Seattle landlord-tenant question (Bellevue: lease, lawyer, house)

[aztobv]

I know there are alot of realtors and many others with great life experience with common sense that post here regularly.
I have a doozie and would appreciate any and all inputs:
I leased a house for 12 months in an expensive section of town for $3500/mo
It was built in the 70s, has not been taken care of in a long time, and had to have repairs over the 8 months I lived in it.
Just found out the master bath needs to be gutted-Initial estimate 2 weeks to put a new one in. asked the landlord for compensation, take a couple hundered off the rent for the inconvenience (we will be down to 1 bathroom for the 4 of us), having to schedule to be there to watch the contractors, clean up the utter mess the construction will cause.
She said No, because she can't afford it? (Again, I am paying 42K/year to live in her house!)
I offered to break the contract early and rent something else, she said absolutely NOT, that I would still owe the 4 months left on the contract AND the utilities!
After going back and forth, she agreed to taking $100/week off the rent--ridiculous, since I will not be able to use the master bedroom OR bath as long as the construction continues PLUS the mess of cleaning from a gutted bathroom!
Now she says I have to let the contractor in at 8:30am everyday for 9 hours--After I told her multiple times I can NOT have anyone in the house until 9:30am because of personal commitments and my kids' school schedule. She said noone needs to be here when the contractors in MY house--which I refuse!
She already exercised her right to be in by giving a 48hr notice-but I will NOT let anyone in my house until 9:30 I made it very clear to her, but she is obviously hard headed or down right weird, she won't accept it.
What is my recourse? Any input greatly appreciated.

[Hemlock140]

It depends a lot on what is in your lease. Read it carefully and see if there is any reference to "quiet enjoyment." If so you should have a lawyer look at it, and possibly intervene on your behalf. This situation could be grounds for either postponement of rent or early termination.
If you like the place and the price you are paying other than this issue, it's probably best to let it go, however, since legal action is not going to help your relationship with the landlord and you could end up having to find a new place and move.

[Ira500]

I'd suggest getting a hold of either the Seattle Tenants Union
Tenants Union of Washington State: contact or the folks at Solid Ground for more accurate information than I could give you.
I see two things going on:
One is that somewhere in your lease, it probably says that you have the right to quiet enjoyment, and two, state law says that you have to provide reasonable access for repairs..But what is reasonable I can't tell you.
Does seem like for 3500 per month your landlord should be bending over backwards to accommodate you. It's not that easy to find tenants for a 3500 dollar a month house. Most people paying that much choose to buy rather than rent, so if you chose to not renew in four months, your landlord might be in a tough situation( which is why they don't want to let you out of your lease) after/if you leave.

[tickyul]

3500 per month to rent...........wow, even in Seattle that sound pretty spendy......and the place is falling apart....yikes.

I think if it was me I would lawyer up. paying that kind of money, heck, might as well blow some more.

[nfdsouza2001]

Originally Posted by Ira500

I'd suggest getting a hold of either the Seattle Tenants Union
Tenants Union of Washington State: contact or the folks at Solid Ground for more accurate information than I could give you.
I see two things going on:
One is that somewhere in your lease, it probably says that you have the right to quiet enjoyment, and two, state law says that you have to provide reasonable access for repairs..But what is reasonable I can't tell you.
Does seem like for 3500 per month your landlord should be bending over backwards to accommodate you. It's not that easy to find tenants for a 3500 dollar a month house. Most people paying that much choose to buy rather than rent, so if you chose to not renew in four months, your landlord might be in a tough situation( which is why they don't want to let you out of your lease) after/if you leave.

I agree with Ira. However in this case the integrity of the property is at stake. You may have little recourse. Your landlady is following the letter of the law by addressing the lack of quiet enjoyment by repairing the home and providing the necessary notices and repairs. I would research more on the State of Washington website on landlord tenant laws. Good luck

[Freebird2007]

Originally Posted by tickyul

3500 per month to rent...........wow, even in Seattle that sound pretty spendy......and the place is falling apart....yikes.

I think if it was me I would lawyer up. paying that kind of money, heck, might as well blow some more.

I agree,

for that price you could have lived in one of Bellevue's mcMansions and still have money left over for an Orca card.