Washington does not allow a landlord to punish a tenant for using a legal right.
Retaliation questions that reach Ken Miller & Associates, PLLC follow a familiar shape.
A tenant reports a dead furnace or a mold problem, and three weeks later the rent jumps
or a termination notice appears on the door. Whether that breaks the law depends on
timing, motive, and what the landlord wrote down before the complaint arrived.
What counts as illegal retaliation under Washington law?
Illegal retaliation is an adverse action a landlord takes against a tenant because the tenant
exercised a right protected by the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, the state law at RCW
59.18 governing most residential rentals. RCW 59.18.240 defines a reprisal or retaliatory
action to include, but not be limited to, four responses a landlord cannot use as payback:
- Evicting the tenant
- Raising the rent
- Reducing services the tenancy already included
- Increasing the tenant’s obligations under the lease
Motive separates a lawful business decision from an unlawful one. An increase applied to
every unit on one schedule reads differently from one applied to a single unit two weeks
after that tenant called the city.
Which tenant actions are protected?
Two categories of conduct trigger the protection under RCW 59.18.240: complaining in
good faith to a government agency about a suspected code or health violation, and
asserting or enforcing rights under the Landlord-Tenant Act. Good faith means the tenant
genuinely believed the problem was real, not that an inspector later agreed.
A good-faith complaint or written repair request made to the landlord counts as asserting
a right, as does using the repair and deduct process in RCW 59.18.100. Separately, RCW
59.18.580 bars ending a tenancy because the tenant or a household member was a victim
of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
How does the 90 day presumption of retaliation work?
If a landlord takes one of the actions above within 90 days after a protected tenant act,
RCW 59.18.250 creates a rebuttable presumption that the action was retaliatory, shifting
the burden onto the landlord to prove a legitimate reason. Dates end up mattering more
than adjectives.
The presumption has limits. If the tenant was in arrears on rent or already in breach of the
lease when the landlord gave a termination notice, the presumption flips: the action is
presumed not to be retaliatory. No presumption arises on a rent increase if the landlord’s
notice states reasonable grounds, and the presumption on an eviction can be rebutted by
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showing that necessary repairs are not practical while the tenant remains in occupancy.
Outside the 90 day window a tenant can still prove retaliation, but the evidence has to
carry the weight on its own.
Can a landlord raise rent or end a tenancy after a tenant
complains?
Yes, when the reason is legitimate and was documented independently of the complaint.
Washington has required just cause to end most tenancies since 2021 under RCW
59.18.650, so a landlord cannot decline to renew and stay silent about why. Each cause
carries its own notice period: 14 days for nonpayment, 90 days when the owner or an
immediate family member intends to occupy the unit or the owner elects to sell a single-
family residence, and 120 days for demolition, substantial rehabilitation, or a change of
use.
Rent increases run on a separate track. The 2025 rent-stabilization law caps most annual
residential increases at the lesser of 7 percent plus inflation or 10 percent, holds
manufactured and mobile home lots to 5 percent, exempts buildings in their first 12 years,
and requires 90 days written notice. The Washington Department of Commerce publishes
the applicable maximum each year, and some cities require longer notice, so local
ordinances should be checked.
What should a tenant do about suspected retaliation?
Build the record early, because these cases are decided on documents and dates rather
than recollection.
Practical steps
Send repair requests by email or text rather than raising them in a hallway conversation,
since a timestamped message fixes the start of the 90 day window. File a complaint with
local code enforcement to create an independent record. Keep paying rent on time,
because arrears can flip the presumption in the landlord’s favor. Save every notice and
write down when each document was delivered.
Retaliation also works as a defense in an unlawful detainer case. A tenant who was
locked out has a claim under RCW 59.18.290 for actual damages, plus costs and attorney
fees; a tenant whose utilities were shut off has a claim under RCW 59.18.300 for actual
damages, a statutory penalty of up to $100 per day, and attorney fees.
How do landlords stay on the right side of the line?
Decide and document before the tenant complains, then apply the same rule to everyone.
Annual rent schedules and written maintenance logs hold up better than paperwork that
begins the week the notice went out. Finish the repair that prompted the complaint, keep
the increase within statutory caps, and give the full notice period rather than the shortest
one that seems defensible.
These disputes turn on narrow statutory windows, and the 90 day presumption rewards
whoever kept better records. Ken Miller & Associates, PLLC reviews notices, timelines,
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and correspondence for tenants facing a questionable rent increase or termination and for
landlords who want a defensible file before serving anything. Reach out through the
firm’s website while the deadlines still leave room to act.