OR

? a record of reporting the incident of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking to a "qualified third party". Download this document to see the Sample Record of Report.

A "qualified third party" means any of the following people: law enforcement officers, state court employees, doctors, nurses and other health care professionals, licensed mental health professionals or counselors, members of the clergy, or crime victim/witness program advocates. While reporting to a qualified third party may help you end your lease, you should know that this document does not provide you with the legally enforceable safety provisions that come with a order for protection.)

2) You must notify your landlord in writing that you (and/or your household member) are a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking and attach a copy of the valid order for protection or the record of the report to a qualified third party to your letter. Download this document to see sample Letter #1 or #2. If you are attaching a Record of Report form, you must make sure that the "qualified third party" you reported to has a copy of the form that includes your abuser's name (Page 1 of the Record of Report Form). The copy you provide to the landlord (Page 2 of the Record of Report Form) does not have to include the name of the abuser unless you feel comfortable giving this information to your landlord.

3) The last thing you have to do is inform your landlord that you will be moving out within 90 days of the incident of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking that caused you to seek a protection order or make a report to a "qualified third party". You can do this in the same letter that you use in step 2. See Sample Letter #1 or #2. It is important to remember that this is NOT 90 days from the day you reported the incident or received the order for protection. It is 90 days from the date the incident occurred.

If these three conditions are met, you may end your lease and move out without having to pay for the rest of the time on your lease. You will still have to pay the rent due for the month in which you leave (even if you leave in the middle of the month), but will be entitled to a refund of your deposit. To make sure you get your deposit back, see our publication Recovering Your Security Deposit which explains how to get your deposit back and what to do if you don't.

I am a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking and my landlord has threatened to evict me or is refusing to renew my lease because I am a victim of abuse. What can I do?

Under the new law, a landlord CANNOT legally terminate your lease, refuse to renew your lease, evict you, or refuse to rent to you just because you are a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking. The landlord can end your tenancy or evict you for other lawful reasons, such as failure to pay rent. If you believe that you are being discriminated against by a landlord because you are a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking, you may be entitled to financial compensation from the landlord. For more information on legal options that may be available to you, please contact:

Northwest Justice Project's CLEAR hotline at: 1-888-201-1014 (for low-income callers)

or

Northwest Women's Law Center's Information and Referral Line at: 1-206-621-7691

I have a court order that excludes someone who is on my least from my rented apartment. Can I change my locks?

If you are a tenant with a valid court order that excludes someone who is also on your lease from the home, you may ask your landlord to change your locks at your expense. The landlord must change the locks if you provide the landlord with a copy of the court order, and he or she cannot give copies of the new keys to the tenant excluded from your home.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

This publication provides general education, not legal advice. If you think that you might need a lawyer and your local legal services office cannot help you, you may be able to find a lawyer who will charge a reduced fee for your first appointment by checking the yellow pages of your phone directory under "Attorneys." There may also be a listing for a referral program operated by your local bar association. If you are low-income and live in Washington state outside of King County, you can get legal advice by calling CLEAR at 1-888-201-1014, between the hours of 9:30 AM and 12:30 PM, Monday through Friday. Whether or not you are low-income, you can call the Northwest Women's Law Center's Information and Referral Line for more legal information, at (206) 621-7691.

The information in this publication is current as of the date of its printing. Laws change both as the result of legislative action and court decisions, and you should consult a lawyer if you need to be sure that the information in this publication is correct.

Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-562-6025