Issaquah, WA Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

IMC 16.04.100 adopts the 2021 Edition of the International Property Maintenance Code, published by the International Code Council, excluding Chapter 1, Scope and Administration. Enforcement runs through Chapter 8.45 IMC instead. The Issaquah text prints only the amendments, in four parts.

First, a new definition of rodent harborage is added to Section 202: any space where rodents live, nest or seek shelter, or any condition that provides shelter, food, or protection for rodents in, under or outside of a structure of any kind, or an accumulation of any type of material that offers rodents such shelter or protection. Second, Section 302.4, Weeds, is deleted; vegetation on building lots is handled by the fire code amendment at IMC 16.06.045. Third, new Section 302.10 says cargo containers, except as otherwise permitted by Issaquah Municipal Code Title 18, shall not be used as storage buildings. A container the land use code does permit as a storage building must have a foundation system giving adequate clearance from the ground to prevent deterioration, plus an anchorage system against sliding or overturning by wind or seismic forces. Semi-trailers shall not be used as storage buildings. Fourth, new Section 302.11 lists additional nuisances: human or animal waste, poison, poison oak or ivy or noxious substance left in a manner reasonably offensive to the public; obstructing or making unsafe any public highway, private way, street, sidewalk, trail, alley, park, square, driveway, lake or stream; and any hole, excavation or pit that is reasonably dangerous to the public or adjacent property.

For rental housing, the useful rule is who answers for a violation. IMC 8.45.030 places the obligation on the owner, occupier, tenant, manager, agent, or other person responsible for the condition of land and buildings, and defines a person responsible to include lessors, tenants and managers. A landlord and a property manager can therefore both be named on a notice of violation and order. The Code Enforcement Officer, authorized by the Mayor, handles complaints and can call on Police, Community Planning and Development, Public Works, or Parks and Community Services for help.