Seattle Commercial Real Estate Attorney

Consider this hypothetical: you’ve found retail space in Capitol Hill. The landlord hands you their “standard form” lease and tells you the terms are non-negotiable. You skim it. The rent looks right. You sign.

Six months later, you’re responsible for property taxes, building insurance, and maintenance costs that weren’t anywhere in your budget. The lease says so. You just didn’t see it at the time.

There’s no such thing as a standard commercial lease in Seattle. Every lease reflects the property, the parties, and what each side was willing to push for when the deal was made. In 16 years of handling commercial real estate matters in Seattle and King County, I’ve reviewed hundreds of them. The ones that cause problems usually have the same issue: one party signed without understanding what they were agreeing to.

K&S Canon handles commercial real estate matters throughout Seattle, including commercial leasing, purchase and sale transactions, development and construction agreements, eviction proceedings, and real estate disputes. Our office is located at 1200 5th Avenue, Suite 1950, approximately 0.7 miles from King County Superior Court at 516 Third Avenue, where most commercial real estate disputes in Seattle are filed.

Seattle commercial lease security deposit limits

In Seattle, new commercial leases for retail and commercial purposes are subject to SMC 6.104, which limits how much landlords can demand upfront as security. Cases involving violations of this ordinance are heard in King County Superior Court, 516 Third Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104, and violations carry civil penalties with a private right of action for tenants.

This is one of the most frequently misunderstood rules in Seattle commercial leasing, on both sides. Landlords using pre-2024 lease templates often don’t realize their security deposit provisions now violate city law. Tenants in office space assume they have the same protections and don’t. The carve-out matters.

What SMC 6.104 covers vs. what it doesn’t:

We handle commercial lease reviews and negotiations throughout Seattle, including disputes over security deposits and guaranty terms under the 2024 ordinance. If you’re a landlord who distributed the SMC 6.104 summary to existing tenants before the August 15, 2024 deadline, or a tenant who never received it, the implications are different. Every lease is different.

Does a commercial lease in Washington need to be notarized?

In Washington, commercial leases for terms over one year were previously required to have the landlord’s signature notarized to be valid and enforceable. Courts enforced this strictly. Leases lacking proper acknowledgment were sometimes invalidated entirely. That changed on June 6, 2024, when SSB 5840 went into effect, bringing Washington in line with California and Oregon.

What this means practically: if you’re reviewing a commercial lease signed before June 6, 2024 for a term over one year, and it lacks proper notarization, you may have an enforceability issue worth examining. If you’re recording a lease or memorandum of lease with King County Recorder’s Office (201 S. Jackson St., Suite 204, Seattle), notarization is still required.

Key dates for Seattle commercial lease portfolios:

• Leases over one year required notarized landlord signature to be enforceable Before June 6, 2024:
• No acknowledgment, witnesses, or seals required for any commercial lease On or after June 6, 2024:
• Notarization still required under RCW 64.04.010 For recorded leases/memoranda (any date):
• Seattle guaranty and security deposit caps (SMC 6.104) did not apply Before January 29, 2024:
• SMC 6.104 caps apply to all new eligible commercial leases in Seattle On or after January 29, 2024:

Commercial eviction process Washington state

Washington’s eviction statute is strictly construed in favor of tenants. That’s not an opinion. It’s what courts have held when interpreting RCW 59.12. The statute provides an expedited remedy, but only when landlords follow the procedure exactly. Miss a step and you lose the expedited process entirely.

The most common and expensive mistake: a landlord exercises the lease’s termination clause after a tenant misses rent, sends a lease termination notice, and then tries to file an eviction. The Washington Court of Appeals has ruled that exercising your contractual termination right does not substitute for the statutory 3-day pay-or-vacate notice. Your lease gives you termination rights. The statute gives you eviction rights. They’re different things, and confusing them costs landlords months of lost rent.

Steps in a Seattle commercial eviction:

1. For non-payment: a 3-day pay-or-vacate notice. For other lease violations: typically 10-day notice. The notice type, content, and delivery method all matter. Serve proper notice:
2. Count carefully. When in doubt, give an extra day rather than risk dismissal for filing too early. Wait the notice period:
3. Filed in King County Superior Court, 516 Third Avenue. Commercial eviction cases receive priority on the trial calendar (RCW 59.12.130). File unlawful detainer complaint:
4. Court schedules a show cause hearing. Obtain show cause order:
5. Both parties appear. If the landlord prevails, the court may issue a writ of restitution. Show cause hearing:
6. King County Sheriff enforces; tenant removed from premises. Writ of restitution:

We handle commercial evictions in King County Superior Court and understand the procedures that make the difference between a case that moves quickly and one that gets dismissed on a technicality.

What court handles commercial real estate disputes Seattle?

King County Superior Court is a general jurisdiction trial court. It handles commercial lease disputes, eviction proceedings, construction lien foreclosures, and property fraud claims. A few things worth knowing before your first filing:

• 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Customer service stations close 12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. daily for lunch. Arriving at noon for a filing means waiting. Clerk’s Office hours:
• The courthouse at 3rd and James offers no public parking. Goat Hill Parking Garage at 415 6th Avenue (between Jefferson and Yesler) is the nearest option with ADA spaces. SeaPark Garage on 6th between Cherry and James is another. No free parking:
• Take the James Street exit, go west. The courthouse is at 3rd and James. From I-5:
• Multiple Metro bus routes stop at 3rd Ave & James St. Link Light Rail serves Pioneer Square Station nearby. Transit:
• Civil cases use the KC Script Portal. Ex parte motions denied by a judicial officer may not be resubmitted via e-filing as of April 1, 2024. Resubmission requires an in-person hearing with a $20 fee. E-filing:

For commercial real estate matters in the East Division, note that as of January 1, 2025, the East Division civil court moved to the Redmond Courthouse. Cases previously designated to Issaquah Courthouse are now filed as East Division, Redmond Courthouse.

K&S Canon’s office at 1200 5th Avenue is approximately 0.7 miles from King County Superior Court. It is a straight shot down 5th and then west on James. We regularly handle commercial real estate matters in this court and understand its current procedures and case scheduling patterns.

Washington state real estate excise tax rate commercial property

REET applies to commercial property sales in Washington the same way it applies to residential sales, based on the full selling price, not net profit. For a commercial property in Seattle selling at $5 million, the combined state and Seattle local REET alone would be over $150,000. That’s a material closing cost that affects deal structure and pricing.

A few details that matter for commercial transactions:

• REET also applies when 50% or more of an entity’s ownership interest transfers within 36 months, even if the property itself doesn’t change hands on paper. This catches many buyers and sellers who structure deals through entity sales expecting to avoid REET. Controlling interest transfers:
• Gains from the direct sale of real estate are generally exempt (RCW 82.87.050). But gains from selling interests in entities that own real property in multi-tier ownership structures may not be exempt. This requires case-by-case analysis. Washington capital gains tax:
• REET payment is due at the time of recording. The King County Recorder’s Office closes for recording at 3:30 p.m., not 4:30 p.m. Even though the office stays open until 4:30 p.m., documents presented after 3:30 p.m. won’t be recorded that day. Recording deadline:

Construction lien deadline Washington state

Washington’s construction lien statute (RCW Chapter 60.04) balances the interests of contractors and suppliers who do the work against property owners who shouldn’t have to pay for the same work twice. The statute is strictly construed. Minor procedural errors can invalidate an otherwise legitimate lien and eliminate the contractor’s ability to foreclose.

With active commercial development in South Lake Union, Capitol Hill, Ballard, and along Seattle’s mixed-use corridors, construction payment disputes and lien filings are a regular part of the Seattle commercial real estate landscape.

Critical deadlines and requirements under RCW Chapter 60.04:

• Lower-tier subcontractors (not under contract with the owner or prime) typically must serve a pre-claim notice on the property owner to preserve lien rights. Pre-claim notice:
• The claim of lien must be recorded with the county auditor (King County Recorder’s Office, 201 S. Jackson St.) in the county where the project is located. Recording the lien:
• After recording, the lien claimant has 8 calendar months to file a foreclosure action or the lien expires. This is a hard deadline with no judicial exception. 8-month deadline:
• Mandates timely issuance of change orders for undisputed additional work on private projects, imposes interest on payment delays, and clarifies rights to seek relief for payment violations. New 2024 law (RCW 39.04.360, effective July 2024):

Why Seattle clients work with K&S Canon

Every transaction is different. What I can tell you is what we consistently bring to commercial real estate work in Seattle.

Experience in King County

Kim Sandher has practiced commercial real estate law in Seattle and King County since 2010. That is 16 years. We regularly handle commercial lease negotiations, eviction proceedings, purchase and sale transactions, construction contract matters, and commercial real estate disputes in King County Superior Court. Our firm has been located in the same downtown Seattle building since 2013.

Credentials

• Washington State Bar #42630, admitted 2010, active, no misconduct
• S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, admitted 2011
• Best Lawyers in America® 2026 — Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights
• Best Law Firms® 2026, Regional Tier 2 Seattle
• Super Lawyers Rising Star 2019, 2020
• America’s Most Honored Professionals Top 10%, 2019

Combined practice

Kim’s background in commercial real estate, corporate law, and bankruptcy means clients dealing with financially distressed tenants or landlords, business restructurings that intersect with lease obligations, or entity structure issues in property transactions don’t need multiple attorneys. We handle both the real estate and the financial complications in the same conversation.

Community involvement

Kim has been a member of the King County Bar Association since 2015, including serving as Chair of the KCBA Bankruptcy Law Section (2016-2017) and as a KCBA Legal Clinic volunteer. She served as Chair of the Washington State Bar Association Young Lawyers Committee (2018-2019) and led the WSBA Equity and Disparity Work Group’s response to the Washington Supreme Court’s call to action on racial disparity in the justice system (2021-2023). Punjabi spoken.

Office location

1200 5th Avenue, Suite 1950, Seattle, WA 98101. Located in the heart of downtown Seattle’s legal and financial district, approximately 0.7 miles from King County Superior Court and 0.4 miles from U.S. Bankruptcy Court and U.S. District Court (both at 700 Stewart Street). Multiple Metro bus lines serve 5th Avenue directly. Westlake Station Link Light Rail is approximately 0.3 miles away.

What to do before signing a commercial lease in Seattle

7. Is this retail, office, or another commercial use? The answer determines whether Seattle’s 2024 security deposit and guaranty caps apply. Office space is exempt; most retail is not. Confirm the property type:
8. Common Area Maintenance charges are one of the most common sources of commercial lease disputes. The lease should define what’s included, how costs are calculated, and what your audit rights are. Read the CAM provisions:
9. If your business circumstances change, can you sublease the space? Get landlord consent to sublease in writing before you need it. Check the assignment and sublease clauses:
10. Who is personally liable, for how long, and for how much? Under Seattle’s 2024 ordinance, retail lease guaranties on new leases cannot exceed two years of base rent plus landlord TI costs. Office leases have no such cap. Understand the personal guaranty:
11. Seattle’s commercial zones (Title 23 of the Seattle Municipal Code) determine permitted uses. Confirm your intended business use is permitted before signing. Verify the zoning:
12. Legal review isn’t about getting in the way. It’s about catching issues early and preventing disputes later. Contact us before signing:

Common commercial lease mistakes Seattle businesses make

• There’s no such thing. Every commercial lease reflects negotiations, and every provision that benefits the landlord was put there deliberately. Assuming the lease is “standard”:
• Landlords still using old templates may include security deposit or guaranty provisions that violate Seattle’s 2024 ordinance. Those provisions are unenforceable, but you’d need to know they exist to challenge them. Signing a pre-2024 lease form:
• Commercial leases often give landlords broad termination rights that tenants don’t fully understand until they need to exercise their own rights. The relationship between your lease termination rights and the statutory eviction process under RCW 59.12 is not intuitive. Overlooking the termination clause:
• By the time a landlord files an unlawful detainer action or a contractor records a lien, the margin for correction has narrowed. Earlier intervention costs less. Waiting until there’s a dispute:

How Seattle commercial real estate law differs from the rest of King County

Seattle is the only jurisdiction in King County with its own commercial lease regulations. The 2024 commercial lease ordinance (SMC 6.104) applies within Seattle city limits only. The same transaction in Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, or Issaquah follows state law without the local overlay.