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Washington security deposit · rules under review

Washington security deposit deadline — and the letter that cites it

Washington’s deposit statute has been captured, but its deadline and penalty are still being checked against a second official source. No letter is sold for this state yet.

Rules under review for Washington. The statute text is captured, but the second official source has not matched yet, so the letter builder for Washington is not open and nothing on this page is priced. We do not state a deadline or a penalty number for this state until that check passes.

Why this state is still in review

No current state-official second source found. Current RCW 59.18.280 is 30 days with full-deposit liability, but every official consumer-facing channel checked on 2026-11-05 lacks a current page stating it: WA Dept. of Commerce site search and WordPress sitemaps (no tenant-rights/deposit page; the only official tenant handbook is 6300EN rev. Aug 2015 and still says 'fourteen days', i.e. pre-2016 c 66 s 4 and now a conflicting stale source); WA Commerce HB 1217 landlord resource center links only to nonprofit WashingtonLawHelp; WA AG /landlord-tenant (updated 2026-09-11) and /residential-landlord-tenant-resources cover rent stabilization, HB 2064 fee-in-lieu, manufactured housing and 14-day notices only; WA Courts self-help redirects to nonprofit WashingtonLawHelp, the site map and State Law Library have no landlord-tenant/security-deposit guide, and the slip-opinion search produced no usable current opinion; WA.gov portal search returns only state-service entries. Stays review until a current AG/Commerce/housing-agency (or other accepted state-official) page confirms 30 days + full-deposit liability. The 2015 handbook must not be used: it would produce a wrong 14-day deadline in the letter.

RCW 59.18.280

What the check covers

  • The deadline: how many days, from which event, and in calendar or business days.
  • The deduction rule: what a landlord may keep and what must be itemized.
  • The penalty: whether the statute adds a multiplier, a fixed amount or forfeiture, and what condition triggers it.
  • That the second official source agrees with the first, on the same points.
While a state is in review this page shows the citation and the sources, not the deadline or the penalty numbers. When the two sources agree, the page gets the full rule, the quoted statute text and the letter builder. Until then nothing here is priced.

What happens when the check passes

The Washington builder opens with the deadline computed from your own dates, the statute quoted with its section number, and a penalty paragraph only if the penalty is verified. For now the page shows the citation and the status — no price and no number we cannot stand behind.

Unpaid final wages in Washington →

Questions about a Washington deposit letter

What deadline will the letter use?

The deadline for Washington is still being verified. Until it passes, the builder stays closed.

Can the letter claim a penalty?

No penalty amount is stated for this state yet.

What if the landlord sent an itemized statement?

Tell the builder that you received one. The letter acknowledges it and disputes the amounts you say are wrong.

Is this legal advice?

No. It is a self-help document tool, not a law firm. If your claim is large or disputed, speak to a landlord-tenant lawyer or legal aid.