It started in July of 2025. The legislature updated a statute (law) mandating that ALL notices to tenants be attempted first in-person to each leaseholder and, if personal service cannot be achieved, the notice must then be posted on the door and then sent Certified Mail to the tenants.
All of this process has been the same for decades except notices could be sent by First Class Mail, not Certified.
HB 2664 restores Washingtons unlawful detainer notice service rules for residential and commercial properties, maintaining due process protections for tenants without increasing costs and avoiding delays and disputes.
Today, MVP Property Pros broker and CEO, Matthew Plummer, submitted the following testimony to the House Housing Committee in advance of their committee meeting scheduled for January 27th at 4 p.m.
“The addition of certified mail as a requirement for any and every notice to tenants has done nothing but increase costs to housing providers and frustration for tenants. Tenants already react poorly to legal service or posting of notices on their doors, as required by statute. Now they are receiving notices by certified mail which they almost always perceive as threatening and sometimes don’t even open for fear it may be something incredibly detrimental. Notice by standard First Class Mail never posed a problem, and the addition of Certified Mail last year just created complication in a system that wasn’t broken.“
You can voice your position as well, at https://app.leg.wa.gov/csi/House?cId=31633&d=01/27/26%204:00%20PM&aId=169289