Advice On How To Respond To Landlord

Hope this is the correct place to post.

I've been in a split level rental for 2.5 years. There are tenants downstairs and my family lives upstairs. We initially wanted to rent the downstairs unit because it had an absolutely gorgeous bathroom with a huge Jacuzzi and walk in shower, however once I thought about it I realized we needed to be practical so we rented the upstairs which has a full size kitchen and full sized windows (downstairs is a basement unit with a ridiculously tiny kitchen with hardly any sunlight.) Since we've been here several people have rented the downstairs unit then moved, I believe they eventually realized what I did: you can't sacrifice practicality for luxury!

We also have a toddler and a business which often has us up at late hours leading to unavoidable noise.

I'm sure you can see where this is leading.

The new tenants found out they are pregnant and suddenly the landlord, who was always chill, has been freaking out on us. I'm almost positive it's because they have seen our place is much more appropriate for a family and want to get us kicked out so they can move upstairs. I'm scared, because we live in a city that is difficult to find housing.

The biggest issue was the lease signing and how it occurred. The landlord took months to bring us a new lease despite several inquiries. When he finally brought the lease he came back a few hours later and starts laying out all the problems he has with us! (except, of course, the fact our rent is always on time lol) He's always shown up unannounced. This was never an issue before but that day I was half dressed and I think he may have seen my breasts! Long story, I had the super flu and the house is a weird design! Either way, if he'd aired his grievances before we signed the lease we would've likely no. now we are on the line for another year in a place where we don't feel comfortable.

There are many issues with the home.

*It was built in the 20s and has a terrible ant problem that I must spend an exorbitant amount of time on mitigating. I have become OCD about cleaning and I bait/treat the entire outside/inside regularly.

*The electricity is horrible.. (That was one of his complaints no Christmas tree lights...but we have a 2 year old!)

*We live in the city near one of those "tiny home" facilities and have had more than one attempted break in. (The landlord was great, however, and put up a little fence where the stairs lead to the main road.)

*I believe the landlord has been using chemical treatments every time a new tenant moves in without consulting us. This leads to a huge and immediate influx of pests crawling up our walls which I then have to deal with for months. In fact, when the last tenants moved in my daughter and I got a "mystery illness" for weeks. I'm almost positive it was those aerosol pest treatments.

I could list many more issues but since our rent was fair and the relationship had always been great it seemed best to stay.

The biggest worry I have is that the landlord texted my husband 2 days ago saying he cannot rent the unit when we move because it smells like cigarette smoke (my husband is a smoker, which the landlord was well aware of at move in, he smokes outside but admittedly occasionally smoked in the bathroom out the window with doors closed.) I don't understand why the landlord never mentioned this before over all these years. He has been in the unit as recently as 3 months ago and generally 4-5x a year. He's never complained about smoke or cleanliness (I'm a SAHM and keep the place immaculate.)

I believe it's likely because the downstairs tenants got pregnant. I wish they would have addressed their concerns with us directly. The crazy thing is that the boyfriend was smoking so much pot downstairs that I was concerned my toddler would get a contact high! I think he only does it when the GF is at work. There was also a smoker living in the downstairs unit about a year ago. I feel like the landlord may be coming after us because he THINKS we have $$. In fact, I'm almost positive.

Again, I cannot emphasize enough how hard housing is to find, we live in Location: Seattle, WA otherwise we would have left, especially because our business requires parking a large vehicle and that is difficult to find in a rental where we live.

If anyone has read this all the way through thank you for your tenacity.

I basically want to know how I should respond to the landlords text concerning smoking and his "inability" to rent the unit in the future (Which is completely ludicrous, he could rent this place in a heartbeat! It's fairly priced, in a great location, and the unit downstairs has never once been empty for more than a few days. If the place smelled like smoke my freinds, family, AND the landlord himself would have mentioned this over the years if it was true!) However, I doubt it's wise to admit to occasional smoking, yet, I don't like to be dishonest. I feel like if I admit it, though, we could be screwed if this ends up in court. On the other hand we want to move because the whole thing makes for an uncomfortable living situation.

If you are a lawyer or maybe have been in a similar situation how would you suggest we respond. I was thinking of telling the landlord we can look for a new place since there are issues and we already planned on painting/carpet cleaning before we leave, which I would do anyway, perhaps find him a new renter, I know several people who would probably love to rent this place.

It's kind of a gamble. We'll need some time to find another place without his referral. I'm nervous. I don't want him to start an eviction as we may not be able to find something immediately.

Any advice is gratefully appreciated