Extreme heat/tenants

AN ACT Relating to protecting tenants from periods of extreme 1
heat; amending RCW 59.18.390; reenacting and amending RCW 59.18.060; 2
adding a new section to chapter 59.18 RCW; and adding a new section 3
to chapter 59.20 RCW. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 59.18 6
RCW to read as follows: 7
(1) A landlord may not prohibit or restrict a tenant from 8
installing a portable cooling device of the tenant's choosing, 9
unless: 10
(a) The installation of the portable cooling device would:11
(i) Violate building codes or state or federal law;12
(ii) Violate the portable cooling device manufacturer's written 13
safety guidelines for the device; 14
(iii) Cause unreasonable damage to the premises or render the 15
premises uninhabitable; or 16
(iv) Require amperage to power the portable cooling device that 17
cannot be accommodated by the power service to the building, dwelling 18
unit, or circuit. A landlord who limits the use of portable cooling 19
devices for this reason must prioritize allowing the use of portable 20
cooling devices for tenants who require a portable cooling device to 21
H-2638.1
HOUSE BILL 2265
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Mena, Peterson, Parshley, Reed, Ramel, Santos,
Street, Scott, Thomas, Doglio, Gregerson, Ormsby, Farivar, Hill,
Pollet, Salahuddin, and Wylie
Prefiled 01/06/26. Read first time 01/12/26. Referred to Committee
on Housing.
p. 1 HB 2265
accommodate a disability as defined by state and federal law. A 1
landlord is not responsible for any interruption in electrical 2
service that is not caused by the landlord, including interruptions 3
caused by an electrical supply's inability to accommodate the use of 4
a portable cooling device; 5
(b) The portable cooling device would be installed in a window, 6
and: 7
(i) The window is a necessary egress from the dwelling unit;8
(ii) The portable cooling device would interfere with the 9
tenant's ability to lock a window that is accessible from outside;10
(iii) The portable cooling device requires the excessive use of 11
brackets or other hardware that would damage or void the warranty of 12
the window or frame, puncture the exterior wall of the building, or 13
otherwise cause significant damages; 14
(iv) The installation of the portable cooling device in the 15
window would not allow for adequate drainage to prevent damage to the 16
dwelling unit or building; or 17
(v) The portable cooling device cannot be secured in a way that 18
prevents it from falling out of the window; or 19
(c) The dwelling already has a permanently installed and fully 20
operational heat pump that is capable of cooling the dwelling.21
(2) A landlord may not enforce a restriction on portable cooling 22
devices against a tenant unless the restriction is allowed under this 23
section and is delivered to the tenant in writing.24
(3) A landlord is immune from liability for any claim for 25
damages, injury, or death caused by a portable cooling device 26
installed by the tenant. 27
(4) A landlord must include written information in the rental 28
agreement or lease notifying a tenant of the tenant's rights, 29
responsibilities, and restrictions related to installation and 30
operation of a portable cooling device. 31
(5) For the purposes of this section, a "portable cooling device" 32
means air conditioners and evaporative coolers, including devices 33
mounted in a window or that are designed to sit on the floor but not 34
including devices whose installation or use requires alteration to 35
the dwelling unit. 36
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 59.20 37
RCW to read as follows: 38
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(1) A landlord may not prohibit or restrict a tenant from 1
installing a portable cooling device of the tenant's choosing, 2
unless: 3
(a) The installation of the portable cooling device would:4
(i) Violate building codes or state or federal law;5
(ii) Violate the portable cooling device manufacturer's written 6
safety guidelines for the device; 7
(iii) Cause unreasonable damage to the manufactured/mobile home 8
or manufactured/mobile home community; or 9
(iv) Require amperage to power the portable cooling device that 10
cannot be accommodated by the power service to the manufactured/11
mobile home community, manufactured/mobile home, or circuit. A 12
landlord who limits the use of portable cooling devices for this 13
reason must prioritize allowing the use of portable cooling devices 14
for tenants who require a portable cooling device to accommodate a 15
disability as defined by state and federal law. A landlord is not 16
responsible for any interruption in electrical service that is not 17
caused by the landlord, including interruptions caused by an 18
electrical supply's inability to accommodate the use of a portable 19
cooling device; 20
(b) The portable cooling device would be installed in a window, 21
and: 22
(i) The window is a necessary egress from the manufactured/mobile 23
home; 24
(ii) The portable cooling device would interfere with the 25
tenant's ability to lock a window that is accessible from outside;26
(iii) The portable cooling device requires the excessive use of 27
brackets or other hardware that would damage or void the warranty of 28
the window or frame, puncture the exterior wall of the manufactured/29
mobile home, or otherwise cause significant damages;30
(iv) The installation of the portable cooling device in the 31
window would not allow for adequate drainage to prevent damage to the 32
manufactured/mobile home; or 33
(v) The portable cooling device cannot be secured in a way that 34
prevents it from falling out of the window; or 35
(c) The manufactured/mobile home already has a permanently 36
installed and fully operational heat pump that is capable of cooling 37
the manufactured/mobile home. 38
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(2) A landlord may not enforce a restriction on portable cooling 1
devices against a tenant unless the restriction is allowed under this 2
section and is delivered to the tenant in writing. 3
(3) A landlord is immune from liability for any claim for 4
damages, injury, or death caused by a portable cooling device 5
installed by the tenant. 6
(4) A landlord must include written information in the rental 7
agreement or lease notifying a tenant of the tenant's rights, 8
responsibilities, and restrictions related to installation and 9
operation of a portable cooling device. 10
(5) For the purposes of this section, a "portable cooling device" 11
means air conditioners and evaporative coolers, including devices 12
mounted in a window or that are designed to sit on the floor but not 13
including devices whose installation or use requires alteration to 14
the manufactured/mobile home. 15
Sec. 3. RCW 59.18.060 and 2023 c 331 s 5 and 2023 c 105 s 8 are 16
each reenacted and amended to read as follows: 17
The landlord will at all times during the tenancy keep the 18
premises fit for human habitation, and shall in particular:19
(1) Maintain the premises to substantially comply with any 20
applicable code, statute, ordinance, or regulation governing their 21
maintenance or operation, which the legislative body enacting the 22
applicable code, statute, ordinance or regulation could enforce as to 23
the premises rented if such condition endangers or impairs the health 24
or safety of the tenant; 25
(2) Maintain the structural components including, but not limited 26
to, the roofs, floors, walls, chimneys, fireplaces, foundations, and 27
all other structural components, in reasonably good repair so as to 28
be usable; 29
(3) Keep any shared or common areas reasonably clean, sanitary, 30
and safe from defects increasing the hazards of fire or accident;31
(4) Provide a reasonable program for the control of infestation 32
by insects, rodents, and other pests at the initiation of the tenancy 33
and, except in the case of a single-family residence, control 34
infestation during tenancy except where such infestation is caused by 35
the tenant; 36
(5) Except where the condition is attributable to wear resulting 37
from ordinary use of the premises, make repairs and arrangements 38
necessary to put and keep the premises in as good condition as it by 39
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law or rental agreement should have been, at the commencement of the 1
tenancy; 2
(6) Provide reasonably adequate locks and furnish keys to the 3
tenant; 4
(7) Maintain and safeguard with reasonable care any master key or 5
duplicate keys to the dwelling unit; 6
(8) Maintain all electrical, plumbing, heating, cooling, and 7
other facilities and appliances supplied by him or her in reasonably 8
good working order; 9
(9) Maintain the dwelling unit in reasonably weathertight 10
condition; 11
(10) Except in the case of a single-family residence, provide and 12
maintain appropriate receptacles in common areas for the removal of 13
ashes, rubbish, and garbage, incidental to the occupancy and arrange 14
for the reasonable and regular removal of such waste;15
(11) Provide facilities adequate to supply ((heat)) heating and 16
cooling and water and hot water as reasonably required by the tenant;17
(a) The landlord may not effect an involuntary termination of 18
electric utility or water service due to lack of payment to any 19
tenant on any day for which the national weather service has issued 20
or has announced that it intends to issue a heat-related alert, such 21
as an ((excessive)) extreme heat warning, a heat advisory, an 22
((excessive)) extreme heat watch, or a similar alert, for the area in 23
which the tenant's address is located. 24
(b)(i) A tenant at whose dwelling electric or water utility 25
service has been disconnected for lack of payment may request that 26
the landlord reconnect service on any day for which the national 27
weather service has issued or has announced that it intends to issue 28
a heat-related alert, such as an ((excessive)) extreme heat warning, 29
a heat advisory, an ((excessive)) extreme heat watch, or a similar 30
alert, for the area in which the tenant's address is located. The 31
landlord shall inform all tenants in the notice of disconnection of 32
the ability to seek reconnection and provide clear and specific 33
information on how to make that request, including how to contact the 34
landlord. 35
(ii) Upon receipt of a request made pursuant to (b)(i) of this 36
subsection, the landlord shall promptly make a reasonable attempt to 37
reconnect service to the dwelling. The landlord, in connection with a 38
request made pursuant to (b)(i) of this subsection, may require the 39
tenant to enter into a payment plan prior to reconnecting service to 40
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the dwelling. If the landlord requires the tenant to enter into a 1
repayment plan, the repayment plan must comply with (c) of this 2
subsection. 3
(c) A repayment plan required by a landlord pursuant to (b)(i) of 4
this subsection will be designed both to pay the past due bill by the 5
following May 15th, or as soon as possible after May 15th if needed 6
to maintain monthly payments that are no greater than six percent of 7
the tenant's monthly income, and to pay for continued utility 8
service. The plan may not require monthly payments in excess of six 9
percent of the tenant's monthly income. A tenant may agree to pay a 10
higher percentage during this period, but will not be in default 11
unless payment during this period is less than six percent of the 12
tenant's monthly income. If assistance payments are received by the 13
tenant subsequent to implementation of the plan, the tenant shall 14
contact the landlord to reformulate the plan; 15
(12)(a) Provide a written notice to all tenants disclosing fire 16
safety and protection information. The landlord or his or her 17
authorized agent must provide a written notice to the tenant that the 18
dwelling unit is equipped with a smoke detection device as required 19
in RCW 43.44.110. The notice shall inform the tenant of the tenant's 20
responsibility to maintain the smoke detection device in proper 21
operating condition and of penalties for failure to comply with the 22
provisions of RCW 43.44.110(3). The notice must be signed by the 23
landlord or the landlord's authorized agent and tenant with copies 24
provided to both parties. Further, except with respect to a single-25
family residence, the written notice must also disclose the 26
following: 27
(i) Whether the smoke detection device is hard-wired or battery 28
operated; 29
(ii) Whether the building has a fire sprinkler system;30
(iii) Whether the building has a fire alarm system;31
(iv) Whether the building has a smoking policy, and what that 32
policy is; 33
(v) Whether the building has an emergency notification plan for 34
the occupants and, if so, provide a copy to the occupants;35
(vi) Whether the building has an emergency relocation plan for 36
the occupants and, if so, provide a copy to the occupants; and37
(vii) Whether the building has an emergency evacuation plan for 38
the occupants and, if so, provide a copy to the occupants.39
p. 6 HB 2265
(b) The information required under this subsection may be 1
provided to a tenant in a multifamily residential building either as 2
a written notice or as a checklist that discloses whether the 3
building has fire safety and protection devices and systems. The 4
checklist shall include a diagram showing the emergency evacuation 5
routes for the occupants. 6
(c) The written notice or checklist must be provided to new 7
tenants at the time the lease or rental agreement is signed;8
(13) Provide tenants with information provided or approved by the 9
department of health about the health hazards associated with 10
exposure to indoor mold. Information may be provided in written 11
format individually to each tenant, or may be posted in a visible, 12
public location at the dwelling unit property. The information must 13
detail how tenants can control mold growth in their dwelling units to 14
minimize the health risks associated with indoor mold. Landlords may 15
obtain the information from the department's website or, if requested 16
by the landlord, the department must mail the information to the 17
landlord in a printed format. When developing or changing the 18
information, the department of health must include representatives of 19
landlords in the development process. The information must be 20
provided by the landlord to new tenants at the time the lease or 21
rental agreement is signed; 22
(14) The landlord and his or her agents and employees are immune 23
from civil liability for failure to comply with subsection (13) of 24
this section except where the landlord and his or her agents and 25
employees knowingly and intentionally do not comply with subsection 26
(13) of this section; and 27
(15) Designate to the tenant the name and address of the person 28
who is the landlord by a statement on the rental agreement or by a 29
notice conspicuously posted on the premises. The tenant shall be 30
notified immediately of any changes in writing, which must be either 31
(a) delivered personally to the tenant or (b) mailed to the tenant 32
and conspicuously posted on the premises. If the person designated in 33
this section does not reside in the state where the premises are 34
located, there shall also be designated a person who resides in the 35
county who is authorized to act as an agent for the purposes of 36
service of notices and process, and if no designation is made of a 37
person to act as agent, then the person to whom rental payments are 38
to be made shall be considered such agent. Regardless of such 39
designation, any owner who resides outside the state and who violates 40
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a provision of this chapter is deemed to have submitted himself or 1
herself to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state and personal 2
service of any process may be made on the owner outside the state 3
with the same force and effect as personal service within the state. 4
Any summons or process served out-of-state must contain the same 5
information and be served in the same manner as personal service of 6
summons or process served within the state, except the summons or 7
process must require the party to appear and answer within 60 days 8
after such personal service out of the state. In an action for a 9
violation of this chapter that is filed under chapter 12.40 RCW, 10
service of the notice of claim outside the state must contain the 11
same information and be served in the same manner as required under 12
chapter 12.40 RCW, except the date on which the party is required to 13
appear must not be less than 60 days from the date of service of the 14
notice of claim. 15
No duty shall devolve upon the landlord to repair a defective 16
condition under this section, nor shall any defense or remedy be 17
available to the tenant under this chapter, where the defective 18
condition complained of was caused by the conduct of such tenant, his 19
or her family, invitee, or other person acting under his or her 20
control, or where a tenant unreasonably fails to allow the landlord 21
access to the property for purposes of repair. When the duty imposed 22
by subsection (1) of this section is incompatible with and greater 23
than the duty imposed by any other provisions of this section, the 24
landlord's duty shall be determined pursuant to subsection (1) of 25
this section. 26
Sec. 4. RCW 59.18.390 and 2019 c 356 s 8 are each amended to 27
read as follows: 28
(1) The sheriff shall, upon receiving the writ of restitution, 29
forthwith serve a copy thereof upon the tenant, his or her agent, or 30
attorney, or a person in possession of the premises, and shall not 31
execute the same for three days thereafter. 32
(2) The sheriff may not execute the writ of restitution or 33
physically evict a tenant during a period of extreme heat. For the 34
purposes of this subsection, a "period of extreme heat" means a 35
period of time beginning 24 hours before the effective time of any 36
heat-related alert announced in advance by the national weather 37
service, or beginning at the effective time of any heat-related alert 38
issued without advance announcement by the national weather service, 39
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and ending 48 hours after the expiration or cancellation of any heat-1
related alert issued by the national weather service, such as an 2
extreme heat warning, a heat advisory, an extreme heat watch, or a 3
similar alert, for the area in which the tenant's address is located. 4
If multiple heat-related alerts overlap or are sequential, a "period 5
of extreme heat" includes all the overlapping or sequential heat-6
related alerts and continues uninterrupted until 48 hours after the 7
expiration or cancellation of the last heat-related alert announced 8
or issued by the national weather service. 9
(3) After the issuance of a writ of restitution, acceptance of a 10
payment by the landlord that only partially satisfies the judgment 11
will not invalidate the writ unless pursuant to a written agreement 12
executed by both parties. The eviction will not be postponed or 13
stopped unless a copy of that written agreement is provided to the 14
sheriff. It is the responsibility of the tenant to ensure a copy of 15
the agreement is provided to the sheriff. Upon receipt of the 16
agreement, the sheriff will cease action unless ordered to do 17
otherwise by the court. 18
(4) The writ of restitution and the notice that accompanies the 19
writ of restitution required under RCW 59.18.312 shall conspicuously 20
state in boldface type, all capitals, not less than twelve points 21
information about partial payments and heat-related alerts as set 22
forth in subsection (((2))) (8) of this section. 23
(5) If the writ of restitution has been based upon a finding by 24
the court that the tenant, subtenant, sublessee, or a person residing 25
at the rental premises has engaged in drug-related activity or has 26
allowed any other person to engage in drug-related activity at those 27
premises with his or her knowledge or approval, neither the tenant 28
nor a person in possession of the premises shall be entitled to post 29
a bond in order to retain possession of the premises.30
(6) The writ may be served by the sheriff, in the event he or she 31
shall be unable to find the tenant, an agent or attorney, or a person 32
in possession of the premises, by affixing a copy of the writ in a 33
conspicuous place upon the premises: PROVIDED, That the sheriff shall 34
not require any bond for the service or execution of the writ.35
(7) The sheriff shall be immune from all civil liability for 36
serving and enforcing writs of restitution unless the sheriff is 37
grossly negligent in carrying out his or her duty.38
p. 9 HB 2265
(((2))) (8) The notice accompanying a writ of restitution 1
required under RCW 59.18.312 shall be substantially similar to the 2
following: 3
IMPORTANT NOTICE - PARTIAL PAYMENTS4
YOUR LANDLORD'S ACCEPTANCE OF A PARTIAL PAYMENT FROM YOU AFTER 5
SERVICE OF THIS WRIT OF RESTITUTION WILL NOT AUTOMATICALLY POSTPONE 6
OR STOP YOUR EVICTION. IF YOU HAVE A WRITTEN AGREEMENT WITH YOUR 7
LANDLORD THAT THE EVICTION WILL BE POSTPONED OR STOPPED, IT IS YOUR 8
RESPONSIBILITY TO PROVIDE A COPY OF THE AGREEMENT TO THE SHERIFF. THE 9
SHERIFF WILL NOT CEASE ACTION UNLESS YOU PROVIDE A COPY OF THE 10
AGREEMENT. AT THE DIRECTION OF THE COURT THE SHERIFF MAY TAKE FURTHER 11
ACTION.12
IMPORTANT NOTICE - PERIODS OF EXTREME HEAT13
THE SHERIFF CANNOT PHYSICALLY EVICT YOU DURING PERIODS OF EXTREME 14
HEAT. IF THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED OR HAS ANNOUNCED 15
THAT IT INTENDS TO ISSUE A HEAT-RELATED ALERT, SUCH AS AN EXTREME 16
HEAT WARNING, A HEAT ADVISORY, AN EXTREME HEAT WATCH, OR A SIMILAR 17
ALERT, FOR THE AREA IN WHICH YOUR ADDRESS IS LOCATED, THE SHERIFF 18
MUST DELAY EXECUTING THE WRIT OF RESTITUTION AND CANNOT PHYSICALLY 19
EVICT YOU UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER THE HEAT-RELATED ALERT EXPIRES OR IS 20
CANCELED. IF THE HEAT-RELATED ALERT IS ANNOUNCED IN ADVANCE BY THE 21
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, YOUR PROTECTION AGAINST PHYSICAL EVICTION 22
BEGINS 24 HOURS BEFORE THE EFFECTIVE TIME OF THE HEAT-RELATED ALERT. 23
THIS NOTICE IS REQUIRED BY WASHINGTON STATE LAW IN RCW 59.18.390.24
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