Washington Security Deposit Laws for Landlords

Washington sets no statewide cap on security deposits for apartments and houses, but you may collect a deposit only if the rental agreement is in writing and you and the tenant sign and date a move-in checklist describing the unit's condition. Within 30 days after the agreement ends and the tenant moves out, you must deliver or mail a full and specific statement of anything you keep, with copies of estimates or invoices for damage charges, plus any refund due. Miss that deadline and you owe the full deposit, and a court can award up to twice the deposit if it finds you intentionally refused. Seattle adds its own cap of one month's rent on deposits and move-in fees combined.

What do you need before you collect a deposit?

Under RCW 59.18.260, two documents must exist at the start of the tenancy:

1. A written lease or rental agreement that states the conditions under which you may keep all or part of the deposit. If you plan to use it for damage the tenant causes, the agreement must say so.
2. A written move-in checklist describing the condition and cleanliness of, or existing damage to, the unit, its fixtures, equipment, appliances, and furnishings. At a minimum it must cover walls (including paint and wallpaper), carpets and other flooring, furniture, and appliances. You and the tenant both sign and date it, the tenant gets a copy, and the tenant may ask for one free replacement copy later.

If you collect a deposit without providing the checklist, you are liable to the tenant for the amount of the deposit, and the winning side in that dispute can recover court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.

The checklist also sets the ceiling on later claims. You cannot keep deposit money to repair or replace a fixture, appliance, or furnishing whose condition the checklist did not reasonably document. Record each appliance and furnished item by room, note existing scratches and stains, and attach dated photos. Our guide on whether a move-in inspection is required covers how to run the walkthrough.

How much can you charge, and what about fees?

State law sets no dollar limit for apartments and houses. Washington's 2025 rent stabilization law (2025 c 209) capped deposits and move-in fees at one month's rent, or two months' rent with pets, but only for manufactured and mobile home lot rentals entered into on or after May 7, 2025.

Three other state rules affect what you collect:

• Nonrefundable fees (for example, a cleaning fee) are allowed only if the written rental agreement clearly says the fee is nonrefundable, and you may not label the fee a deposit or part of one. A fee the agreement does not call nonrefundable is treated as a refundable deposit. If there is no written agreement, you owe the tenant back any fee collected as nonrefundable.
• Holding fees, paid to reserve a unit after you offer it to an applicant, cannot exceed 25 percent of the first month's rent. Give a receipt and a written statement of when you may keep the fee as soon as it is paid. If the applicant moves in, credit the fee to the first month's rent or the deposit; if not, you may keep it only as that statement allows.
• Interest on the deposit belongs to you unless you agree otherwise in writing.

Seattle limits move-in costs further. The deposit and nonrefundable move-in fees together cannot exceed one month's rent. Move-in fees cannot exceed 10 percent of the first month's rent and may pay only for tenant screening or cleaning at move-out. A pet deposit cannot exceed 25 percent of the first month's rent. If the tenant paid a nonrefundable cleaning fee, you cannot also deduct cleaning costs from the deposit. The combined cap, the move-in fee limits, and the cleaning rule do not apply when the owner rents out part of a single-family house that is the owner's principal residence. Outside Seattle, check your city's rental code before you set amounts.

Where must you hold the deposit?

Promptly place each deposit in a trust account that you keep for tenants' security deposits, at a financial institution or licensed escrow agent located in Washington. Give the tenant a written receipt and written notice of the name, address, and location of the depository, and send a new notice if you move the account.

If you sell the property during a tenancy, the deposits must move to an equivalent trust account held by the buyer at the same time, and the buyer must promptly tell each tenant where the money now sits. If a unit is foreclosed and the deposit is not transferred to the new owner, the former owner must refund the full deposit right after the sale or transfer, or it can owe the tenant up to twice the deposit.

When must you accept installment payments?

RCW 59.18.610 requires you to let a tenant who asks in writing pay deposits, nonrefundable fees, and last month's rent in installments that begin at the start of the tenancy:

Each installment is due on the rent due date. The schedule must be in writing and signed by you and the tenant, and you cannot charge a fee or interest for it. You may refuse only when the deposits and nonrefundable fees total 25 percent or less of the first full month's rent and you are not collecting last month's rent at move-in. Refusing a valid written request carries a penalty of one month's rent plus the tenant's reasonable attorney's fees.

Example: for a 12-month lease at $1,800 a month, you charge an $1,800 deposit and a $200 nonrefundable cleaning fee, $2,000 in total. The tenant can pay $666.67 with the first month's rent and $666.67 and $666.66 in the next two months ($666.67 + $666.67 + $666.66 = $2,000).

In Seattle, tenants may pay deposits and move-in fees in 6 equal monthly installments for leases of 6 months or longer, up to 4 equal, equally spaced installments for fixed terms of 30 days to less than 6 months, or 2 equal installments for month-to-month tenancies. Last month's rent can be paid in 6 equal monthly installments for leases of 6 months or longer, or up to 4 equal, equally spaced installments for terms of 60 days to less than 6 months. These Seattle installment rules do not apply when the tenant rents within a single-family house that is the owner's principal residence; the state installment rules above still apply. A pet deposit can be split into 3 monthly installments. You cannot refuse to rent to someone because they choose to pay in installments.

Can you offer a monthly fee instead of a deposit?

Yes, under RCW 59.18.670, if you follow its conditions:

• The fee must be optional, and the tenant can always pay the full deposit instead. A tenant who chooses the fee pays neither a deposit nor last month's rent in advance. You cannot use the tenant's choice when deciding whether to approve the application, and if you offer the option, you must offer it to every approved applicant.
• You must still provide the signed move-in checklist and give the tenant the state's written disclosure form with each lease and renewal that offers the fee.
• The fee must go toward buying insurance from a lawful insurer that covers your losses for unpaid rent, fees, and damage beyond ordinary wear, and it cannot exceed the cost of obtaining and administering that coverage.
• The fee is not rent, so nonpayment is not grounds for eviction under the Washington eviction process, though you can sue to collect it.
• The tenant can switch to the deposit amount listed on the disclosure form at any time, with any applicable installment rights under RCW 59.18.610. Recurring fees stop beginning the month after the deposit is paid in full.
• If the insurer pays your claim, or denies it because the loss is not owed under the lease or your documentation was insufficient, you cannot bill or pursue the tenant for it. You can if the claim is denied because the loss falls outside the policy's coverage or exceeds its limit. Before any collection effort or lawsuit, send the tenant notice of the charges with supporting documentation and wait 60 days, and wait 60 days after filing an insurance claim. Any lawsuit or collection must begin within one year after the tenancy ends.

A material violation of these rules can make you liable for up to twice the monthly rent plus court costs and attorney's fees.

How do you send the 30-day statement?

The deadline in RCW 59.18.280 runs 30 days from the later of the rental agreement ending and the tenant moving out, or 30 days from when you learn the tenant abandoned the unit. You meet it if, within those 30 days, you hand the tenant the statement and refund or mail them first class to the tenant's last known address.

1. Inspect against the checklist. Compare each room with the move-in record and photograph changes. Our article on what security deposits are usually used for lists common charges.
2. Exclude what the law bars. You cannot keep money for wear from ordinary use, for carpet cleaning unless you document carpet wear beyond ordinary use, for items the checklist did not document, or for more than the cost of fixing the damaged portion of an item (one stained section of carpet, not the whole room).
3. Attach proof for each damage charge. Include copies of estimates received or invoices paid. If you or an employee did the work, add the bill, invoice, or receipt for materials (a vendor price list works for supplies you already stock) and a statement of the hours spent and the reasonable hourly rate charged.
4. List rent and other charges separately. The checklist and documentation rules do not apply to deductions for unpaid rent or other money owed under the lease.
5. Mail or deliver it by day 30 and keep proof of the mailing date.

If damage exceeds the deposit, you can sue for the balance plus reasonable attorney's fees. You have three years from the end of the tenancy to file that suit when the rental agreement started on or after July 23, 2023. Charges for ordinary wear, or damage charges without the documentation above, cannot be billed to the tenant, reported to a credit bureau, tenant screening service, or prospective landlord, or sent to collections. See what to do when a tenant damages your property for options beyond the deposit, and the general process for returning a deposit for the steps in other states.

What happens if you break these rules?

A late statement also bars you from asserting any claim or defense for keeping the deposit in the tenant's suit to recover it, unless you show that circumstances beyond your control prevented a timely statement or that the tenant abandoned the unit. In any suit over the deposit, the winning side, you or the tenant, recovers court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.