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King County Washington home

Unlawful Detainers

An Unlawful Detainer (Eviction) is a legal action by a landlord to remove a tenant from a property for valid reasons such as non-payment of rent or lease violations.

 

Unlawful Detainer/Eviction Case Process

First Appearance- Show Cause Hearing

  1. Plaintiff must obtain an Order to Show Cause (done through EPVC) after Plaintiff reserves the hearing through the Ex Parte online portal. Ex Parte & Probate Motions - King County, Washington

     

  2. Defendant must be served with the Order to Show Cause between 7 and 30 days in advance of the hearing. Service by mail is authorized if the defendant has appeared.

     

  3. Show Cause Hearing (1st Appearance). This hearing will be held remotely by Zoom. You may join the Zoom hearing as follows: 

    Please join the Zoom platform at least 10 minutes before your hearing and mute your microphone until the judicial officer invites you to unmute.  At the hearing every defendant will be advised of the conditional right to counsel. Thereafter, the court will continue the hearing 4 weeks to 1:00 pm 2nd appearance docket.  (Interpreter cases are set for 11:00 am).  Once your case has been heard (or addressed), you can leave the platform but make sure you contact the King County Superior Clerk’s Office to obtain a copy of the continuance order.

Second Appearance- Show Cause Hearing

After parties’ First Appearance to Show Cause in an Unlawful Detainer Court Hearing in the King County Superior Court Ex Parte Department, parties will be ordered to appear for a Second Appearance to Show Cause. Parties may appear for this hearing by Zoom. This hearing is brief and includes presentation of testimony and other evidence.  At this hearing, the court will determine two things:

  1. Whether this Court orders a physical eviction. If the Court finds this is legally appropriate, this is done by ordering the clerk to issue a writ of restitution.This writ directs the King County Sheriff to remove Defendant Tenant(s) and restore Plaintiff to possession of the premises.
  2. Whether this Court orders a financial judgment. If the Court finds this is legally appropriate, this is done by issuing a written order for tenant to pay amounts for things like past due rent, attorney fees, and court costs.These requests are typically described in the initial Complaint.

Please review the instructions on joining a Zoom meeting.

Appearance Guidelines

Properly identify yourself by name and party when logging into the Zoom platform:

  • First and Last Name, Plaintiff’s Counsel
  • First and Last Name, Property Manager of ___________
  • First and Last Name, Defendant Tenant
  • First and Last Name, Defendant’s Counsel

If an attorney was recently appointed, the attorney should notify the court’s bailiff and all legal parties of record as soon as possible via email.

Mute yourself until it is your hearing.  Turn your video on when your hearing is announced. 

Appear from a place that is quiet, well-lit, private, and free from distractions. 

Make sure you are utilizing stable Wi-Fi connection.

Have a device charger so that you are not disconnected from the court hearing. 

If you need an interpreter, please contact the assigned court with this request in advance of your hearing.

If you would like to attend your hearing in person, refer to the judge’s courtroom and courthouse location listed in the court order.

Seattle

King County Courthouse

516 Third Avenue

Seattle, Washington 98104

 

Kent

Maleng Regional Justice Center

401 Fourth Avenue North

Kent, Washington 98032


If you would like to appear in-person at the courthouse with the assistance of the Housing Justice Project (HJP) organization, check in with HJP staff for use of an HJP conference room and electronic device to connect to your hearing:

  • King County Courthouse in Seattle: HJP Room W-314 (third floor)
  • Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent: HJP Room 1281 (first floor)

During the Hearing

The court will check in parties at your designated time and begin calling hearings. 

Listen carefully to your case being announced. 

If you are appearing by phone and have audio only, unmute yourself by pressing *6 on your phone’s dial pad.

If your case is heard during the regular Second Appearance Unlawful Detainer Show Cause Calendar from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. parties are expected to remain available during that entire designated time. 

This is a high-volume calendar, and your case can be called at any moment during that designated time.

Hearings will be called in order of priority as determined by the court.

This is an audio-recorded proceeding, and everyone will be given a chance to speak.  Please refrain from interrupting. 

Participants are prohibited from recording this proceeding in any way. 

Failure to respect these rules will result in the disruptive party being removed from the courtroom. 

Court staff are prohibited from providing legal advice or discussing substantive information related to your case. 

To avoid ex parte (one-sided communication) with the court, all legal parties of record (landlord’s attorney, defendant’s attorney, defendant tenants) should be included when contacting the court.  Please refer to the Email policy - Superior Court - King County, Washington.

Negotiating Your Case in a Breakout Room

If you would like to negotiate your case with the landlord’s attorney before your hearing, please let the bailiff know.  The landlord’s attorney is not required to meet with you to negotiate your case, however, the bailiff will facilitate and ask if all parties are agreeable to join a breakout room. 

Striking, Moving Your Hearing, Agreed Orders

If you are the moving party and are striking a hearing, requesting a continuance, or notifying the court of settlement and agreed orders, please provide this information via email to the court’s bailiff with the case name, cause number, date, and time of hearing.

You must request to strike a hearing at least 1 court day before the scheduled hearing date by emailing the bailiff and submitting an order. 

Failure to provide notice to the court or receive confirmation from the court’s bailiff that parties are formally excused will require all parties to be present at the hearing. 

Submission of Proposed Orders

Please refer to the specific judge’s department regarding their process for submission of proposed and final court orders.

Receiving Court Orders After Your Hearing

E-service will help you get your orders emailed directly to you if you sign up and register your email address.

Sign up for E-Service via the Clerk’s Office: KC Script Portal | KC-Script Portal

Instructions on How to Manage and Register for E-Service Registration

Daily Second Appearance Calendar

The 2nd Appearance Unlawful Detainer/Eviction Calendar for the next court day will be available here:

            Link to come

For questions regarding the posted calendar, please contact as follows:

Judge Larrañaga Special-set matters: larranaga.court@kingcounty.gov

Judge Robertson Special-set matters: Robertson.court@kingcounty.gov

All other matters before the Housing Commissioner: housingcourt@kingcounty.gov