Roommate Clause
in Your Lease
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Statutes verified against primary state sources
Every statute cited here was read in its published text before this page went live: on the state's own site where that site can be reached, otherwise on a republished copy of the code. Court decisions are quoted from the published opinion and linked to it, so you can read the original yourself.
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Content verified against primary state statutes before publicationLast updated: October 2026
What it actually means, what Washington law says, what's specific to Seattle - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- Seattle landlords must allow added roommates and immediate family within the unit's occupancy limits.
- Give the landlord the new occupant's name within 30 days of move-in.
- Immediate family cannot be refused, even if they fail screening.
- A non-family roommate may be screened, gets 30 days to join the rental agreement, then 15 days to vacate.
- Washington's Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, RCW chapter 59.18, contains no right to add an occupant.
Count it for your dates
30 days: when does it end?
What it means: Give the landlord the new occupant's name by this date. Sending it in writing gives you proof of the date. Applies to Seattle tenants adding a roommate or immediate family member within the unit's occupancy limits; the 30 days is a Seattle rule, not a Washington state one (Seattle Mun. Code ch. 7.24). Calendar arithmetic only; check how the section counts days before you rely on a date.
Copy and send: Within 30 days of the new occupant moving in
Tell your landlord the new occupant's name
Fill in the brackets and keep a copy of what you send.
How Washington compares
Deadline to notify the landlord of a new roommate, state by state
30 daysNo figureGuide coming soonYou are here
See all 25 cities as a chart
Figures are the state rule, or the stronger city ordinance where one exists. Verify the current law for your own situation before relying on it.
Understanding the Roommate Clause
This page is for Seattle renters who want a partner, friend, roommate or family member to move in, or already have one, and need to know what the landlord can stop and what they owe. Many leases say only the tenants named may live there.
Seattle city rules, in place since July 2020, require landlords to allow added roommates and immediate family. No section we read in Washington's landlord-tenant act sets that rule, so the answer can change outside Seattle.
What renters assume
A lease that names two tenants means only those two may live there, and the landlord decides who moves in.
What is actually true
Seattle requires landlords to allow added roommates and immediate family within the unit's occupancy limits. You owe the landlord the new person's name within 30 days, not a request for permission. A non-family roommate may still be screened.
Look at what's actually being compared. Only New York gives renters a statewide right to add someone; Washington's 30-day notice rule lives in Seattle alone. Miami couldn't copy it even if it wanted to - Florida law bars cities from writing tenancy rules at all.
Roommate Clause Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Seattle, WA
The sample clause below is real lease language - a court quoted it word for word, and then ruled on it. What the judge decided is at the bottom of this block.
Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.
What follows is the opening line of a reimbursement paragraph in an apartment lease, quoted from the opinion; the paragraph itself is longer.
REIMBURSEMENT. You must promptly reimburse us for loss, damage, or cost of repairs or service caused anywhere in the apartment community by your or any guest's or occupant's improper use or negligence. […]
Quoted from the published opinion in Churchill Forge, Inc. v. Brown, 61 S.W.3d 368 (Tex. 2001). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
What the 4 highlighted phrases mean
“promptly reimburse”
The lease's word for its own timing, sitting next to an ordinance built out of actual day counts. Seattle's numbers govern the roommate rather than the money: 30 days to give the landlord the new occupant's name, 30 days for a screened non-family roommate to join the rental agreement, then 15 days to vacate if they do not. None of those clocks reaches a reimbursement demand, which keeps running on whatever the lease says.
“of repairs or service”
Money is where Seattle's roommate rules stop. The ordinance gives a tenant the ability to add people, and our Washington record does not put a ceiling on what a paragraph like this can charge once a person is there. That is the trade to understand before adding somebody: the right to have them is protected, the cost of what they do is not.
See the example
“in the apartment”
The charge is not bounded by your unit, and Seattle's occupancy rule is bounded by something else again: a tenant may add roommates and immediate family so long as the unit's occupancy limits are not exceeded. Those are two separate perimeters. How many people may lawfully live there is one question; where in the building a loss can be charged from is another, and this sentence answers the second one broadly.
“occupant's improper use or negligence”
This is the sentence that reached a cotenant who had done nothing, and Seattle's screening rules show why the distinction between people matters. Immediate family cannot be refused even if they fail the landlord's screening. A non-family roommate can be screened, and on a failure gets 30 days to join the rental agreement and then 15 days to vacate. Screening decides who may be there. It does not decide who pays when they cause a loss, and this fault hook points at the tenant.
See the example
The co-signer's defence failed. JoAnn Brown signed an apartment lease as a cotenant with her adult son. He was alleged to have started a fire that damaged the complex, the landlord sued only her, and she argued she could not be charged for damage she had not caused. The Texas Supreme Court disagreed, reversed the summary judgment she had won and held this sentence enforceable against a cotenant who was not herself negligent. The route ran through two sections. Tex. Prop. Code § 92.052(b) gives a landlord no duty to repair damage caused by the tenant, an occupant or a guest, so § 92.006(e) had no repair duty to stop the parties contracting over; and the fair-notice doctrine did not apply, because the sentence does not shift the landlord's own negligence onto the tenant. The court added that neither statute, common law nor the Restatement bars “requiring a tenant to reimburse the landlord for damages negligently caused by the tenant or one occupying the premises with the tenant's consent.” A dissent would have held the sentence unenforceable outright because it was not underlined or conspicuous, as § 92.006(e)(4) requires. This is 2001 Texas law, decided on the Texas Property Code - state-specific, and not a national rule.
How this state's law treats this clause
One court, one lease, one state. That answer is not automatically yours, and your lease may be worded to land differently. Use this to know what to look for and what to ask - your state's tenant hotline or a local tenant attorney can answer it for your document.
Washington Law on Roommate Clause
- Washington's Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, RCW chapter 59.18, contains no right to add an occupant.
- Seattle tenants may add roommates and immediate family so long as the unit's occupancy limits are not exceeded.
- The tenant must give the landlord the new occupant's name within 30 days of move-in.
- A non-family roommate may be screened, given 30 days to join the rental agreement, then 15 days to vacate.
Sources include Seattle Mun. Code ch. 7.24 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
What Washington state law says about adding a roommate:
- No state right to add. Washington's Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, RCW chapter 59.18, contains no right to add an occupant. Where no city rule applies, your lease is the main rulebook.
- No state deadline. No section we read in RCW chapter 59.18 sets a day count for telling the landlord about a new occupant. The 30 days comes from Seattle's own code.
- New York for contrast. Real Property Law 235-f gives every tenant in that state the right to one additional occupant plus that person's dependent children, with the name owed to the landlord within 30 days.
Codes change, so check the current text of RCW chapter 59.18 and Seattle Mun. Code ch. 7.24 before you rely on this.
What's Specific to Seattle
Seattle's rules sit in Seattle Mun. Code ch. 7.24 and have applied since July 2020. Landlords must allow added roommates and immediate family, as long as the unit's occupancy limits are not exceeded.
Immediate family cannot be refused even if they fail screening. A non-family roommate may be screened, given 30 days to join the rental agreement, then 15 days to vacate.
Many leases still say occupancy is limited to the tenants named, so read yours against the city code.
You owe the landlord the new occupant's name within 30 days. A lease that says where to send it gives you proof later.
It should. Seattle landlords must allow added roommates and immediate family within the unit's occupancy limits.
Immediate family cannot be refused in Seattle even if they fail screening. A clause saying otherwise contradicts the city rules.
Ask in writing for the amount and what it covers before you pay anything.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- Seattle Mun. Code ch. 7.24, read on library.municode.com. Chapter 7.24 as published for the City of Seattle on Municode.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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Occupancy limited to named tenants
Common in template leases, and overridden by city rules. Seattle tenants may add roommates and immediate family within the unit's occupancy limits.
-
Family must clear screening
Immediate family cannot be refused in Seattle even when they fail screening. A clause putting a parent or adult child through landlord approval does not match city rules.
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Immediate breach for a new occupant
You have 30 days from move-in to give the new occupant's name. A clause that treats the first night as a lease violation skips that window.
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Same-day removal if screening fails
A screened non-family roommate gets 30 days to join the rental agreement, then 15 days to vacate. "Vacate immediately" wording cuts that timeline short.
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Per-occupant fee or rent bump
Watch any charge triggered by adding a person. Ask in writing what it covers before you pay, and keep the reply.
Your Rights as a Seattle Tenant
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Add someone within occupancy limits
Seattle landlords must allow added roommates and immediate family, provided the unit's occupancy limits are respected. A "named tenants only" line does not change that.
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Family can't be screened out
Immediate family must be allowed in even if they fail the landlord's screening.
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Thirty days to give the name
Your duty is the new occupant's name, given within 30 days of move-in. Send it in writing and keep a copy.
-
Time to join or leave
A screened non-family roommate gets 30 days to join the rental agreement and 15 days to vacate after that.
What To Do - Step by Step
Sort family from roommate
Immediate family can't be refused in Seattle, while a non-family roommate can be screened. Decide which one you're dealing with first.
Check the unit's occupancy limit
The right to add someone stops at the unit's occupancy limits. Confirm your apartment's limit before anyone books a moving truck.
Read the occupancy clause
Find every line about guests, occupants and named tenants. Leases written before July 2020 may not match current Seattle rules.
Send the name in writing
Email your landlord the new occupant's name within 30 days of move-in. A dated email thread is your proof.
Handle screening early
A screened non-family roommate has 30 days to join the rental agreement. Start the paperwork early, not on day 29.
Check the current code, then get help
Read Seattle Mun. Code ch. 7.24 as it reads today. If you hit a dispute, call the Renting in Seattle helpline or the Tenants Union of Washington State.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Roommate rules near Washington
The same clause in the nearest states we cover.
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