Finally Saying Goodbye to COVID Disclosures on Notices? Not Really.

During the COVID Public Emergency period, February 29, 2024, through October 31, 2022 the cities of Burien, Kenmore, Kirkland, and Seattle, all required unique COVID-related tenant’s rights disclosures on Pay or Vacate notices. Seattle requires an additional disclosure through April 30, 2023. You would think these would have gone away by now. However, if a notice includes unpaid rent from within that emergency period, the rights and related disclosures still apply. Therefore, we have kept them around. Now, we are hearing of tenants’ attorneys arguing (and winning) that the disclosures are confusing because in most cases, they do not apply to the tenant. Therefore, we have revised a few of these notice forms to be clearer, based on when the owed rent was due. There are standard 14-day and 30-day CARES Act versions for Burien, Kenmore, Kirkland and Seattle on our forms page at RHAwa.org/rental-forms-leases-notices, and all updated forms are available for download in Azibo.

For more information in the CARES Act, see RHAwa.org/blog/new-guidance-for-vacate-notices--on-cares-act-covered-propertiesFormal legal advice and review is recommended prior to selection and use of this information.

RHAWA does not represent your selection or execution of this information as appropriate for your specific circumstance. The material contained and represented herein, although obtained from reliable sources, is not considered legal advice or to be used as a substitution for legal counsel.