The following is a letter sent to Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson by the Housing Development Consortium on behalf of the undersigned requesting a change to the city’s 3-Day Notice to Quit.
Dear Mayor Wilson,
The undersigned affordable housing and permanent supportive housing providers write to request that the City’s upcoming rental reform legislation include a critical fix to Seattle’s 3-Day Notice to Quit. Specifically, we ask that the City repeal the current language under SMC 22.205.010.P and replace it with the state’s language under RCW 59.18.650(2)(c). The attached policy brief details the legal and operational case for this change. We write to share why it matters for the residents and staff in our buildings.
Our organizations share the City’s deep commitment to housing stability. We build, operate, and maintain affordable and permanent supportive housing because we believe everyone deserves a safe, stable home. The overwhelming majority of our work is helping low-income families and individuals become and stay housed, and eviction is always a last resort.
But stable housing requires safe housing. In rare but serious situations, a resident’s behavior poses an immediate threat to the health, safety, and well-being of an entire building: sustained harassment, threats of violence, dangerous criminal conduct. The residents who suffer most in these situations are their neighbors, people who have often already experienced trauma and instability, and who depend on their home being a place of safety. Site staff, who are on the front lines of these emergencies and who build trusting relationships with residents every day, are also directly at risk. When these situations cannot be resolved, the harm falls on the people our housing is meant to serve.
Seattle’s current 3-Day Notice to Quit was intended to address exactly these emergencies. In practice, it has become unusable. Courts have interpreted the City’s language to effectively require formal police reports or criminal charges, even when providers have direct evidence of dangerous conduct. The ordinance’s narrow scope excludes serious behavior like sustained harassment and threats to staff. A procedural requirement to copy the notice to SDCI has been used to invalidate otherwise legitimate cases on technicalities. And the passage of the statewide Just Cause law created a dual-compliance burden that compounds these problems.
The state’s 3-Day Notice to Quit language, already in effect across the rest of Washington, provides a tested and balanced standard that better serves residents and staff. It requires conduct to be substantial and unreasonable, or repeated and unreasonable, and focuses on actual harm to health, safety, and quiet enjoyment. Issuing a notice under the state standard does not immediately remove anyone from their home. The housing provider must prove the allegations before a judge, where tenants have guaranteed legal representation. Additionally, courts apply a high evidentiary bar for what constitutes substantial or repeated and unreasonable interference; cases that do not meet that standard are dismissed. These protections remain fully intact, and abuse of the state’s 3-Day Notice has not been a reported problem elsewhere in Washington.
This is a narrow, targeted reform that would protect the residents and staff who are most at risk in our buildings. We respectfully ask that it be included in the rental fee reform legislation moving forward this year, and we welcome the opportunity to work with your office and other stakeholders to ensure this change serves the people it is meant to protect.
Sincerely,
Archdiocesan Housing Authority
Beacon Development Group
Bellwether Housing
Catholic Community Services of Western Washington
Compass Housing Alliance
GMD Development
Housing Development Consortium
HumanGood Affordable Housing
Low Income Housing Institute
Mt. Baker Housing
Plymouth Housing
SCIDpda
SouthEast Effective Development
SRM Development
TWG Development & TWG Management