Washington Commercial Lease Review

How much time does a Washington commercial tenant get to pay?

RCW 59.12.030 treats a tenant as in unlawful detainer after failing to pay rent within three days of a written notice to pay or surrender the premises. The 14-day period applies only to tenancies under chapter 59.18, the residential act. For other lease breaches, the notice gives 10 days to cure. A fixed-term lease ends at its expiry date without any notice, so staying on after that date without an agreement exposes you to an unlawful detainer action. Agree any extension in writing before the expiry date, even if renewal talks are going well.

Under RCW 59.04.020, a periodic tenancy with no fixed end, such as month to month, ends on at least 30 days’ written notice before the end of a rental period, from either side.

Is a one-way attorney fee clause enforceable in Washington?

Not as written. RCW 4.84.330 says that where a lease gives attorney fees to one party, the prevailing party recovers reasonable fees whether or not it is the party named. The right cannot be waived, and a clause waiving it is void. That makes it less risky to contest an overcharge, since you can recover fees if you win. It also means a weak claim by you carries a real fee risk, because the reciprocity works in both directions. Factor that in before starting a dispute over CAM charges or a withheld deposit, and keep the correspondence that supports your position.