Giving Intent to Vacate notice on an 18 month lease.

The landlord cannot hold you to your lease for over a year unless your signature is acknowledged. The court would, if asked, construe your lease to be valid for one year from the date you signed but no longer than that. The court can't. See RCW 59 18 230. Any term of a lease that is inconsistent with the RLTA (not the entire lease, just the inconsistent term) is uninforceable. WA courts do not use the Consumer Protection Act as an enforcement mechanism for the RLTA. This is based on a 20-year old decision called State v. Schwab. Thus the RLTA has its own separate provisions for remedies which do not allow CPA remedies. Bottom line an interest in property for more than a year violates the Statute of Frauds without your signature being acknowledged. So with all respect, your manager's opinion is incorrect. You can provide your termination notice for the end of March so long as it is delivered on or before March 10. Your obligation is not to make your manager accept it, your obligation is to be sure that you send the notice, either personally or by mail. And you'll want to keep a copy. If the lease looks at first glance as though your signature was notarized, you'll need to be prepared to explain this to a court. I'm not looking at the lease, so I can't tell. Please consider a brief consult with a local attorney for advice based on your lease. If questioned, what would the notary say? They are supposed to keep records of all signatures they acknowledge, so theoretically if your name was not in their book then there is no proof your signature was acknowledged. Hope this helps. Elizabeth Powell