Rental Property Rules in Spokane, WA (2026)
4 verified rental property rules for Spokane, Washington, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Rent Control
Washington RCW 35.21.830 has historically preempted local rent control. In 2024, HB 2114 and related legislation adjusted the landscape. Spokane has no rent-control ordinance and relies on RCW 59.18 landlord-tenant rules. Rent increase notice is 60 days under state law.
Rental Property: Rent Control
Few RestrictionsRCW 35.21.830
The imposition of controls on rent is of statewide significance and is preempted by the state. No city or town of any class may enact, maintain, or enforce ordinances or other provisions which regulate the amount of rent to be charged for single-family or multiple-unit residential rental structures or sites other than properties in public ownership, under public management, or properties provid...
Just Cause Eviction
Spokane landlords must comply with Washington HB 1236 (2021), which requires just cause to terminate any residential tenancy. Sixteen enumerated reasons include nonpayment, lease violations, owner move-in, and substantial renovation, each with specific notice periods.
Rental Property: Just Cause Eviction
Heavy RestrictionsRCW 59.18.650(1)
(1)(a) A landlord may not evict a tenant, refuse to continue a tenancy, or end a periodic tenancy except for the causes enumerated in subsection (2) of this section and as otherwise provided in this subsection. (b) If a landlord and tenant enter into a rental agreement that provides for the tenancy to continue for an indefinite period on a month-to-month or periodic basis after the agreement ex...
Relocation Assistance
Under RCW 59.18.650, Spokane landlords ending tenancies for owner move-in, substantial rehabilitation, or rental-market withdrawal must provide tenants with relocation assistance equal to one month's rent.
Spokane Relocation Assistance for Owner Move-In and Rehab
Some RestrictionsRCW 59.18.650(4)-(6)
(4) A landlord who removes a tenant or causes a tenant to be removed from a dwelling in any way in violation of this section is liable to the tenant for wrongful eviction, and the tenant prevailing in such an action is entitled to the greater of their economic and noneconomic damages or three times the monthly rent of the dwelling at issue, and reasonable attorneys' fees and court costs. (5) No...
No-Fault Evictions
WA HB 1236 (2021), codified at RCW 59.18.650, eliminated most no-fault month-to-month terminations statewide, requiring Spokane landlords to cite an enumerated just-cause reason to end any tenancy.
Spokane No-Fault Eviction Limits Under HB 1236
Heavy RestrictionsRCW 59.18.650(2)(d)-(e)
(d) The tenant continues in possession after the landlord of a dwelling unit in good faith seeks possession so that the owner or his or her immediate family may occupy the unit as that person's principal residence and no substantially equivalent unit is vacant and available to house the owner or his or her immediate family in the same building, and the owner has provided at least 90 days' advan...
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County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Spokane city rules.
Rental Property Rules in Spokane County →