This bill amends existing law (RCW 59.12.040) and changes the procedures for serving notices under the unlawful detainer chapter by removing the personal delivery requirement and allowing alternative methods of service. It is a procedural change to notice/service rules, not the creation of a new crime or a change to criminal penalties. Under the amendment, service may be made by affixing a copy of the notice in a conspicuous place on the unlawfully held premises and also mailing a copy to the person entitled to notice at their residence; if the person’s residence is unknown, the mailed copy may be addressed to the tenant or occupant at the property’s location. Service on subtenants uses the same method. Guests, lodgers, boarders, or persons renting rooms in hotels, inns, lodging houses or boarding houses are to be served by affixing a copy in two conspicuous places and are explicitly not treated as subtenants or necessary parties defendant in a possession action. Service on a corporation may be made by delivering to an officer, agent, or person in charge at the premises, or, if none can be found there, by affixing a copy and mailing it to the corporation at the property. Proof of service may be by affidavit similar to proof of service of summons; mailed service is complete when deposited in the U.S. mail in the county where the property is located with postage prepaid, and one additional day is allowed before commencing an action when service is by mail. The bill was introduced by Representatives Connors and Barkis, referred to the House Committee on Housing, and read for the first time on 01/16/25. The excerpt amends RCW 59.12.040 (and cites 2021 c 115 s 14), but the full chapter text and the prior version of RCW 59.12.040 are not provided here, so any interactions with other provisions or the full scope of “notice provided for in this chapter” cannot be determined from these facts alone.

If enacted, the bill lets landlords and property owners skip trying to hand a tenant the notice in person and instead post a copy on the property and mail a copy to the tenant’s known residence (or to the property address if the tenant’s residence is unknown). That will usually make starting an unlawful detainer process faster and cheaper for owners and their agents, because posting plus certified affidavit of service and dropping the notice in the local U.S. mail will be treated as valid service and triggers an extra day before a court action can begin. Tenants and other occupants will face a higher risk that they won’t actually see a notice before an action starts, and tenants in hotels or boarding situations can be served by posting in two places and are not required parties in the recovery action. Corporations can be served on an officer at the premises or by posting and mailing if no one is present. The change shifts responsibilities and some operational cost from repeated in-person attempts to relying on posting and mail; however, the exact interaction with other timing or notice rules in the rest of the chapter is not included here, so some practical details and potential dispute points (for example where mailing is deposited and whether the tenant actually received it) remain uncertain.