Security Deposit Law
What Washington landlords must do with security deposits — the cap, interest, return deadline, account rules, and penalties — with citations to the statute itself.
Verified as of June 11, 2026
This page is general information, not legal advice. Statutes change — verify with the cited sources or an attorney.
Deposit cap
No statewide dollar cap for ordinary rentals — but watch local caps (Seattle) and the manufactured-housing cap.
Interest
No interest owed to the tenant — the landlord keeps trust-account interest unless the lease says otherwise.
Return deadline
Full and specific written statement plus refund within 30 days of move-out (or within 30 days of learning of abandonment).
Chapter 59.18 RCW sets no maximum security deposit for conventional residential tenancies; the only statewide numeric limit on move-in money is that a holding fee or deposit to reserve a unit may not exceed 25% of the first month's rent. Since May 7, 2025, manufactured/mobile-home-lot tenancies under chapter 59.20 RCW are capped at one month's rent for combined move-in fees and deposits (two months with pets), and Seattle caps deposits locally.
RCW 59.18.610(4)(b) · 2025 Wash. Laws ch. 209, § 204 (EHB 1217), amending RCW 59.20.170
Washington requires deposits to sit in a trust account but expressly entitles the landlord to the interest earned unless the parties agree otherwise in writing.
The statement must give the specific basis for retaining any of the deposit and include documentation: copies of estimates received or invoices paid for damage charges; for landlord/employee repairs, a bill, invoice, or receipt for materials plus a statement of time spent and the reasonable hourly rate. Delivery is complete if handed to the tenant or mailed first-class to the tenant's last known address within the 30 days. A landlord who misses the deadline is liable for the full deposit and is barred in the tenant's recovery action from asserting any claim or raising any defense for retaining any of the deposit, unless the landlord shows circumstances beyond the landlord's control prevented timely compliance or that the tenant abandoned the premises.
All security deposits must be promptly placed in a trust account with a bank, savings institution, or licensed escrow agent in Washington. You must give the tenant a written receipt for the deposit and written notice of the name, address, and location of the depository (and any later change).
Failure to give the timely statement, documentation, and refund makes the landlord liable for the full deposit and bars the landlord from asserting any claim or defense for retaining it (absent circumstances beyond the landlord's control or tenant abandonment). The court may in its discretion award up to two times the deposit for intentional refusal, and the prevailing party in a tenant's recovery action gets costs and a reasonable attorney fee. Collecting a deposit without the required move-in checklist separately makes the landlord liable for the deposit amount.
Seattle (SMC ch. 7.24, enacted by Ordinance 125222; figures below are quoted from the ordinance text on the Seattle City Clerk's official site and corroborated by the City's official Renting in Seattle guidance — the codified SMC on Municode is the citation of record): the total of a security deposit and nonrefundable move-in fees "may not exceed the amount of the first full month's rent" (SMC 7.24.035.A); nonrefundable move-in fees are limited to tenant screening and move-out cleaning and "may not exceed ten percent of the first full month's rent" (screening-report cost above 10% may be passed through at customary local cost) (SMC 7.24.035.B); tenants may pay deposits and move-in fees in installments — six consecutive equal monthly installments for terms of six months or longer, up to four for terms between 30 days and six months, two for month-to-month — with no fee or interest for electing installments (SMC 7.24.035.C); if you charged a nonrefundable move-in cleaning fee you "may not deduct additional cleaning fees from the tenant's security deposit" (SMC 7.24.035.B.3); a pet damage deposit is allowed in addition but "may not exceed 25 percent of the first full month's rent," payable in three installments, with no other pet fees permitted (SMC 7.24.038); violations expose the landlord to actual damages, double any deposit unlawfully charged or withheld, up to $3,000 for prohibited lease provisions, and attorney fees (SMC 7.24.060). Owner-occupied single-family homes are exempt from 7.24.035/.036. Tacoma's Rental Housing Code (TMC 1.95) and Landlord Fairness Code (TMC 1.100) add further renter protections (notice, late-fee, relocation-assistance rules); their current move-in fee/deposit provisions could not be verified against code text for this guide, so verify the TMC before leasing in Tacoma. Several other Washington cities also regulate move-in costs — always check the local municipal code.
You may only collect a deposit if the rental agreement is in writing, states the conditions for withholding, and you provide a written checklist or statement describing the condition and cleanliness of the premises at move-in, signed and dated by both parties, with a copy to the tenant. The tenant may request one free replacement copy.
Deposits go promptly into a trust account with a bank or licensed escrow agent; give the tenant a written receipt and the depository's name, address, and location. On a sale, the deposit transfers to an equivalent trust account of the successor landlord.
Your 30-day statement must attach copies of estimates received or invoices paid; for your own or your employee's repairs, attach the bill/invoice/receipt for materials and state the time spent and a reasonable hourly rate. Undocumented charges cannot be taken from the deposit, reported to screening agencies, or sent to collections.
No deduction for wear resulting from ordinary use; no carpet cleaning unless you document wear beyond ordinary use; no repair/replacement of fixtures, equipment, appliances, or furnishings whose condition was not documented in the move-in checklist; and no charging more than the damaged portion's repair cost when damage doesn't encompass the whole item.
Money you intend to keep can never be called a deposit. A nonrefundable fee requires a written rental agreement that clearly specifies the fee is nonrefundable; otherwise it must be treated as a refundable deposit subject to the trust-account and return rules.
On written request you must let the tenant pay deposits, nonrefundable fees, and last month's rent in installments (three monthly installments for terms of three months or longer, otherwise two), with no fee or interest for choosing installments. Suits to recover damages exceeding the deposit, for agreements starting on or after July 23, 2023, must be filed within three years of termination or abandonment.
You become liable for the full deposit and are barred from asserting any claim or raising any defense for retaining any of it (unless circumstances beyond your control prevented compliance or the tenant abandoned). Intentional refusal risks a discretionary award of up to two times the deposit, plus the tenant's attorney fees if they prevail.
The deduction is unlawful, and unsubstantiated damage charges cannot be reported to consumer reporting agencies, tenant screening services, or prospective landlords, or sent to collections.
You are liable to the tenant for the amount of the deposit, and the prevailing party recovers court costs and reasonable attorney fees. You also lose deductions for fixture/appliance conditions that weren't documented in a checklist.
If the written agreement doesn't clearly specify the fee is nonrefundable, the money is a refundable deposit subject to the trust-account, statement, and return rules — and failure to have a written agreement at all makes you liable for the fees collected.
A landlord who refuses a qualifying installment request is subject to a statutory penalty of one month's rent plus reasonable attorney fees payable to the tenant. (You need not offer installments if deposits and nonrefundable fees total 25% or less of the first month's rent and no last month's rent is required up front.)
30 days after the rental agreement ends and the tenant vacates (or 30 days after you learn of abandonment). You must send a full and specific written statement of any retention plus supporting documentation and any refund — personal delivery or first-class mail to the tenant's last known address within the 30 days counts as compliance.
State law sets no dollar cap on the deposit itself for ordinary rentals, though a holding fee/deposit to reserve a unit is capped at 25% of the first month's rent and manufactured/mobile-home-lot tenancies are capped (since May 2025) at one month's rent combined, or two with pets. Seattle separately caps deposits plus move-in fees at one month's rent — check local ordinances.
Yes. RCW 59.18.270 requires all security deposits to be promptly placed in a trust account with a bank, savings institution, or licensed escrow agent in Washington, with a written receipt and written notice to the tenant of the depository's name, address, and location.
No. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the landlord is entitled to the interest paid on the trust-account deposits.
Not for ordinary wear. No portion of a deposit may be withheld for wear resulting from ordinary use, and carpet cleaning specifically requires documented wear beyond ordinary use. Deductions for fixtures, equipment, appliances, or furnishings also fail if their move-in condition wasn't documented in the signed checklist.
Inside Seattle, the security deposit and nonrefundable move-in fees combined cannot exceed the first full month's rent; nonrefundable fees are limited to tenant screening and cleaning and capped at 10% of the first month's rent; a pet damage deposit is allowed in addition but capped at 25% of the first month's rent; and tenants may pay in installments (six monthly installments for leases of six months or longer). These figures are per SMC ch. 7.24 as enacted by Ordinance 125222 and the City's official Renting in Seattle guidance.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Statutes change — verify with the cited sources or an attorney.
Statute facts on this page were verified against the cited official sources on June 11, 2026.
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