In court-decided eviction outcomes for Beacon Hill, WA, tenants prevail in roughly 40.2% of contested cases. A higher number means landlords face stronger tenant defenses, longer calendars, and more required documentation, and landlord-friendliness drops as this rises.
Timeline
169d
filing → judgment
From the moment an unlawful-detainer notice is filed in Beacon Hill, WA until a money judgment is entered, a contested eviction takes about 169 days on average. Longer timelines mean more lost rent and higher carry costs for landlords.
Cost range
$7.2–19.7k
legal + lost rent
A typical eviction in Beacon Hill, WA costs landlords $7,226 to $19,685 all-in, covering court filing fees, process-server costs, attorney time, and lost rent during the calendar between filing and possession.
Average rent
$806
25% stretched on rent
Average gross rent in Beacon Hill, WA is $806 per month per the U.S. Census American Community Survey (5-year 2023). 25% of renter households here spend more than 30% of pre-tax income on rent, the federal cost-burden threshold.
Renters
37.0%
of households
37.0% of occupied housing units in Beacon Hill, WA are renter-occupied (vs owner-occupied). A higher renter share usually correlates with more eviction filings, more turnover, and a more active rental market.
Poverty
13.1%
2.4% unemp.
13.1% of Beacon Hill, WA residents live below the federal poverty line, and unemployment runs at 2.4%. Both feed into the economic-stress sub-score in our Eviction Risk Score model because rent payment problems track poverty + joblessness more reliably than any other single signal.
Time machine
Scrub 50 years
197619861996200620162026
2026
● LIVE · today◀ REPLAY · historical
Nine-axis profile
9-axis profile · today
Shape of the risk surface
1 landlord · 10 tenant
Sub-scores · with sparkline
Where the score comes from
1 → 10 scale
Local political climate
GOP margin +19.9% (2024)
4.7
Regional political climate
County-weighted neighbor mix
4.7
State political climate
Washington legislature & governorship
6.0
Economic stress
13.1% poverty · 2.4% unemp.
5.3
Supply constraint
$806 average · 37.0% renters
6.1
Rent Control risk
24.6% of income on rent
1.5
Eviction process difficulty
169 days filing → judgment
5.8
Tenant organizing strength
37.0% renters
7.9
Housing court bias
County bench composition
3.8
Geographic context
Risk heat across Beacon Hill and the region
Click any city to see its score
How Beacon Hill compares
Risk score vs. peers, county, state, and the U.S.
Rank in Cowlitz County
Low
#8of 11 cities
#8 of 11 cities in Cowlitz County for landlord eviction risk.
Rank in Washington
Low
#476of 637 cities
#476 of 637 cities in Washington for landlord eviction risk.
vs. county · state · U.S.
Score story
Six-stop tour of the risk profile
6.4
/ 10 · ELEVATED
The verdict
A Elevated-tier market.
Composite 6.4/10. Mid-range market; standard documentation usually wins. The 50-year curve shows a sharp climb.
50-yr trend+4.1 over 50 yr
197620012026
Steepening since 2010 · COVID inflection visible
169d
Typical timeline
The money
What renting (and evicting) looks like.
Rent published at $806/mo. A contested eviction takes 169 days and costs $7,226–$19,685 per case.
50-yr trendCalendar drag rising since '15
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
37.0%
Renters
The renters
Who you'll be renting to.
Out of 1,804 residents, 37.0% rent. 25% are spending 30%+ income on rent, 13.1% below the poverty line.
50-yr trendRenter share rising
197620012026
ACS 1970-present · once the migration overlay is in.
4.7
Local + regional
The politics
Mid-range climate. Not a coastal market.
Local & regional political climate score 4.7 and 4.7 (GOP margin +19.9% (2024)). State climate at 6, a mid-range statehouse.
50-yr trendTracks county vote margin
197620012026
Built on 50-yr presidential margins back to 1976.
6
State politics
The process
Moderate calendar, moderate friction.
State political climate 6/10 sets the legislative ceiling for landlord remedies, and it shows up in the process. Eviction process difficulty reads 5.8, housing court bias 3.8, rent-control risk 1.5. Standard process speed for the state.
50-yr trendProcess difficulty +0.8 since '00
197620012026
Court-clerk data lands in the next release.
5.3
Economic stress
The stress
Economic pressure is the background risk.
Economic stress: 5.3. Supply constraint: 6.1. The numbers behind those: 13.1% poverty, 2.4% unemployment, 25% of income on rent.
50-yr trendTwo visible dips · '08 + COVID
197620012026
Mirrors BLS unemployment series.
US eviction landscape · timeline × all-in cost
Beacon Hill sits in the slow & expensive quadrant
Bubble size = population · color = risk score
Beacon Hill · 169d · ~$13.5k all-in ($80/day) · score 6.4National average: 58d · $4.6k all-inHover any bubble for stats · click to openColor: 0–4 4–7 7–10
Landlording in Beacon Hill, Washington, presents an elevated-friction market where documented notices and proactive screening matter. The Eviction Risk Score is 6.4/10 (ELEVATED tier), drawn from the nine sub-axes shown above, covering rent-control exposure, eviction-process difficulty, housing-court bias, tenant-organizing strength, supply constraint, economic stress, and local, regional, and state political climate. This is not a quick-fix market: it's a Elevated-friction market where lease drafting, screening discipline, and well-documented notices materially change outcomes.
Beacon Hill is a city of 1,804 residents where 37.0% of occupied units are renter-occupied, and the typical renter spends 24.6% of income on rent. At an average rent of $806/month, the typical renter household here spends more than the federal 30% threshold on housing, a leading indicator of payment volatility and a precondition for the kinds of tenant defenses that show up most often in housing court.
01Process
How Beacon Hill eviction process actually works
Eviction process difficulty here reads 5.8/10, a number that combines statutory complexity (notice categories, just-cause rules, mandatory pre-filing disclosures) with operational realities (court calendar length and clerk responsiveness). The typical contested filing in Beacon Hill closes 169 days after the initial notice. For non-payment of rent the first step is a properly-formatted, properly-served pay-or-quit notice; for material lease breaches it's a cure-or-quit; for tenancies under just-cause protection an at-fault grounds notice (or a no-fault notice with statutory relocation assistance) is required.
The slow part of Beacon Hill's timeline is usually the calendar, not the motion practice. Housing court bias scores 3.8/10 here, meaning judges read borderline procedural defects in the tenant's favor more often than the national norm. The practical implication: every notice and every proof of service needs to be airtight before it gets filed.
02Cost
What it costs (and how long it takes)
An all-in eviction in Beacon Hill runs $7,226 to $19,685 per case once you account for filing fees, attorney time, lost rent during pendency, sheriff lockout, and unit turnover. That range is wide because the upper bound assumes a tenant answer plus motion practice, common when housing court bias is high. The lower bound assumes a default judgment after proper service.
For landlords running the numbers on holding costs vs. cash-for-keys: if your projected timeline times your monthly rent already exceeds the high-end cost number, cash-for-keys at 1–2 months' rent is typically the economically rational choice. With 169 days of typical timeline and $806/month in lost rent, that crossover happens fast here.
03Operations
Security deposits, screening, and lease terms
Tenant organizing strength scores 7.9/10 in Beacon Hill, and the city has limited rent control exposure (1.5/10). Operations practice that survives audit in this environment looks like:
Screening discipline. Document income (verified at 2.5 to 3x rent), credit (with a clear minimum), and prior-tenancy reference checks, but do not screen on protected categories or source-of-income where banned. Keep a written, consistent screening criteria document for every applicant.
Lease specificity. Use a state-specific lease that names every term clearly: rent due date, late fees within statutory caps, deposit handling, smoke and CO disclosure, lead paint disclosure (pre-1978 stock), and a clean attorney's-fees clause.
Security deposit handling. Itemize deductions within the statutory window. Photograph move-in/move-out condition. In Washington, deposit cap and refund window are statute, so exceed them at your own risk.
Mid-tenancy documentation. Keep date-stamped records of every rent receipt, every habitability request, every notice served. The day you need them in court is too late to start.
04Strategy
What an everyday landlord should actually do here
If you own one to four units in Beacon Hill: hire a property manager who knows the local court. The pricing differential between self-managing and hiring out is small relative to the cost of one botched eviction in a ELEVATED tier market. If you own five or more: build relationships with a local landlord-side attorney before you need one, since retainer fees are negligible compared to emergency-rate billing when an eviction is already moving.
The avoidable mistakes here are all upstream of the filing: weak screening, an informal lease, sloppy rent receipts, and notice templates pulled off the internet that don't match Washington's statutory language. Fix those four, and most cases settle or default. Skip them, and a $19,685 all-in fight is the realistic worst case.
04bPractical traps
Local traps to avoid in Beacon Hill
Trap · PRACTICAL TRAP
Compare Beacon Hill to neighboring cities in Cowlitz County via the grid below. The 4.6/10 score is computed from nine sub-factors plus a state-law multiplier under HB 1236 + RCW 59.18. Cowlitz County 2020 presidential margin: R+17.4. Cross-reference the state overview link in the guides section for Washington statutory detail.
05FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Q1
Can I evict a tenant in Beacon Hill for being messy or having too many guests?
It depends. For minor messiness, probably not. For excessive mess that violates health and safety codes or damages the property, yes, but you'd need to serve a notice to cure the violation first, typically 10 days, then proceed with an eviction if they don't fix it. For guests, your lease should define occupancy limits. If they consistently violate a reasonable guest policy, you might have grounds, but it's harder than non-payment. Remember, Washington requires "just cause" for eviction.
Q2
How long does it typically take to get a court date for an eviction in Cowlitz County?
After you file the unlawful detainer lawsuit, it can take anywhere from a few weeks to over a month to get your initial court hearing, depending on court availability and how quickly the tenant is served. If the tenant contests the eviction, the process will be significantly longer as it moves through discovery and potential trial dates. The 169-day average timeline for the entire process is a good number to keep in mind.
Q3
What if my tenant pays part of the rent after I serve the 14-day notice?
This is tricky in Washington. If you accept a partial payment after serving a 14-day notice, you generally waive your right to proceed with that specific eviction based on that notice. You'd likely have to serve a new 14-day notice for the remaining balance. It's often better to decline partial payments if your goal is eviction, or consult your attorney immediately about how to handle it without waiving your rights. This is a common landlord mistake.
Q4
Can I raise the rent in Beacon Hill? Are there rent control rules?
No, there are no statewide rent control rules in Washington. You can raise the rent, but you must provide proper notice, typically 60 days for month-to-month tenancies. Your lease will dictate how often and by how much you can raise rent during a fixed-term lease. However, the sub-score for rent-control-risk is 1.5/10, which is low, meaning statewide rent control isn't a major immediate threat. Always check local ordinances, though, as these can change.
Q5
What if my tenant claims their income source is protected (e.g., Section 8) but they don't qualify?
Washington has statewide source-of-income protection. This means you must consider Section 8 or other legal income sources. You cannot refuse to rent solely because they use a voucher. However, you can still apply your standard screening criteria (credit score, rental history, criminal background) to all applicants, including those with vouchers. If they don't meet your other objective qualifications, you can deny them. Just be sure your denial is based on those objective criteria, not the source of income itself.
A 6.4/10 places Beacon Hill in the 26th percentile of Washington cities on the Eviction Risk Score index. The score is the average of the nine sub-axes, all calibrated on a national 1 to 10 scale where 1 is most landlord-friendly and 10 is most tenant-protective. The 50-year reconstruction shows this score has risen sharply since 1976, a structural drift driven by court-calendar growth, rent-control adoption, and the rise of tenant-side legal aid. The trajectory matters more than the snapshot: the score is the climate, not the weather.
Cities with similar eviction risk to Beacon Hill (6.4/10)
Same risk band nationally · click any city for its full breakdown.
