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Steps to removing a nuisance
property
b. Click on the
hyperlinked property report
under the selected address.
Scroll down and choose property
tax information to locate the
address of the owner.
c. Write a letter to the
owner, have all the neighbors
sign it, keep a copy, send a
copy to the community officer
for the North Precinct.
4. Meet with the owner to discuss.
Ask them to remove the tenants or at
a minimum, redo their lease so that
any continued nuisance means
immediate termination of the lease.
5. If the nuisance continues, keep
a log of all issues, problems, etc.
Prepare to file a suit. Under
Washington State law, individuals
may file a claim in small claims
court against owners of nuisance
properties. Claims are limited to
$4000 for each individual, but every
individual in a neighborhood may
file, including children. The above
referenced brochure for additional
information.
Nuisance Defined. Nuisance consists
in unlawfully doing an act, or
omitting to perform a duty, which
act or omission either annoys,
injures or endangers the comfort,
repose, health or safety of others,
offends decency, or unlawfully
interferes with, obstructs or tends
to obstruct, or render dangerous for
passage, any lake or navigable
river, bay, stream, canal or basin,
or any public park, square, street
or highway; or in any way renders
other persons insecure in life, or
in the use of property.
Civil Action, who may maintain. A
private person may maintain a civil
action for a public nuisance, if it
is especially injurious to him but
not otherwise.
Sample Letter 1 to property owner
We are writing you regarding the
property you own at _____________.
As I am sure you are aware, the
tenants of your property cause the
neighbors distress and we consider
it to be a nuisance.
List the problems with dates if
possible.
We would like to invite you to
discuss the situation with us and
help us all come to some resolution
about future of the tenants of your
property.
We would like the tenants gone as
soon as it is legally possible. We
are prepared to take further steps
up to and including legal action,
although we are confident we can
resolve this matter amicably for
everyone.
Please call or email me so we can
set up a time to talk. We
appreciate your cooperation and
attention to this matter.
Have all the neighbors sign this
letter, keep a copy
Sample Letter 2 to property
owner
(Complainants’ names
and addresses)
(Date)
Mr. and Mrs.
Pinchpenney
666 Heck Street
Bellevue, WA
By USPS
Registered Mail
In Re: Maintenance
of a public nuisance
at (address,
Seattle, WA)
Sir, Madam:
We, the neighbors
residing on 8th
NE near your rental
property at
(address, Seattle,
and whose signatures
appear below, are
writing to complain
about repeated
public disturbances
at that
address. Officer
Maxwell of the
Seattle Police may
already have
contacted you about
this matter; it is
at our behest that
he does so. Possibly
you were not
previously aware
that your tenants
residing there are
in the habit of
conducting large,
loud parties
involving apparently
dozens of drunken
youths, many of whom
appear to be
underage. These
parties spill out of
the house onto the
porches, the yard,
and the sidewalk;
groups move up and
down the street
carrying on very
loud conversations,
yelling, and
throwing empty cans
and bottles into the
neighbors’
yards. The latest
such incident took
place Tuesday night,
December 31st. The
Seattle Police were
called around
midnight (we have an
event number),
arrived soon after,
and attempted to
break up the party;
this
notwithstanding,
some of us were
unable to sleep
until 2AM. One of us
who went to
investigate smelled
marijuana and
witnessed bottles
being thrown onto 7th
NE. Sunday morning
we saw dozens of
empty bottles, cans,
and other debris not
just in the yards
and on the porch (we
have photos), but
along the parking
strip in front, and
up and down the
street as well. New
Year’s Eve is a
traditional time to
celebrate, but this
was not an isolated
occurrence, but a
repeat instance of
similar outrages
that tend to happen
at least monthly. In
fact, there was a
similar saturnalia
only ten days
previously.
We, who have been
documenting these
events, are ready to
take this matter to
Small Claims
Court. Please note
that Washington
State law allows
multiple
complainants in the
affected
neighborhood to sue
the owner of a
nuisance property
individually,
potentially
resulting in
multiple judgments
of up to $4000 each
(see RCW 7.48.120
and RCW
7.48.210). We are
absolutely ready to
pursue such claims
against you if this
matter is not
satisfactorily
resolved. (Recently
enacted City law SMC
25.08.505 also
provides for an
eventual Abatement
order in the case of
repeated police
citations, which
would prohibit
further rental of
the property in
question.)
Please consider this
letter fair warning
that any further
outrage of the kind
we witnessed on the
night in question
may result in legal
action against you
as outlined
above. We hope you
will take appropriate
steps, up to and
including eviction
of the offending
tenants if
necessary, to
rectify this
situation.
Sincerely,
(signatures with
printed names)
cc: N. Precinct
Community Officer
Randy Maxwell,
Seattle Police
Roosevelt
Neighborhood
Alliance
Sample letter 3 to tenants
Dear
neighbors;
Welcome to our neighborhood. You
have chosen to live in a
residential neighborhood filled
with young children, people who
go to work in the morning and
retired people, we request that
you live like neighbors and not
as if you are on campus.
Last night, you kept at least x
families, including x young
children and x adults awake
until x a.m. As outlined in the
attached City of Seattle noise
ordinance (passed in 2004), you
have an obligation to be
sensitive to noise levels that
are acceptable in a residential
neighborhood. The pages attached
are excerpts from that ordinance
that describe noise limitations
and the penalties for violating
it. You, as tenants, come under
the ordinance, as does your
landlord.
We want to be good neighbors and
understand that you need to have
some fun. Please do so in a way
that results in your being
considered good neighbors as
well. Primarily, this means
taking yourselves and your
guests INDOORS by 11:00 PM on
weekends (10 PM during the
week), and making sure that they
are quiet when they leave. We
would much rather work with you
than call the police, but we
will if we are pushed.
Your Names
Address/es
Cc: Landlord(s)
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