Previously, Washington’s rental laws didn’t have much guidance on new cooling units. Slatter said that landlords could refuse to let a tenant install one. The new law, by contrast, states that renters can now install a portable AC unit, as long as a landlord hasn’t explicitly written a ban into the lease.
The law, which went into effect in June, includes specific restrictions depending on the kinds of AC units a tenant is looking to install. For a window unit, here are the restrictions:
- A tenant must give the landlord two days’ notice before installation.
- The device cannot prevent a window accessible from the outside to be locked.
- It cannot require excessive brackets that would damage the window frame warranty.
- The device must be safely secured from falling out of the window.
- The landlord’s insurance policy must allow window-mounted units to be installed.
- Landlords can require inspection of window-mounted units after installation.
- Fewer restrictions apply to other types of AC units, like floor-mounted devices and saddle-mounted units.
Common Seattle W. Is this Katie Wilson’s doing?
No, this is from the state legislature.
A few years ago, we also passed a law that required AC be built into new house builds.