Seattle Eviction Court Steps 2026–27: The 14-Day Notice, Your Free Lawyer, the Show Cause Hearing and Seattle's Winter and School-Year Defenses
Washington renters facing eviction have a right that most renters in the country don't: if you qualify as low-income, the court must appoint a free lawyer for your eviction case, as long as the state has funding for it. Seattle adds its own protections on top of state law, including a just cause rule and special defenses during winter and the school year.
The first deadline is still short. If you don't answer the eviction summons in writing by the date on it, you can lose automatically. This guide covers each step, from the 14-day notice through the show cause hearing and the writ, and what you can do at each one. It isn't legal advice.
Last checked October 2026. Sources: Revised Code of Washington 59.18.057 (14-day notice), 59.18.365 (eviction summons), 59.18.410 (judgment, writ and reinstatement) and 59.18.640 (right to counsel), all from app.leg.wa.gov; WashingtonLawHelp.org's "Respond to an eviction lawsuit"; and the City of Seattle's Renting in Seattle pages on the Just Cause Eviction Ordinance and defenses to eviction.
The Short Version
Step 1, the notice: for unpaid rent, a 14-day notice to pay rent or vacate in a form the state requires.
Step 2, the summons: a written response, usually a Notice of Appearance, must reach the landlord or their lawyer by 5 p.m. on the deadline printed on the summons.
Free lawyer: call the Eviction Defense Screening Line, 855-657-8387, or apply at nwjustice.org/apply-online.
Step 3, the hearing: you'll get an Order to Show Cause with your hearing date. Go.
Paying to stay: you can usually pay what's owed to get your tenancy back until five court days after judgment, or later with a pledge letter from a rental assistance program.
Seattle-only defenses: winter (December 1 to March 1) for households at or below 80% of area median income, and the school year for families with students and school employees.
Seattle help: the Renting in Seattle helpline, (206) 684-5700.
Step 1: The 14-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Vacate
For unpaid rent, Washington law (RCW 59.18.057) requires a Fourteen-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Vacate the Premises that follows a set form. It has to list separately:
the monthly rent due, by month;
any utilities due; and
any other recurring or periodic charges listed in the lease.
The notice tells you to pay the total within 14 days after service or move out. It also has to tell you that:
payment can be made under the rental agreement or by nonelectronic means, such as a cashier's check, money order or other certified funds;
the Attorney General's Office has the notice in other languages, plus information on rental assistance, at atg.wa.gov/landlord-tenant;
you may have the right to a free lawyer through the Eviction Defense Screening Line; and
you have a right to interpreter services in court.
Any payment you make has to be applied first to the total on the notice.
Seattle's just cause rule
In Seattle, the city says a landlord must have a just cause to end your tenancy. The written notice has to state the specific reason and the supporting facts. Examples from the city's list include:
Late rent: you got a 14-day pay-or-vacate notice and didn't pay.
"Habitual failure" to pay: you got 4 or more 14-day notices in the last 12 months.
Rule violations: you didn't comply with a 10-day notice to comply or vacate, or you got 3 or more in 12 months.
The owner or a family member moving in, which requires 90 days' notice.
Sale of a single-family house, with 90 days' notice. This doesn't apply to condos, apartments, duplexes or triplexes.
The city says that in general the notice period is 20 days before the end of a rental period unless the specific reason requires more. Just cause rights can't be waived, so a lease clause that says otherwise can't be enforced. If a landlord uses a just cause and then doesn't follow through, for example by never moving in, you can sue for up to $3,000 in damages.
If you're not sure whether a notice is valid, call Renting in Seattle at (206) 684-5700.
Step 2: The Eviction Summons and Your Notice of Appearance
If you don't pay or move out, the landlord can serve an Eviction Summons and Complaint. RCW 59.18.365 sets out what the summons must say, starting with "THIS IS AN IMPORTANT LEGAL DOCUMENT TO EVICT YOU," along with the date your written response must be received by 5:00 p.m.
How to respond
A phone call isn't a response. The summons says so in plain terms.
File a Notice of Appearance (NOA). It's a short letter saying you're appearing in the case. It lists the landlord's and tenant's names, your name, an address where legal papers can reach you, your signature, your phone number if you have one, and the case number if there is one.
Where it goes: to the landlord's lawyer, or to the landlord if no lawyer is named. You can hand-deliver or fax it by the deadline. If you mail it, you have to send it 3 days before the deadline. Ask the post office for proof of mailing.
If the case has been filed, also file your response with the court clerk listed on the summons.
WashingtonLawHelp.org says the landlord should serve you at least 7 days before your NOA deadline, but you should still respond by the date on the summons even if you got less time. Its online tool can fill out the NOA for you.
If you miss the deadline, the landlord may win automatically and the judge may order you to pay money. WashingtonLawHelp.org's advice is to still serve and file your NOA right away, because if the judge hasn't entered a default yet, it may stop an automatic win.
A written Answer is optional
An Answer sets out your defenses in writing. WashingtonLawHelp.org says it's optional, especially if you've filed an NOA, and you can still defend yourself out loud at the hearing. If you've been appointed a lawyer, let them write it.
Get a Free Lawyer
Under RCW 59.18.640, subject to state funding, the court must appoint an attorney for an indigent tenant in an eviction case, and the state pays for it. You count as "indigent" if you:
receive TANF, aged, blind or disabled assistance, food stamps (SNAP), Medicaid, SSI, refugee resettlement benefits, pregnant women assistance, poverty-related veterans' benefits or certain medical care services; or
have after-tax income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.
How to ask:
Eviction Defense Screening Line: 855-657-8387
Apply online: nwjustice.org/apply-online
2-1-1 for more resources. The state's notice form lists the Northwest Justice Project CLEAR Hotline only for callers outside King County.
Call when you get the 14-day notice. Don't wait for the summons.
Step 3: The Order to Show Cause and Your Hearing
Once you respond, the court notifies you of your hearing in an Order to Show Cause, which is usually mailed. At this show cause hearing you can explain why you shouldn't be evicted.
Go, even if you've moved out. If you don't show up, the judge may rule against you and order you to pay everything the landlord asked for.
If you move before the court date, the summons says you must tell the landlord or the landlord's attorney.
Bring the 14-day notice, receipts, texts, photos and any rental assistance paperwork.
Step 4: Judgment, the Writ, and How to Get Your Tenancy Back
Paying to reinstate your tenancy
RCW 59.18.410 gives tenants evicted for unpaid rent a chance to reinstate their tenancy. Before judgment, or until five court days after it is entered, you or someone on your behalf can pay into court or to the landlord:
the rent due;
court costs incurred at the time of payment;
late fees if the lease allows them, capped at $75 in total; and
attorneys' fees if awarded.
If you pay that, the judgment is satisfied and your tenancy is restored. If you're using emergency rental assistance, a pledge letter from the government or nonprofit program gives you until the date of eviction. Give a copy to the landlord and the court.
Execution on a judgment for unpaid rent can't happen until five court days after the judgment is entered.
Asking the court to pause the writ
After a judgment for unpaid rent, the court can stay the writ of restitution for good cause and set a payment plan. Under the statute:
the stay can last no more than 90 days;
if the plan runs longer than 30 days, each 30-day period has to include at least one month of your share of the rent; and
if you rely on an emergency rental assistance program and show proof, the court must stay the writ to give you an equal chance to comply.
The court can also find you low-income, limited-resourced or experiencing hardship, which can let the landlord apply to the state's landlord mitigation program for reimbursement. That can make a landlord more willing to agree to a plan.
The sheriff carries out a writ of restitution. We didn't confirm the exact sheriff notice period. Ask your lawyer or the court.
Step 5: Seattle's Winter and School-Year Defenses
Seattle's Just Cause Eviction Ordinance gives eligible tenants defenses they can raise once an eviction lawsuit is filed:
Winter eviction protection: December 1 to March 1, for households at or below 80% of area median income.
School-year protection: during Seattle's school year, September to June, for households with children in school (daycare through high school) and for tenants who work in education.
Neither defense applies in some situations, including when the owner or their immediate family will move in, when the City orders the owner to stop renting an unpermitted or unsafe unit or an accessory dwelling unit, or when the notice is for criminal activity, waste, nuisance or an imminent hazard. The city also lists other general defenses, such as a landlord not registering the rental, serving a defective notice, or failing to certify a just cause where that's required.
Ask your lawyer whether these defenses apply. They're especially important for evictions filed this winter.
What we couldn't confirm: King County Superior Court's own eviction pages and the King County Bar's Housing Justice Project didn't load for us, so courthouse locations, hearing logistics and walk-in clinics aren't covered here. Neither are Seattle or King County rent assistance programs, or the 80% AMI dollar figures.
A Quick Checklist
Got a 14-day notice? Call 855-657-8387 and look for rental assistance at atg.wa.gov/landlord-tenant or 2-1-1.
Got a summons? Make sure your Notice of Appearance is received by 5 p.m. on the deadline. If you mail it, send it 3 days early.
Go to the show cause hearing.
Getting rental assistance? Get a pledge letter and bring it to court.
Seattle renter? Ask about the just cause, winter and school-year defenses, and call (206) 684-5700.
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