Unauthorized persons/removal

AN ACT Relating to the removal of unauthorized persons; and 1
amending RCW 9A.52.105 and 4.24.355. 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:3
Sec. 1. RCW 9A.52.105 and 2017 c 284 s 1 are each amended to 4
read as follows: 5
(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3) of this section and upon 6
the receipt of a declaration signed under penalty of perjury, in the 7
form prescribed in RCW 9A.52.115, declaring the truth of all of the 8
required elements set forth in subsection (4) of this section, a 9
peace officer shall have the authority to: 10
(a) Remove the person or persons from the premises, with or 11
without arresting the person or persons; and 12
(b) Order the person or persons to remain off the premises or be 13
subject to arrest for criminal trespass. 14
(2) Only a peace officer having probable cause to believe that a 15
person is guilty of criminal trespass under RCW 9A.52.070 for 16
knowingly entering or remaining unlawfully in a building considered 17
residential real property, as defined in RCW 61.24.005, has the 18
authority and discretion to make an arrest or exclude anyone under 19
penalty of criminal trespass. 20
S-0193.1
SENATE BILL 5538
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senator Fortunato
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(3) While a peace officer can take into account a declaration 1
from the property owner signed under penalty of perjury containing 2
all of the required elements and in the form prescribed in RCW 3
9A.52.115, the peace officer must provide the occupant or occupants 4
with a reasonable opportunity to secure and present any credible 5
evidence provided by the person or persons on the premises, which the 6
peace officer must consider, showing that the person or persons are 7
tenants, legal occupants, or the guests or invitees of tenants or 8
legal occupants. If the person or persons on the premises present 9
falsified or invalid documents to the peace officer including, but 10
not limited to, counterfeit or inauthentic rental agreements, they 11
may be guilty of making a false or misleading statement to a public 12
servant under RCW 9A.76.175 and give rise to a cause of action under 13
RCW 4.24.355.14
(4) The declaration must include the following elements:15
(a) That the declarant is the owner of the premises or the 16
authorized agent of the owner of the premises; 17
(b) That an unauthorized person or persons have entered and are 18
remaining unlawfully on the premises; 19
(c) That the person or persons were not authorized to enter or 20
remain; 21
(d) That the person or persons are not a tenant or tenants and 22
have not been a tenant or tenants, or a homeowner or homeowners who 23
have been on title, within the last ((twelve)) 12 months on the 24
property; 25
(e) That the declarant has demanded that the unauthorized person 26
or persons vacate the premises but they have not done so;27
(f) That the premises were not abandoned at the time the 28
unauthorized person or persons entered; 29
(g) That the premises were not open to members of the public at 30
the time the unauthorized person or persons entered;31
(h) That the declarant understands that a person or persons 32
removed from the premises pursuant to this section may bring a cause 33
of action under RCW 4.24.355 against the declarant for any false 34
statements made in the declaration, and that as a result of such 35
action the declarant may be held liable for actual damages, costs, 36
and reasonable attorneys' fees; 37
(i) That the declarant understands and acknowledges the 38
prohibitions in RCW 59.18.230 and 59.18.290 against taking or 39
detaining an occupant's personal property or removing or excluding an 40
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occupant from a dwelling unit or rental premises without an 1
authorizing court order; and 2
(j) That the declarant agrees to indemnify and hold harmless law 3
enforcement for its actions or omissions made in good faith pursuant 4
to the declaration. 5
(5) Neither the peace officer nor his or her law enforcement 6
agency shall be held liable for actions or omissions made in good 7
faith under this section. 8
(6) This section may not be construed to in any way limit rights 9
under RCW 61.24.060 or to allow a peace officer to remove or exclude 10
an occupant who is entitled to occupy a dwelling unit under a rental 11
agreement or the occupant's guests or invitees. 12
Sec. 2. RCW 4.24.355 and 2017 c 284 s 3 are each amended to read 13
as follows: 14
(1) All persons removed from premises pursuant to RCW 9A.52.105 15
on the basis of false statements made by a declarant pursuant to RCW 16
9A.52.115 shall have a cause of action to recover from the declarant 17
for actual damages, together with costs and reasonable attorneys' 18
fees. 19
(2) The declarant shall have a cause of action against any person 20
who presents falsified or invalid documents to a peace officer during 21
the process described in RCW 9A.52.105(3) to recover from the person 22
for actual damages, together with costs and reasonable attorneys' 23
fees.24
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