Washington Landlord-Tenant Law for DIY Landlords (2026)

Security deposits, the 2025 rent cap, the 14-day pay or vacate notice and the eviction timeline in Washington, in plain English for landlords who manage their own rentals.

Last updated September 23, 2026

Washington became a rent-capped state on May 7, 2025, the day Governor Ferguson signed HB 1217. The new sections (RCW 59.18.700 and RCW 59.18.710) put a ceiling on what you can raise rent in any 12-month period, and they stack on top of a landlord-tenant act that already ran tight on deposits, notice and repairs.

Here is what a small landlord in Washington has to get right, with the code section behind each rule.

Security deposits

There is no statutory cap on the deposit itself. Chapter 59.18 RCW sets no maximum dollar amount or multiple of rent for a residential security deposit. Your local ordinance might, so check your city before you set the number.

No written lease, no deposit. You cannot collect a deposit without a written rental agreement and a written move-in checklist describing the condition and cleanliness of the unit, including walls, flooring, furniture and appliances. Both of you sign and date it. Collect a deposit without that checklist and you owe the tenant the full amount of the deposit, plus court costs and attorney fees (RCW 59.18.260).

The money goes into a trust account. Deposits sit in a trust account at a Washington financial institution or a licensed escrow agent. Give the tenant a written receipt and written notice of the name, address and location of the depository, and of any later change (RCW 59.18.270).

You have 30 days to return it. Within 30 days after the tenancy ends and the tenant moves out, send a full and specific written statement of the basis for keeping any part of the deposit, with documentation, plus any refund owed. Hand it over in person or mail it first class to the tenant's last known address inside those 30 days (RCW 59.18.280).

Miss the deadline and you owe the whole deposit. A court can add up to two times the deposit for an intentional refusal to give the statement, documentation or refund, and the tenant recovers costs and a reasonable attorney fee (RCW 59.18.280).

Fees are not deposits. A nonrefundable fee has to be named as a fee in the written rental agreement, never labelled a deposit (RCW 59.18.285). A fee to hold a unit cannot exceed 25 percent of the first month's rent (RCW 59.18.253). Washington lets you offer a recurring fee in place of a full deposit, with its own disclosure rules (RCW 59.18.670).

Late fees and the grace period

Five days, then the fee. You cannot charge a late fee on rent paid within five days of its due date (RCW 59.18.170). Once rent runs past that window, the fee may be assessed from the day after the due date.

There is no state cap on the amount. Chapter 59.18 RCW does not set a maximum late fee. Put a reasonable one in the lease and apply it the same way every month.

Nothing stops you from serving a pay or vacate notice the day rent is late (RCW 59.18.170).

Rent increases and rent stabilization

The cap is 7 percent plus CPI, or 10 percent, whichever is less. That is the most you can raise rent in any 12-month period of the tenancy (RCW 59.18.700). The Department of Commerce publishes the figure each year. For increases taking effect in 2026 the maximum is 9.683 percent.

No increase at all in the first 12 months. The clock starts when the tenancy begins (RCW 59.18.700).

Ninety days' written notice. You owe at least 90 days' prior written notice of a rent increase, dropping to 30 days for subsidized tenancies (RCW 59.18.140). If you are claiming an exemption from the cap, the supporting facts go in the notice itself (RCW 59.18.700).

Some properties sit outside the cap. The exemptions include a unit whose first certificate of occupancy was issued 12 or fewer years before the notice, certain owner-occupied single-family homes and small multiplexes, public and nonprofit regulated affordable housing, and qualified low-income housing tax credit developments under an enforceable regulatory agreement (RCW 59.18.710).

Cities still cannot write their own rent control. Control of rent is a matter of statewide significance and is preempted (RCW 35.21.830). Seattle and Tacoma layer on extra notice and relocation rules of their own, so read your municipal code.

One more line worth knowing. You cannot price a month-to-month more than five percent above a longer or shorter term for the same unit, or load it with more burdensome payment terms (RCW 59.18.700).

Entering the unit

Two days' written notice. Give at least two days' written notice of your intent to enter, and enter only at reasonable times. Showings to prospective tenants or buyers need one day's notice (RCW 59.18.150).

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

You need a cause. Washington has no no-cause termination for a month-to-month or other periodic tenancy. You have to fit one of the causes listed in RCW 59.18.650.

The tenant needs 20 days. A tenant ends a month-to-month with written notice at least 20 days before the end of the rental period (RCW 59.18.650).

Two of the common owner causes carry 90 days' advance written notice, for the owner or an immediate family member moving in, and for the sale of a single-family home. A unit condemned or found unlawful to occupy carries 30 days (RCW 59.18.650). Each cause has its own proof requirements, so read the subsection you plan to use.

When rent isn't paid

Fourteen days to pay or vacate. The notice for nonpayment under the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act is 14 days (RCW 59.12.030(3)). The form is mandatory and has to carry the state's listed help lines and resources, including the Attorney General's landlord-tenant page and the Eviction Defense Screening Line (RCW 59.18.057).

Other defaults run on different clocks. Ten days for a lease violation you are asking the tenant to cure (RCW 59.12.030(4)), three days for waste or nuisance (RCW 59.12.030(5)).

The eviction (unlawful detainer) process

Serve the notice and let the period run out.
File and serve the summons and complaint. The return date is not less than 7 nor more than 30 days from service (RCW 59.12.070).
Show cause hearing. The court hears both sides. If you have the right to possession, the court orders a writ of restitution, returnable 10 days after its date (RCW 59.18.380).
The writ. The sheriff may serve it before five court days expire, but cannot execute it until after those five days pass. A tenant can restore the tenancy by paying the judgment amount within that window, and the court can set a payment plan that stays the writ (RCW 59.18.410).

Do not skip the court. Retaliating against a tenant for a good faith complaint to a code official or for asserting a right under the act is prohibited, and eviction, rent increases and reduced services all count (RCW 59.18.240).

Repairs and habitability

Washington lists your duties in RCW 59.18.060, from weatherproofing to working plumbing, heat and electrical.

The repair clock starts when the tenant gives written notice. You begin remedial action within 24 hours for loss of hot or cold water, heat or electricity, or a condition that is imminently hazardous to life. 72 hours for a refrigerator, range and oven, or a major plumbing fixture you supplied. 10 days in every other case (RCW 59.18.070).

The short version

No cap on the deposit amount, but no written lease and signed move-in checklist means no deposit at all
Deposits in a trust account, with a written receipt and the depository's location in writing
30 days to return the deposit with a specific written statement, or you owe the full amount
No late fee until rent is five days past due, and no state cap on the amount
Rent increases capped at 7 percent plus CPI or 10 percent, whichever is less, with 90 days' notice and none in the first year
Two days' written notice to enter, one day for a showing
Just cause required to end a month-to-month, 20 days for the tenant to end it
14-day pay or vacate on the state form before any nonpayment filing

Let Taz handle the paperwork

Taz is an AI property manager for landlords who would rather not live in the code books. It tracks the 30-day deposit clock, counts the 90 days before a rent increase, sends rent reminders, takes maintenance requests day and night, and keeps the records a Washington judge would ask for. See how Taz works.

Where this guide says a state has no rule on something, that means we found no statute setting one, which is not the same as none existing. Local ordinances and court practice can add requirements. Confirm anything you plan to rely on.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, and your city or county may add rules. Talk to a Washington attorney before acting on a specific situation. Last checked September 2026.