Landlord's Lien

Any person to whom rent may be due, his or her executors, administrators, or assigns, shall have a lien for such rent upon personal property which has been used or kept on the rented premises by the tenant, except property of third persons delivered to or left with the tenant for storage, repair, manufacture, or sale, or under conditional bills of sale duly filed, and such property as is exempt from execution by law. Such liens for rent shall be paramount to, and have preference over, all other liens except liens for taxes, general and special liens of labor, and liens of mortgages duly recorded prior to the tenancy. Such liens shall not be for more than two months' rent due, except that a lien for up to four months' rent due may be established when the tenant is renting a mobile home lot in a mobile home park as defined in RCW 59.20.030... (RCW 60.72.010)

The landlord's lien does not attach to leased personal property. RCW 60.72.010; Swanson v. White, 83 Wn.2d 175 (1973). However, a landlord's lien attaches and takes priority over a security interest in the tenant's personal property unless the secured creditor perfects its security interest prior to the commencement of the tenancy. Id.; Paris American Corp. v. McCausland, 52 Wn.App. at 439 (holding that the sale of equipment and retention of security interest constitutes a "lien of mortgage" under the landlord's lien act).

A secured creditor should always obtain a subordination/waiver agreement from a landlord where collateral will be located on the leased premises. Personal property lessors should follow the same policy as a safeguard against characterization of their agreement as a secured transaction rather than a true lease.