A Washington sublease agreement is a contract between an original tenant (or “sublessor”) that wants to rent out their property, such as a room or an entire apartment/home, and a new tenant (or “sublessee”). This document allows the sublessee to rent the property without the original tenant having to break the original lease.
Laws & Requirements
Sublease and Assignment Provision Laws: No.
Landlord-Tenant Laws: Chapter 59.18 of the Revised Code of Washington (Residential Landlord-Tenant Act)
Security Deposit Obligations: A sublessor should return the subtenant’s security deposit within 21 days of the end of the sublease.
Notices: A sublessor must give a subtenant 14 days’ written notice to pay rent or leave the property. They must also give 20 days’ written notice if they intend not to renew the sublease or the original lease.
Permission to Sublet
- Laws: The Washington Residential Landlord-Tenant Act doesn’t prohibit sublease agreements; it defers to the original lease.
- Explicit Written Consent: The tenant should acquire written permission from the landlord unless the lease states otherwise.
- Landlord’s Right to Reject: Even with consent in the lease, a landlord can reject a subtenant if they have a reason to believe the subtenant will reflect poorly on their reputation or will be able to pay rent.
Tax Obligations
Lodging Taxes
- Lodging taxes apply to short-term rentals, which are rooms or spaces a landlord rents for less than 30 consecutive nights (Wash. Rev. Code § 64.37.010).
Tax Rates
- State Sales Tax: 6.5% (Wash. Rev. Code § 82.08.020).
- Local Sales Tax: Varies by location [1] .
- Transient Lodging Tax: Varies by location but can’t exceed 2% (Wash. Rev. Code § 67.28.180).
Filing Frequency
The filing frequency guidelines are as follows, per Wash. Admin. Code § 458-20-22801:
- Monthly: The due date is on the 25th of every month. For example, if you want to file your August tax liability, the due date will be September 25.
- Monthly filing is for businesses with a tax liability greater than $4,800 per year.
- Quarterly: The due date is the last day of the month following the tax quarter. For example, suppose you want to file your tax liability for January through March. In this case, the due date is April 30.
- Quarterly filing is for businesses with a tax liability between $1,050 and $4,800 per year.
- Yearly: The due date is April 15 each year.
- Yearly filing is for businesses with a tax liability of less than $1,050 per year.
Making Payments
- Payments can be remitted to the Washington State Department of Revenue.
- Per Wash. Rev. Code § 64.37.020, operators must collect and send all relevant lodging taxes unless the platform does it for the operator (like Airbnb does).
Sample
Related Documents
Rental Application
Collect information from a subtenant to decide if you want to sublet a property to them.
