Mass adverse possessions Seattle

Question

There is currently a two year eviction backlog in king county. This is increasing rapidly. In May it was six months. If trends continue then the eviction backlog will go up faster than time passes resulting in an effective infinite backlog.

In that case, is mass adverse possessions by tenants feasible? Given the COVID moratorium was a failure will tenants continue to just not pay rent until tax foreclosure or adverse possessions, or will courts change any policy?

One argument is that the time periods are tolled by the pendant eviction, but I havent seen this doctrine used and the majority of the time is to show cause and initiate basic parts of the eviction process that may not actually be tollable.

Because the toll period is the main issue, can the tolling be exploited by the tenant? If the actual court of jurisdiction is redrawn or gerrymandered, does this reset the toll on existing lawsuits but allow the tenant to claim any existing long periods of adverse behavior?

Answer 1

No.

1. The adverse possession deadline in Washington State is ten years of open, notorious, and hostile possession. The courts are sometimes slow, but not that slow. And, the adverse possession period would be tolled during the pendency of the eviction or quiet title lawsuit.

2. Tenants who have signed a lease are present with possession during the lease (and hence are not in "adverse" possession) and are estopped from claiming adverse possession afterwards by acknowledging the landlord's title by signing the lease.

Answer 2

No

Adverse possession requires passivity on the part of the owner. An owner who has commenced action to regain the property and continues to pursue it ends any adverse possession.

In any event, tenants who don't pay their rent are not in adverse possession - they are in breach of contract.

Answer 3

No. Adverse possession in Washington has two requirements beyond the usual ones for adverse possession:

1. The person claiming adverse possession must have a good-faith claim to title in the disputed land (for example, an incorrect belief about where the property line runs counts, as does confusion about the inheritance of land). You can't just move into an abandoned house, use it for seven years, and claim ownership.
2. The person claiming adverse possession must have been paying property taxes on the disputed land for at least seven years.

Neither of these is true for a tenant who hasn't been paying rent.