Wash. Rev. Code » Title 59 · Chapter 59.18
Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 59.18.320 (2025)

Arbitration—Authorized—Exceptions—Notice—Procedure

✓ laws through the 2025 session: 2026 session laws are not yet included
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section WA-LEGapp.leg.wa.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
(1) The landlord and tenant may agree, in writing, except as provided in *RCW 59.18.230(2)(e), to submit to arbitration, in conformity with the provisions of this section, any controversy arising under the provisions of this chapter, except the following:
(a) Controversies regarding the existence of defects covered in subsections (1) and (2) of RCW 59.18.070: PROVIDED, That this exception shall apply only before the implementation of any remedy by the tenant;
(b) Any situation where court action has been started by either landlord or tenant to enforce rights under this chapter; when the court action substantially affects the controversy, including but not limited to:
(i) Court action pursuant to subsections (2) and (3) of RCW 59.18.090 and subsections (1) and (2) of RCW 59.18.160; and
(ii) Any unlawful detainer action filed by the landlord pursuant to chapter 59.12 RCW.
(2) The party initiating arbitration under subsection (1) of this section shall give reasonable notice to the other party or parties.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the arbitration process shall be administered by any arbitrator agreed upon by the parties at the time the dispute arises: PROVIDED, That the procedures shall comply with the requirements of chapter 7.04A RCW (relating to arbitration) and of this chapter.
[ 2005 c 433 s 45; 1973 1st ex.s. c 207 s 32.]

Notes:

*Reviser's note: RCW 59.18.230 was amended by 2025 c 206 s 1, changing subsection (2)(e) to subsection (2)(g).
Application—Captions not law—Savings—Effective date—2005 c 433: See RCW 7.04A.290 through 7.04A.310 and 7.04A.900.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases, 2015–2015 · leading case: Barr v. Young, 347 P.3d 947 (Wash. Ct. App. 2015).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Barr v. Young, 347 P.3d 947 (Wash. Ct. App. 2015). “RCW 59.18.320(l)(b)(ii). ¶11 Mandatory arbitration is governed by chapter 7.”
W. L., No. 32432-0 (Wash. Ct. App. Apr. 14, 2015). · cites it 2× “RCW 59.18.320. But in certain actions, including unlawful detainer actions filed by landlords, arbitration is not allowed.”
Wash. Rev. Code § 59.18.320(l)(b)(ii): 1 case
Barr v. Young, 347 P.3d 947 (Wash. Ct. App. 2015). “RCW 59.18.320(l)(b)(ii). ¶11 Mandatory arbitration is governed by chapter 7.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.