Pipes freeze or burst in your Bellingham rental? Your landlord is required to act

Rachel Showalter
·3 min read
Water from a burst fire sprinkler is frozen on the exterior of an apartment door at the Meadow Wood townhomes in Bellingham, Wash.

Freezing temperatures over the last week have damaged hundreds of buildings in Bellingham, many as a result of frozen or burst pipes.

Reports across social media and directly sent to The Bellingham Herald indicate countless renters have been impacted or displaced by a lack of running water or flooding in their units.

Property management companies and landlords have legal obligations when it comes to repairing their rental units and providing assistance to renters in the meantime.

Here’s what Washington State law requires:

Landlords are responsible to keep units safe and livable and make all repairs in the unit, except in cases where tenants or invitees of the tenant cause the damage. Landlords must also provide adequate hot water.

Damage caused by weather, acts of God (such as earthquakes and accidents), or by unknown third parties are generally the responsibility of the landlord. But a tenant must notify the landlord in writing when major repairs are needed.

Once a landlord has been notified of a defective condition, the landlord has a certain amount of time to make repairs.

▪ 24 hours to restore lost heat or water or remedy a condition that is imminently hazardous to life.

▪ 24 hours to provide hot or cold water, heat, or electricity.

▪ 72 hours to repair major plumbing fixtures.

▪ Not more than 10 days for other repairs.

Landlord fails to make repairs? Tenants have rights

Can I break my lease if repairs aren’t made?

▪ RCW 59.18.090 states a tenant does have the right to break their lease after the appropriate time frame expires starting from when the landlord received a written repair request and the repair still goes on uncompleted within a reasonable time. Document the landlord’s attempt to repair if it is inadequate to fix the problem. Tenants may have a stronger case to break the lease based on the severity of the need for repair. An attorney should be contacted before a tenant takes any action.

Can I withhold rent if repairs aren’t made?

▪ Tenants may not withhold rent to force the landlord to make repairs. Tenants must be current in rent in order to access the repair remedies written into the law. Even if the repairs are extremely severe, withholding rent can leave renters vulnerable to eviction.

Is my landlord required to pay for me to relocate or pay for damages to my property?

▪ State law does not specifically require a landlord to move a tenant to another unit or pay for a motel stay if a unit is flooded due to pipes bursting. But tenants do have the right to ask a landlord to provide it and negotiate costs. Tenants can argue that they don’t have the obligation to pay rent for a unit during a time that they’re not able to live there or get full use of it. If the landlord disagrees, tenants need to pay rent. But tenants can document financial burdens and damages caused by the flooding, negotiate with their landlord to pay for the costs, or sue them for compensation in Small Claims Court.

Is the landlord still responsible for repairs if my lease says otherwise?

▪ If a tenant already signed a lease stating that they are required to make all the necessary repairs in their unit or that the unit must be accepted “as is,” that is unlawful. RCW 59.18.230 states that tenants cannot sign away their rights under the law. The landlord is still required to make all repairs for defective conditions that are not caused by the tenant or guests of the tenant. If the lease provision waives a duty that is defined under the law as the landlord’s responsibility, that section is legally unenforceable.