Landlord Tenant Disputes Washington

Summary

The tenant in Washington is dealing with a landlord who has violated several tenant rights. The landlord shut off the tenants water without notice, peeked into his windows, and is attempting to evict him without proper notice. The tenant has not received any written communication from the landlord regarding these issues. The tenant is seeking advice on his rights and possible legal recourse. The tenant is also dealing with health issues and has expressed concern about the stress caused by the landlords actions.

Full Conversation

My landlord came over Saturday at * pm and shut off my water the no notice**** I have liver cancer and I though up poison so i need to be able to clean up the mess i have two small kids****
What state are you located in, ****? This will help me provide the most accurate information regarding your rights as a tenant****
Then he said my house looks like s*** inside and out I said how do you know what the inside looks like did you go in there he said he peeked in the windows and it smells and he is doing an inspection on Monday which is today and he wants to evict us
What state are you located in? This is important as tenant laws vary by state****
Wa
What is the duration of your lease agreement? In Washington, landlords must provide at least * hours notice before entering a tenant's property****
1 year ihave never been late
What was the reason given by your landlord for shutting off your water? In Washington, it's illegal for landlords to shut off utilities as a form of eviction****
There is a leak in the yard for the past 6 months they switch the water into my name even though I'm renting instead of jacking up the rent
Did you agree to have the water bill switched to your name? In Washington, landlords cannot transfer utility bills without tenant's consent****
I only have what he he is never put the electric coil in he said he would when we moved in and my wife was pregnant and he just never did we can only have wood fire Heat and it's improperly installed and smokes everywhere when we use it
Did you have a written agreement with your landlord about the installation of the electric coil?
He had us renew our lease online and so I never even got to read it he said it was all the same and I just looked back to try to read it and it's all expired I have to get a hold of them and tell him I don't have the lease to look at it
Did you receive any confirmation or receipt when you renewed your lease online?
Yeah it's all a DocuSign but the link expired a year ago
Did you save a copy of the DocuSign lease agreement when you signed it?
No I was fighting with my wife about it I never got to even see it she said just sign it it's all the same but I have no idea of knowing if it is the original one we have she lost my aunt has one cuz she's a cosigner but she's involved in all of this she said to the guy to come over to our house nobody ever told me anything they just showed up and now I'm looking for another place because they came unannounced totally unfair I'm I came over at an not a good time the house looks great now but obviously they're trying to get us kicked out
What is the name of your landlord or the property management company?
The landlord's name is Craig McKenzie he is the owner of Better Homes and Garden in Oak Harbor Washington
Did you give your landlord permission to enter your property without notice? In Washington, landlords must provide at least * hours notice before entering a tenant's property****
No I told him I have a service dog and to not go in my house she would bite him and he probably told me he didn't care about dogs he's not scared of any dogs if he wants to go in there he would he doesn't go into people's houses though
Did your landlord provide any written notice about the inspection or his intention to evict you?
No I have no written notice for the inspection today them coming over to do the work on Saturday there's no notice there's no text message there's no voicemail
In Washington, landlords must provide at least * hours' notice before entering a tenant's property**** It's illegal to shut off utilities as a form of eviction****
My wife is terrified there was no notice given we all feel scared but I've never been late on my rent I don't trash the house if we were given adequate notice everything would have been fine but he's making it sound like we're unreasonable people I have cancer I'm really sick they all know that he tried to get me to pump my septic because I'm on chemo but I said no that's illegal so he had my aunt do it he's been telling me I have to clean up the trees in my yard that blow over I had to it took me * hours to clean up the driveway just so I was able to use it
What state are you located in? This will help me provide accurate information about your rights as a tenant****
Wa
What specific actions has your landlord taken that you believe are illegal or unfair? In Washington, landlords must provide at least * hours notice before entering your property****
Peeking in my windows
What time did the landlord peek into your windows? In Washington, landlords can only enter without notice in emergencies**** Peeping could be considered invasion of privacy****
When we were not home that's how he obtained the information that my house look like s*** on the inside
What actions have you taken so far regarding this issue? In Washington, landlords are prohibited from invading a tenant's privacy**** This includes peeping into windows****
None I want to know if I can sue him when you shut off the water it ruined my wife's event to do very hair the next day she was unable to get ready for her event that she had planned that they all knew about
What evidence do you have of the landlord's actions? In Washington, landlords must provide essential services like water**** If they fail, tenants may sue for damages****
Nothing just the fact he came over here Saturday night and by Monday morning we're being evicted and we have a walk-through right now nop
What is the reason given for your eviction? In Washington, landlords must provide a valid reason and proper notice for eviction****
Still hasn't given me one I've asked over and over I think they just want to up the rent and get someone else in here
Have you received any written notice or communication from your landlord regarding the eviction?
No it has been my aunt telling me all this stuff through him because they work together she is a realtor too
Have you received any written eviction notice from your landlord or any official communication? In Washington, landlords must provide written notice for eviction****
I got no communication from him at any time he just showed up at my house and started telling me to dig the whole he brought shovels to dig a hole I told them my mouth is sores from chemo and I don't feel good and has made changed and he started being a jerk
What actions did your landlord take when you refused to dig the hole?

In Washington, landlords cannot force tenants to perform maintenance tasks****
He shut off the water and told me not to use it and then I told him what if I get sick I have a baby he said then you'll have to come down here in the middle of the night with a flashlight and turn it back on so at *:* *:* in the morning I got sick just like everyday and I had to go down there in the middle of the night and find the hose bib to turn on my house and clean up my puke mess before my kids get up
What evidence do you have of your landlord shutting off your water? In Washington, it's illegal for landlords to intentionally interrupt essential services like water****
My wife and my daughter we were all here
What actions have you taken so far regarding this issue?
None I want to sue him I'm sick and I keep getting bullied I'm scared for a place to live my wife was pleading and we've done nothing wrong all this could have been avoided with proper notice our house would have been clean we wouldn't be kicked out he came here trying to start a fight and did
What evidence do you have of your landlord's bullying and attempts to start a fight?
He came over on Saturday without any notice dug a hole in my yard shut off my water when my wife had a work event the next day to get ready for he told me he knew about my wife's event so it was predetermined he did what was best for him in most inconvenient for me he should have put us up in the hotel or coordinated better and then he came here telling me my house is like s*** when I didn't anytime to pick up like I said I'm in an hospital I'm sick my wife just started working nobody was suspecting our landlord to show up and shut our water off the day of her event when I ask can we do it later is there another time oh no has to be done right now
What evidence do you have of your landlord's actions? In Washington, landlords must provide essential services like water**** If they fail, tenants may sue for damages****
Why is his important his life more important than ours the leak had been there for 6 months it was not an emergency
Do you have any documentation or evidence showing that the leak existed for 6 months? This could be crucial in your case****
Yeah my aunt had the septic pump she told me to see if it had anything to do with the leak in the yard and we got our septic pumped at least 2 months ago she told me not to tell him about the leak in the yard so I don't know if she wanted to get us evicted it's all too f****** much either way we need written notice before people come over doing stuff like this all that being said now they want to kick us out they're doing a walk-through today we have not had even time to clean up adequately but here we go
What is the reason given for the walk-through today? In Washington, landlords must provide a valid reason and proper notice for any inspections****
Because the inside and out of my house was so bad he said he needs to come back Monday and do a walk-through and my aunt is coming over too which I don't want either of them over at my house now that I know how they're acting
What is the reason your landlord and aunt want to do a walk-through? In Washington, landlords must provide a valid reason and proper notice for any inspections****
She co-signed us to get this place and made me give him $*,* I paid 6 months in advance just to get into this place because they thought if I died they wanted their money
What is the agreement you have with your aunt regarding her co-signing and the upfront payment of $*,*?
She told me I needed to pay 6 months in advance she couldn't find me anywhere else this was the only place that would take me so give them the money
What does your lease agreement say about advance payments? In Washington, landlords can't charge more than one month's rent as a deposit****
I never understood that
Could you please clarify what specific part of the lease agreement you didn't understand?
I feel like my aunt just did that to protect herself in case I died because I have liver cancer
What does your lease agreement say about the conditions or terms related to your health situation?
None that I know of I know that I had to pay extra to have my service dog
What does your lease agreement say about having a service dog? In Washington, landlords cannot charge extra for service animals under the Fair Housing Act****
I think we paid an extra $* or something
What does your lease agreement state about additional fees for pets or service animals?
This was Keller Williams and then they switched to Better Homes and Garden but the landlord is Craig McKenzie he's Top Dog around here so he acts like he could do whatever he wants
What does your lease agreement say about landlord's rights and responsibilities?
The day we did the walkthrough he said he knew everything and he was just going to do it himself and we need to just stay in the kitchen while he filmed and he said I see I know about stuff you guys don't even know and he pulled off the thermostat cover which doesn't work the thermostat don't work cuz the heater ain't hooked up he told me it doesn't work and but he made a big old deal about the cover being there and how it falls off and then as soon as he left we opened the cupboards and he had left the previous tenants piles of their food and dishes were still there I had to go to the dump and get rid of the day I moved in none of the the drains or sinks would drain I had to go get Drano he told me he said go get some Drano which I bought with my own money he never reimbursed me then he came and said oh what's that stain on the bath I said that's from the Drano you told me to dump down
What evidence do you have of these issues you faced when you moved in, like the non-working thermostat, blocked drains, and leftover items from previous tenants?
He tried to insinuate I needed to buy a new tub after I just did what he told me to do I followed his instructions
What evidence do you have of your landlord instructing you to use Drano, and the subsequent damage it caused to your tub?
When I called and told him that the tree blew down in my yard and was covering the driveway my aunt told me to cut it up so it took me * hours to cut the tree out of the way and I stacked it over on the side of the yard he never thanked me never say anything about it except for he implied that I pulled it over with my truck or the wind didn't blow it down like I couldn't believe this guy and then when he showed up again there's another tree fell down in the backyard I just left it I didn't do anything I've been mowing around it and he got all pissed off at me for not telling him about that I cut it up into pieces and I couldn't move it it took me * hours to f*** with that one too nobody thanked me he just said I should have got a hold of them
What evidence do you have of your landlord's reaction to the fallen trees and your efforts to clear them?
Just him talking to my face I don't have any written anything I'm sure my wife could vouch for me but no it's it's just been him saying things or calling me same over the phone but this is incident he had my phone number from my aunt he did not call me he did not write me a letter or leave it in my mailbox he just showed up and now they're here today to kick me out
What is the exact date when your landlord showed up without notice and started these actions?
It was literally less than * hours ago
What is the exact reason your landlord gave for shutting off your water?
*:* p****m**** Saturday August * *
What is the exact reason your landlord gave for shutting off your water?
So the whole that he just dug wouldn't fill up he did not leave my yard until *:* that night
What evidence do you have of the landlord's actions on August *, *?
My whole family me my *-year-old my wife my two-year-old
What actions did your landlord take on August *, *, and how did it affect your family?
I feel like the stress that has been caused has spiraled me into worse than my sickness stress is not good for me someone showing up to my house bullying me around my family I pay all my bills I'm not doing anything wrong to anybody it's not be able to cook and clean in my own house which I need to do to stay healthy I could only eat on processed foods which means cooking I kind of need the sink for that if he would have given me notice I would have gone somewhere else so we would have been able to get ready for my wife's Ferry event she was doing fairy hair for little girls birthday party and she couldn't even get taken a shower before we left we all suffered because he came over unannounced and shut off our water maybe my wife would have made more money if she didn't smell we'll never know maybe we would have all been in a way better mood we'll never know
What actions have you taken so far to address this issue with your landlord?

In Washington, landlords must provide essential services like water**** If they fail, tenants may sue for damages****
None
What steps are you planning to take next?
I need to know how much it cost for legal representation to go after him or if any since I'm sick with cancer I feel like somebody shouldn't have my back
What is your financial situation? Legal aid services might be available for low-income individuals**** In Washington, you can contact the Northwest Justice Project for free legal assistance****
Well I'm on Social Security I make * a month
What are your monthly expenses? This information will help determine if you qualify for free legal aid services****
*,*
What are your main sources of income to cover your monthly expenses?
Labor and industries I've had three shoulder surgeries and I'm getting retrained by all this is going on I'm in college as well
What is the nature of your retraining and how is it related to your shoulder surgeries?
Every training me should be an office assistant I'm in business and English right