How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Washington?

30 days. The deadline runs from termination of the rental agreement and the tenant's move-out. By then the landlord must deliver any refund due plus a full and specific statement of the basis for anything retained, with copies of estimates received or invoices paid attached to substantiate damage charges.

What happens if a landlord does not return the deposit on time in Washington?

A landlord who fails to give the statement, the documentation, and the refund within 30 days is liable for the FULL deposit and is barred from asserting any claim or defense for retaining it — unless prevented by circumstances beyond the landlord's control, or the tenant abandoned the premises.

Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in Washington?

No — Washington does not require interest on the security deposit to be paid to the tenant. Deposits must still be placed in a trust account with a bank or licensed escrow agent in Washington, and unless the parties otherwise agree in writing the landlord — not the tenant — is entitled to any interest paid on that account.

Can a landlord charge a non-refundable fee in Washington?

Yes — non-refundable fees are allowed in Washington.

What are the security deposit rules in Washington?

Verified August 5, 2026 All Washington topics →

Washington sets no statewide cap on residential security deposit amounts, but it heavily regulates everything else: a deposit may be collected only under a written rental agreement with a signed move-in condition checklist, must sit in a Washington trust or escrow account disclosed to the tenant by written receipt, and must be returned within 30 days of move-out with a full and specific statement backed by copies of estimates or invoices for every damage charge.

Cited to RCW 59.18.280 (1)-(3) and 5 more Washington statutes · Verified August 5, 2026

Wear from ordinary use can never be charged — and undocumented charges can neither be collected nor sent to a credit or tenant-screening agency. Missing the 30-day deadline forfeits the whole deposit and bars the landlord's damage claims, intentional refusal risks a discretionary award of double the deposit, and the prevailing party recovers attorney's fees. Tenants also have statutory rights to pay deposits, nonrefundable fees, and last month's rent in installments on written request, and a fee to hold a unit before move-in is capped at 25% of the first month's rent.

Washington security deposits at a glance

Maximum deposit	No statutory cap
Return deadline	30 days
Deadline conditions	The deadline runs from termination of the rental agreement and the tenant's move-out. By then the landlord must deliver any refund due plus a full and specific statement of the basis for anything retained, with copies of estimates received or invoices paid attached to substantiate damage charges. For abandonment as defined in RCW 59.18.310, the 30 days instead run from the date the landlord learns of it. Personal delivery or first-class mail postmarked within the 30 days complies (RCW 59.18.280(1)). The deadline was extended from 21 to 30 days, and the documentation requirement added, by the 2023 amendments (2023 c 331).
Itemization required	Yes
Itemization rules	The statement must be full and specific — lump sums or 'no refund' do not comply — and damage charges must be substantiated with copies of estimates or invoices. No charge may be made for 'wear resulting from ordinary use of the premises' (defined in RCW 59.18.030 as deterioration from intended use, including age-related breakage, but excluding negligence, carelessness, accident, or abuse), and damages not substantiated by the required documentation may neither be charged to the tenant nor reported to any consumer reporting agency or tenant screening service (RCW 59.18.280(3)(b)). Carpet cleaning may not be withheld without documented damage beyond ordinary-use wear.
Separate account required	Yes
Interest owed to tenant	No
Account & interest rules	Deposits must still be placed in a trust account with a bank or licensed escrow agent in Washington, and unless the parties otherwise agree in writing the landlord — not the tenant — is entitled to any interest paid on that account. The tenant must get a written receipt stating the depository's name and address, plus notice of any change; on sale, the deposit transfers to a comparable account of the successor landlord, who must promptly notify the tenant of the new depository (RCW 59.18.270). A deposit may be collected at all only under a WRITTEN rental agreement and only after both parties sign a written checklist describing the condition and cleanliness of the premises and furnishings (RCW 59.18.260).
Pet deposits	No statewide statute addresses pet deposits for standard residential tenancies; they are permitted by lease with no state cap (local ordinances such as Seattle's 25%-of-monthly-rent pet deposit cap are out of scope v1). For manufactured/mobile-home tenancies, HB 1217 capped combined move-in fees and deposits at one month's rent, or two months when the tenant has pets (ch. 59.20 RCW).
Non-refundable fees allowed	Yes
Penalty for violation	A landlord who fails to give the statement, the documentation, and the refund within 30 days is liable for the FULL deposit and is barred from asserting any claim or defense for retaining it — unless prevented by circumstances beyond the landlord's control, or the tenant abandoned the premises. Courts may in their discretion award up to two times the deposit for intentional refusal, and the prevailing party recovers attorney's fees (RCW 59.18.280(2), (5)). Failing the 59.18.260 checklist prerequisite exposes the landlord to liability for the deposit; suits for damages exceeding the deposit must be filed within three years for tenancies begun on or after 2023-07-23.
Tenant forwarding-address duty	Not addressed by statute

Cite this page: "Landlord Atlas, Washington Security Deposit Laws (verified August 5, 2026), landlordatlas.com/laws/security-deposits/washington/" — free to cite and quote with a link (how these records are verified). Every figure above is cited to the Washington statute in the citations section below.

Generate a Washington security-deposit return letter — free, no signup, built on the same verified Washington rules as this page.

Notes and caveats

No statewide cap on deposit size — Washington sets no maximum deposit amount for standard residential tenancies, which is why no cap figure appears here — it is an absence of law, not a missing number.
The one-month cap that never became law — committee-stage reports of HB 1217 (2025) described a one-month deposit cap that did not survive into the enacted law for standard rentals; it applies to manufactured and mobile-home tenancies. Summaries still repeating it are describing a bill version, not the statute.
Cities cap deposits even though the state does not — local ordinances — Seattle's among them — cap deposits. Those local caps are not reflected here, so the municipal code needs checking alongside the statute.
Nonrefundable fees must say so in writing — a fee is nonrefundable only if the lease designates it as nonrefundable in writing (RCW 59.18.285). An undesignated fee is a deposit, and carries every deposit rule with it.
The move-in checklist is a prerequisite, not a formality — under RCW 59.18.260 the checklist is a condition of collecting a deposit at all — no checklist, no lawful deposit.
Older sources still say 21 days — the 2023 amendments (2023 c 331) modernized this section: 21 days became 30, damage charges now require documentation, ordinary-use wear got a definition, undocumented charges may not be credit-reported, carpet cleaning was addressed, and a 3-year suit limit was added. Anything citing 21 days is stale.

Common questions: Washington security deposits

Each answer is the verified value from the table above, restated as a direct answer. Free to quote with a link to this page.

How much can a landlord charge for a security deposit in Washington?: No statutory cap.
How long does a landlord have to return a security deposit in Washington?: 30 days. The deadline runs from termination of the rental agreement and the tenant's move-out. By then the landlord must deliver any refund due plus a full and specific statement of the basis for anything retained, with copies of estimates received or invoices paid attached to substantiate damage charges.
What happens if a landlord does not return the deposit on time in Washington?: A landlord who fails to give the statement, the documentation, and the refund within 30 days is liable for the FULL deposit and is barred from asserting any claim or defense for retaining it — unless prevented by circumstances beyond the landlord's control, or the tenant abandoned the premises.
Do landlords have to pay interest on security deposits in Washington?: No — Washington does not require interest on the security deposit to be paid to the tenant. Deposits must still be placed in a trust account with a bank or licensed escrow agent in Washington, and unless the parties otherwise agree in writing the landlord — not the tenant — is entitled to any interest paid on that account.
Can a landlord charge a non-refundable fee in Washington?: Yes — non-refundable fees are allowed in Washington.

Statute citations

RCW 59.18.280 (1)-(3) (verified 2026) Official source
RCW 59.18.260 (1)-(5) (verified 2026) Official source
RCW 59.18.270 (verified 2026) Official source
RCW 59.18.285 (verified 2026) Official source
RCW 59.18.253 (3)-(4) (verified 2026) Official source
RCW 59.18.610 (1)-(4) (verified 2026) Official source

How this record was verified: Direct read of statute text on the official Washington Legislature site (app.leg.wa.gov): RCW 59.18.280 (full text, current through the 2023 c 331 amendments), RCW 59.18.610 and 59.18.253 (full text); RCW 59.18.170 and RCW 59.18.150 full texts read 2026-07-09 (upgrading them from the 2026-07-08 multi-source corroboration). HB 1217 (2025) rent stabilization provisions (RCW 59.18.700-.730, amended 59.18.140) verified against the Washington Attorney General's official landlord-tenant page and Know Your Responsibilities flyer and the Department of Commerce's official HB 1217 Landlord Resource Center (which publishes the annual cap; re-read directly 2026-07-16 — 9.683% for calendar 2026, and the 2027 figure is now published: 10%, because 7% + June 2026 Seattle CPI = 11.53% exceeds the 10% statutory ceiling, so the ceiling controls). RCW 59.18.260, .270, and .285 initially corroborated across the official AG page, Seattle SDCI, and consistent legal-aid sources, then read directly and in full on the official app.leg.wa.gov pages 2026-08-05 (each read twice, all dependent claims confirmed verbatim, and the three sections added to the deposit topic's citations); the rent-stabilization sunset was pinned the same day from the statute text itself (RCW 59.18.700(8), 59.18.710(3), 59.18.720(4) each expire July 1, 2040; session law 2025 c 209). IMPORTANT verification note: committee-stage bill reports of HB 1217 describe a one-month residential deposit cap and a 1.5% late-fee cap that are NOT in the enacted law for standard residential tenancies — those limits apply to manufactured/mobile-home tenancies (ch. 59.20 RCW) per the AG's post-enactment flyer; current legal-aid guidance confirms no statewide residential deposit or late-fee amount cap.