Olympia, WA Rental Inspections: Tenant Complaint Process (2026)

The Olympia Municipal Code builds tenant complaints into the Rental Housing Code, Chapter 5.82, for rentals in the City of Olympia, Thurston County, Washington. Under 5.82.070(F), at each new lease or renewal the landlord gives the tenant the City's tenant rights information document, which must identify and provide contact information for City staff that a tenant can contact if the tenant believes rights under the chapter have been violated. The landlord also posts information about the City's rental housing and safety inspection program at each registered unit or in a common area.

Section 5.82.090(A)(2) states that the periodic inspection program does not preclude inspection of a rental property or its units under RCW 59.18.115, RCW 59.18.150 or other applicable law, under a valid search warrant, or at the request or consent of a tenant. The tenant notice form for scheduled inspections must tell a tenant with a disability who could be harmed by entry that they can request a reasonable accommodation from the City, including the City picking an alternate unit.

Complaints carry consequences. A tenant complaint alleging a municipal code violation can end the immediate-family exemption from registration under 5.82.070(B)(2). Reports of violations or health and safety conditions since the last inspection let the City require inspection of 100 percent of a property's units under 5.82.090(D)(5), and the 10-year certificate-of-occupancy exemption in 5.82.090(B)(1)(c) depends on no such reports reaching the City.

For repairs, 5.82.110(A) lets a tenant give the landlord written notice under RCW 59.18.070 of a defective condition, naming the premises, the owner if known and the condition, before the effective date of a rent increase. Section 5.82.160 prohibits retaliation and presumes it when the action follows within 90 days of the tenant asserting a right. Under 5.82.170(A) to (C), an injured tenant can bring an action in Thurston County Superior Court or any other court of competent jurisdiction, and a landlord's noncompliance is a defense to an action to recover possession.