No. 56232-4-II
vacated the residence, there would be no basis for the landlord to pursue an unlawful detainer
action against the tenant. See RCW 59.18.650(2)(e) (providing cause to evict when “[t]he tenant
continues in possession”). Accordingly, based on our review of the plain meaning, we hold that
RCW 59.18.650(2)(e) requires an owner to make reasonable attempts to sell or advertise the
residence “within 30 days after the tenant has vacated,” as provided in the definition of elects to
sell. RCW 59.18.650(2)(e).3
Snow argues that the legislative history of the statute supports his interpretation because
the statute was enacted with the goal of protecting residential tenants following the eviction
moratorium proclaimed during the COVID-19 pandemic. But this legislative history is only
relevant to determining the intent behind the statute if the statute is ambiguous, which, as described
above, it is not. Jametsky, 179 Wn.2d at 762. And, even if the legislative history was relevant to
our analysis, the requirements placed upon landlords under the statute—namely, that a tenant can
only be evicted for one of the causes enumerated in the statute—and the relief for tenants in the
form of a wrongful eviction lawsuit if these requirements are not followed achieves the
legislature’s goal of “protecting residential tenants . . . by . . . limiting the reasons for eviction,
refusal to continue, and termination” of tenancies. LAWS OF 2021, ch. 212, § 2. But this does not
lead us to conclude that a property owner must list or advertise a residence for sale while a tenant
is still residing on the premises.