Can I Get a Protection Order If We Live Together?

If you share a home with the person you are afraid of, you may still be able to ask a court for protection. Living under the same roof does not disqualify you, and in many cases it is exactly the kind of relationship Washington's protection order law was written to cover.

The Short Answer

Yes. Whether the person is a spouse, a partner, a relative, or simply a roommate, Washington law gives you a way to seek a court order that limits their contact with you. The type of order and the relationship category may differ depending on who the other person is, but a shared living situation does not close off your options. In fact, one important rule makes this clear: your right to petition for relief is not affected by the fact that you have left, or need to leave, your residence or household. See RCW 7.105.105(7). You do not have to choose between staying in an unsafe home and giving up your ability to ask for protection.

Who Counts as a Family or Household Member

Washington's civil protection order statute defines a category called "family or household members," and it is broader than many people expect. Under RCW 7.105.010(14), it includes persons related by blood, marriage, domestic partnership, or adoption, and it includes persons who currently or formerly resided together. It also covers certain parent-child relationships, stepparents and stepchildren, grandparents and grandchildren, a parent's intimate partner and children, and a person acting as a legal guardian.

The phrase that matters most for people who live together is that language about persons who currently or formerly resided together. That is what allows a roommate to seek a domestic violence protection order against another roommate, even when the two are not related and were never romantically involved. If you share a home now, or shared one in the past, you likely fall within this category.

Intimate Partners Who Share a Home

If the person you live with is a spouse, a domestic partner, a former spouse or partner, someone you have a child with, or someone you have dated, you may fit into a separate and overlapping category the law calls "intimate partner." See RCW 7.105.010(21). Intimate partners can seek a domestic violence protection order just as family or household members can. The two categories are not mutually exclusive, and the petition itself asks you to identify which one describes your relationship. See RCW 7.105.100(1)(a).

The practical point is that most people who live together will fit one of these two categories, and both open the door to a domestic violence protection order when there has been domestic violence as the law defines it.

What If There Is No Family or Household Relationship

Sometimes people live together without fitting neatly into any of those categories, or the conduct involved is harassment rather than domestic violence. Washington accounts for that as well. An antiharassment protection order is available based on unlawful harassment committed by the respondent, and it does not depend on a family, household, or intimate relationship at all. See RCW 7.105.100(1)(f). In other words, if the relationship category does not fit, the type of order can change, but you are not left without a remedy simply because of how you are connected to the other person.

What Domestic Violence Means Here

For a domestic violence protection order, you need to show that domestic violence occurred. Under RCW 7.105.010(10), that includes physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or the infliction of fear of those things, as well as nonconsensual sexual conduct, unlawful harassment, stalking, and coercive control. Coercive control is defined as a pattern of behavior used to cause harm and to unreasonably interfere with your free will and personal liberty, which can include isolating you, controlling your finances or movements, or threatening people or things you care about. Behavior inside a shared home often takes exactly these forms, which is why the law reaches it.

Getting an Order Quickly

If you believe serious immediate harm could result before the other person is notified, you can request a temporary protection order at the time you file. The court can grant an ex parte temporary order pending a full hearing, effective for a fixed period generally not to exceed fourteen days. See RCW 7.105.305. That temporary order can provide breathing room, including provisions that address contact and distance, while the court schedules the full hearing where both sides are heard.

The Snohomish County Angle

For people in Snohomish County, shared-housing situations come up constantly, from married couples and unmarried partners to adult family members and roommates. The relationship label matters because it determines which order fits, but the encouraging part is how many living arrangements the statute already covers. Sorting out which category applies to you, and which type of order gives you the strongest protection, is something worth thinking through carefully.

Talk It Through

Living with the person you are afraid of can feel like it traps you, but the law does not see it that way. Between domestic violence protection orders for family, household, and intimate partner relationships, and antiharassment orders for everyone else, Washington provides a path regardless of how you are connected. If you are trying to figure out which order fits your household and how to move forward safely, the Law Office of Chad Foster is here to help you understand your choices. Reach out whenever you are ready.

If you are in immediate danger, call 911.