Washington tenant screening laws

Before obtaining any information about an applicant, tell the applicant in writing, or by posting, what types of information you will use, what criteria may lead to denial, the consumer reporting agency's name and address if you use a consumer report along with the applicant's rights to a free copy and to dispute it, and whether you accept a comprehensive reusable tenant screening report. You may charge for a screening report only if you gave that notice (RCW 59.18.257; RCW 59.18.253).

• If you screen applicants yourself, you may charge your actual costs, but no more than the customary costs of a screening service in the area (RCW 59.18.257(1)(b)(ii)).
• If you accept a reusable screening report, you may still run your own screening as long as the applicant is not charged for it. A landlord with a website advertising the unit must say on the property's home page whether it accepts a reusable report (RCW 59.18.257(1)(a)(iv), (2)).
• If you deny an application or approve it with conditions, give a written adverse action notice stating the reasons, substantially in the statutory form (RCW 59.18.257(1)(c)).
• Failing to give the notice before screening can cost up to $100 plus court costs and attorneys' fees (RCW 59.18.257(3)).
• You may not charge a fee to be placed on a waiting list, and a holding fee after the unit is offered may not exceed 25 percent of the first month's rent; the cost of screening is not part of a holding fee (RCW 59.18.253(1), (3), (4)(b)).
• Keep screening procedure separate from the rules governing which records you may use. RCW 59.18.257 sets the advance notice, screening-cost and written adverse-action requirements; it does not establish a statewide blanket criminal-history rejection rule. A disclosed criterion and a completed notice do not by themselves make a decision lawful. Check the applicable civil rights, consumer reporting and local requirements before requesting or using records (RCW 59.18.257).
• A written court order can limit dissemination of an eviction action when the case lacked a sufficient factual or legal basis, the tenancy was reinstated, or other good cause exists. For the person covered by that order, a tenant screening service must omit the action from its report and cannot use it in a score or recommendation. This protection depends on the order; this section does not impose a general seven-year limit on all eviction records (RCW 59.18.367).See Eviction process on the Washington page
• Washington separately limits what consumer reporting agencies may include in reports. Medical debt is prohibited. Other record categories have different age rules: bankruptcy has a ten-year limit, while suits and judgments use seven years or the applicable limitations period, whichever is longer. Other listed adverse records generally have seven-year rules, with specified exceptions for certain credit, insurance and employment reports. Do not turn these reporting limits into a blanket rule allowing or forbidding every landlord screening decision (RCW 19.182.040).

Washington bars discrimination in renting because of sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, families with children, honorably discharged veteran or military status, disability, or use of a trained dog guide or service animal. It is also unlawful to refuse, discourage or treat differently a tenant because of lawful source of income, such as a housing voucher or other assistance (RCW 49.60.222(1); RCW 59.18.255).

• Allow reasonable modifications at the tenant's expense and make reasonable accommodations in rules and practices for a person with a disability; a landlord may, where reasonable, require restoring the interior when a modified rental is vacated. These two duties do not apply to an owner renting a single-family house who owns no more than three, with no broker and no discriminatory ad, or to an owner who lives in a building of up to four units (RCW 49.60.222(2)).
• If you set a minimum income, subtract any voucher or subsidy from the rent before applying the test (RCW 59.18.255(3)).
• A source of income violation can cost up to four and one-half times the monthly rent, plus costs and attorneys' fees (RCW 59.18.255(4)).
• Ads and notices may not show a preference or limitation based on a protected class or on source of income (RCW 49.60.222(1)(g); RCW 59.18.255(2)).
• The state law against discrimination does not apply to renting a room or part of a unit the owner lives in (RCW 49.60.222(7)).
• Seattle has separate Fair Chance Housing protections. The Office for Civil Rights says that, following a Ninth Circuit ruling, it stopped enforcing the criminal-history inquiry ban on June 6, 2023. Its current guidance says it continues enforcing the other portions, including restrictions, subject to exceptions, on requiring disclosure of criminal history or taking adverse action based on it. The city also prohibits advertising that categorically excludes people with criminal records. Do not treat the inquiry ruling as permission to require disclosure or reject an applicant; confirm the current city requirements and any applicable exception before acting (Seattle Office for Civil Rights: criminal history protections).