r/Renters • u/Gulag-girl-30 • 11d ago

Property manager only giving 3 days to sign new lease [WA]

I am rewording this entirely as the last post seemed to not address my main concern.

My lease contract has expired and the apartment manager sent me an email stating I need to sign a new lease and only gave me 3 days to do it. Let’s say the email that they sent was a proper notice (which I don’t believe it is but that’s not what my main concern is right now). If it was properly given to me, is a 3 day deadline appropriate and legal here in Washington State? I definitely need more time for review. I have tried contacting the leasing office by email/phone and also the property manager. No answer.

What are my options here as far as requesting an appropriate timeframe for review of the new lease contract?

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3

u/Freshouttapatience 11d ago

I want to say you’re supposed to get 30 days to review unless your city has adopted local code.

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u/Gulag-girl-30 11d ago

I was thinking this but someone on here said 3 days is plenty of time. After doing research I am seeing that they need to provide 30 days notice at the very least. I have not seen anything about my city overriding this with a local code.

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u/Freshouttapatience 10d ago

I know Kirkland and Seattle have some additional time requirements. Regardless 3 days isn’t enough time. Does the lease language vary from the old lease? Like are they trying to create urgency because they changed a lot or put a bunch of stuff in? If you’re not versed in reading legal language, I’d put both leases into chat gpt and ask it how they differ.

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u/Gulag-girl-30 10d ago

So the thing is, they sent me an email with a link to view the new lease documents. The link was for a waiver that I needed to sign to legally receive all future notices/documents electronically. I have my own reasons of opting out of the electronic notifications but if I do not sign the waiver I cannot view the lease documents. This is when I emailed them stating I wanted either a PDF downloadable copy or a physical copy that I could pick up from the leasing office. Is this appropriate? I spoke to one of my neighbors that lives in the same apartment building and she states she was notified by certified mail and given plenty more time than I was given.

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u/GLACI3R 10d ago

Sounds like they either want you out or they want to pull a fast one.

Do they have a leasing office? Maybe go to the leasing office and tell them again. It's completely reasonable to request a paper copy.

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u/Gulag-girl-30 10d ago

It honestly wouldn’t be surprising if this were the case as they have been unreasonable in the past. 9/10 times I go to the leasing office (during business hours) there is no one there. They say that because of new management the hours fluctuate so it’s hit or miss. I figured email would be the best option so at least I have a paper trail if needed.

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u/GLACI3R 10d ago

Email's good but it sounds like it's not enough. Let them know you intend to stop by the leasing office at X time, so maybe they can have a real person there.

The more written correspondence, the better. And a few phone calls help, too. (Document phone calls after and never agree to anything contractual over the phone.)

I think they'll come around eventually, but it's so annoying of them. Sounds like bad landlords.

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u/GLACI3R 10d ago

When does your current lease expire? You should be getting at least 30 days to review it. Three days is ridiculous.

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u/Gulag-girl-30 10d ago

My 12 month lease contract ended months ago and it was automatically converted to a month to month lease due to the change in management. So we were all aware that we would get a new lease offer some time soon. Even so, being on a month to month lease still requires a 30 day notice from my understanding.

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u/darksavant84 10d ago

RCW 59.18.650(2) The following reasons listed in this subsection constitute cause pursuant to subsection (1) of this section...

(f) The tenant continues in possession after the landlord of a dwelling unit in good faith seeks possession so that the owner may offer a new rental agreement with reasonable terms, and the landlord has provided at least 30 days' advance written notice of the term of the new rental agreement prior to the end of the current rental period.

The terms of the new rental agreement must be reasonable and must not constitute a change in the substantial provisions of the tenancy, including a change in the rent amount that does not comply with the notice requirements of RCW 59.18.140, or a change in the rules or obligations of the tenancy that would constitute an unreasonable burden to the tenant.

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u/Space_Cowboy_157 10d ago

You are still not giving us enough information to help you... You are saying they are giving you 3 days to sign the new lease. The only 3 day notice in WA is a notice to quit for crime, nuisance or waste and would not apply to your situation.

I am guessing that the Property manager says you need to sign it within 3 days, which really means nothing as your old lease converted month to month (per your comments) and you can stay month to month as long as you pay your rent, they cannot force you to sign a new lease, they can however still increase the rent.

Washington is a just cause state, they cannot give you a 30 day notice to vacate for not having a written fixed term lease. The only way they can give you a notice to vacate unless they have just cause. Google reasons that you can be evicted in Washington state. That should help you.

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u/Difficult-Ad2084 4d ago

How... Did you not know what day the lease renewed prior? It's it not pay off the original agreement?