Is it legal for the landlord to tell us ho wlong we may run our bathroom fan at one time?
Full Question:
My boyfriend and I rent an apartment, and recently a new upstairs neighbor moved in directly above us. On the first day she complained that our bathroom fans that come with the apt built into the ceiling are too loud for her and she cannot sleep. She again complained by leaving a post-it note on our door, telling us to "remember to turn our fan off when we get home". A week later, we were both in the seperate bathrooms "adjusting our level of comfort" 30 minutes before quiet hour, and the same upstairs neighbor pounded on our door, then after she got no response went and got the landlord, complaining that we do not need our bathroom fans on for extended periods of time. The landlord immediately demanded that if we do not turn off the fans, and NEVER have then on for more than 20 min at any given time he would give us a Written Noise Citation. Can the landlord tell us how and when to use our utilities when it is in regard to the bathroom fan?
10/18/2007 |
Category: Landlord Tenant |
State: Washington |
#10486
Answer:
The applicable Washington statutes are as follows:
RCW 59.18.020 Rights and remedies — Obligation of good faith imposed.
Every duty under this chapter and every act which must be performed as a
condition precedent to the exercise of a right or remedy under this chapter
imposes an obligation of good faith in its performance or enforcement.
RCW 59.18.130 Duties of tenant.
Each tenant shall pay the rental amount at such times and in such amounts
as provided for in the rental agreement or as otherwise provided by law and
comply with all obligations imposed upon tenants by applicable provisions
of all municipal, county, and state codes, statutes, ordinances, and
regulations, and in addition shall:
(1) Keep that part of the premises which he or she occupies and uses as
clean and sanitary as the conditions of the premises permit;
(2) Properly dispose from his or her dwelling unit all rubbish, garbage,
and other organic or flammable waste, in a clean and sanitary manner at
reasonable and regular intervals, and assume all costs of extermination and
fumigation for infestation caused by the tenant;
(3) Properly use and operate all electrical, gas, heating, plumbing and
other fixtures and appliances supplied by the landlord;
(4) Not intentionally or negligently destroy, deface, damage, impair, or
remove any part of the structure or dwelling, with the appurtenances
thereto, including the facilities, equipment, furniture, furnishings, and
appliances, or permit any member of his or her family, invitee, licensee,
or any person acting under his or her control to do so. Violations may be
prosecuted under chapter 9A.48 RCW if the destruction is intentional and
malicious;
(5) Not permit a nuisance or common waste;
(6) Not engage in drug-related activity at the rental premises, or allow
a subtenant, sublessee, resident, or anyone else to engage in drug-related
activity at the rental premises with the knowledge or consent of the
tenant. "Drug-related activity" means that activity which constitutes a
violation of chapter 69.41, 69.50, or 69.52 RCW;
(7) Maintain the smoke detection device in accordance with the
manufacturer's recommendations, including the replacement of batteries
where required for the proper operation of the smoke detection device, as
required in RCW 48.48.140(3);[fn*]
(8) Not engage in any activity at the rental premises that is:
(a) Imminently hazardous to the physical safety of other persons on the
premises; and
(b)(i) Entails physical assaults upon another person which result in an
arrest; or
(ii) Entails the unlawful use of a firearm or other deadly weapon as
defined in RCW 9A.04.110 which results in an arrest, including threatening
another tenant or the landlord with a firearm or other deadly weapon under
RCW 59.18.352. Nothing in this subsection (8) shall authorize the
termination of tenancy and eviction of the victim of a physical assault or
the victim of the use or threatened use of a firearm or other deadly
weapon;
(9) Not engage in any gang-related activity at the premises, as defined
in RCW 59.18.030, or allow another to engage in such activity at the
premises, that renders people in at least two or more dwelling units or
residences insecure in life or the use of property or that injures or
endangers the safety or health of people in at least two or more dwelling
units or residences. In determining whether a tenant is engaged in
gang-related activity, a court should consider the totality of the
circumstances, including factors such as whether there have been a
significant number of complaints to the landlord about the tenant's
activities at the property, damages done by the tenant to the property,
including the property of other tenants or neighbors, harassment or threats
made by the tenant to other tenants or neighbors that have been reported to
law enforcement agencies, any police incident reports involving the tenant,
and the tenant's criminal history; and
(10) Upon termination and vacation, restore the premises to their initial
condition except for reasonable wear and tear or conditions caused by
failure of the landlord to comply with his or her obligations under this
chapter: PROVIDED, That the tenant shall not be charged for normal cleaning
if he or she has paid a nonrefundable cleaning fee.
[fn*] RCW 48.48.140 was recodified as RCW 43.44.110 pursuant to 2006 c
25 § 13.
RCW 59.18.140 Reasonable obligations or restrictions — Tenant's duty to
conform.
The tenant shall conform to all reasonable obligations or restrictions,
whether denominated by the landlord as rules, rental agreement, rent, or
otherwise, concerning the use, occupation, and maintenance of his dwelling
unit, appurtenances thereto, and the property of which the dwelling unit is
a part if such obligations and restrictions are not in violation of any of
the terms of this chapter and are not otherwise contrary to law, and if
such obligations and restrictions are brought to the attention of the
tenant at the time of his initial occupancy of the dwelling unit and thus
become part of the rental agreement. Except for termination of tenancy,
after thirty days written notice to each affected tenant, a new rule of
tenancy including a change in the amount of rent may become effective upon
completion of the term of the rental agreement or sooner upon mutual
consent.
RCW 59.18.170 Landlord to give notice if tenant fails to carry out duties.
If at any time during the tenancy the tenant fails to carry out the
duties required by RCW 59.18.130 or 59.18.140, the landlord may, in
addition to pursuit of remedies otherwise provided by law, give written
notice to the tenant of said failure, which notice shall specify the nature
of the failure.