Does Washington state law allow me to look at a lease agreement?
No applicant should ever pay any money without examining the premises, whether its an apartment or a house, AND, without examining the terms of the rental agreement, whether its month-to-month or a lease. If a landlord or rental agent/management company refuses to provide both of those opportunities, do not engage. Simply look elsewhere. Personally, I always encourage people to ask potential landlords for references as well. Many people balk at that. Theyve never heard of such a thing, and some landlords have said, I would never give out references to an applicant! But as a landlord of 30+ years, I always offer references, both professional (from companies that I do business with) and personal (past tenants, associates, co-workers). As a renter, you are considering entering into a contractual agreement with another person/business/corporation. They have asked you to give them all your information so they can dig into and closely examine your financial history, your employment history, your criminal history, your investments, your past residences, landlords and even your friends and acquaintances. They will thoroughly vet you to make sure you are a low-risk investment for them. Shouldnt you do the same? Dont you want to know what kind of landlords they are? If the refrigerator dies, will they fix it quickly and correctly, or will they delay, defer for a week or two, then install a crappy old replacement thats likely to die in a few months? If the roof leaks, will it get repaired immediately, or will they hand you a couple of buckets to put under the leak for a few weeks while they try to find the cheapest roofer available? Suppose youre hospitalized from an accident and cannot get the rent paid by the due date, or if you lose your job and need an extra week to pay the rent? Will they simply evict you? Or are they compassionate enough to work with you to overcome difficult obstacles like these? How would you like to get all settled in, kids enrolled in school, your contacts, friends and associates all notified of your new address, and then have the lender foreclose on the building and force you out because they didnt pay their mortgage on time? How do they conduct business? Are their taxes, mortgage or insurance in arrears? Are they currently involved in a lawsuit? If so, for what? If they lose the case, could they face the loss of the rental? Have they ever been sued by tenants, or by another business? If so, for what? Did they prevail, or did they lose the case? (If they have a history of being sued by tenants, that should raise red flags for you.) When I was looking for apartments years ago before I bought my first house, I always asked landlords for references. Most of them looked at me like I was insane. A few flatly refused (at which point I said, Thank you anyway! and left). But after asking why I wanted them, a surprising number of landlords provided me with references, usually business references and occasionally those from current and previous tenants (after obtaining their permission). Youre considering entering into a binding contract with someone else. Prudence and wisdom would dictate that you learn as much as possible about them before making that commitment. You can learn a lot online, through city/county/state records, tax records, rental advocacy websites, etc. But insisting on obtaining references from potential landlords can be far more telling, and can provide much more information that is readily available online.