It shall be unlawful for the tenant to hold over in the premises or
exclude the landlord therefrom after the termination of the rental
agreement except under a valid court order so authorizing. Any
landlord so deprived of possession of premises in violation of this
section may recover possession of the property and damages
sustained by him or her, and the prevailing party may recover his or
her costs of suit or arbitration and reasonable attorney's fees.
43 SMC 22.206.160(C)(7).
44 Indigo, 169 Wn. App. at 421; Carlstrom, 98 Wn. App. at 788.
45 SMC 22.206.160(C)(4).
46 SMC 22.206.160(C)(6), (7).
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A landlord who prevails in an unlawful detainer action is entitled to
judgment for the damages caused by an unlawful detainer.47 The Tenants assert
that "'[one] who prevents a thing may not avail himself of the nonperformance
which he has occasioned,'"48 but that did not happen here. The Landlords are
entitled to recover damages.
The Tenants' attempt to pay August rent was not an attempt to perform an
existing contract that the other party frustrated. The Landlords had terminated
that contract, and the Tenants unlawfully detained the property. Therefore, the
Landlords have not "availed" themselves of any nonperformance that they
caused. The judgment for unpaid rent payment placed the Landlords in the
position they would have been in had the Tenants not unlawfully detained the
rental property.
Attorney Fees
The Residential Landlord-Tenant Act of 1973, chapter 59.18 RCW, allows
the prevailing party in an unlawful detainer action to recover reasonable attorney
fees and costs.49 The trial court properly awarded the Landlords reasonable