Washington Landlord-Tenant Laws
Local rent regulation in Washington
Washington cities and counties are barred from enacting local rent control, but since May 7, 2025 state law itself caps most residential rent increases — no increase in a tenancy's first 12 months, then the lesser of 7% plus CPI or 10% per year (5% for manufactured-home lot rents) — so the state sets the only rent limits and localities may not add their own.
Cited to RCW 35.21.830 (cities and towns) , RCW 36.01.130 (counties) , RCW 59.18.700 (statewide cap, EHB 1217, 2025) , RCW 59.18.710 (cap exemptions) · Verified August 12, 2026 · Full Washington rent-increase rules →
Washington Security deposits
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.
Washington Rent increase notice
Washington became the third statewide rent-stabilization state in May 2025: rent cannot be raised at all during the first 12 months of a tenancy, and after that annual increases for non-exempt units are capped at 7% plus CPI or 10%, whichever is less — 9.683% for 2026 and 10% for 2027, as published each year by the Department of Commerce (for 2027, inflation pushed the 7%-plus-CPI figure above 10%, so the flat 10% ceiling applies).
Washington Late fees
Washington sets no statewide dollar or percentage cap on residential late fees, but a landlord may not charge any late fee when rent is paid within five days of the due date — a statutory grace period under RCW 59.18.170(2).
Washington Entry notice
Washington requires at least two days' written notice before a landlord enters an occupied rental for inspections, repairs, or services — dropped to one day's written notice when the entry is to show the unit to a prospective tenant or buyer — and entry must occur at reasonable times.
Washington Eviction process
Washington evictions move through an 'unlawful detainer' action in superior court, and every step is slower and more regulated than most states.
Washington Application fees
Washington does not cap residential rental application fees at a dollar figure; it limits what a landlord may charge to the cost of the screening itself and makes any charge lawful only after the applicant has received a written or posted screening notice.
Washington mobile home park laws
Washington's Manufactured/Mobile Home Landlord-Tenant Act, RCW chapter 59.20, governs the tenancy of a resident who owns the home and rents the lot beneath it in a community of two or more homes, and it is one of the most detailed such acts in the country: lot rent may not rise by more than five percent in any twelve-month period and not at all during the first twelve months, an increase needs three months' written notice on a form printed in the statute, a tenancy may be ended only for one of thirteen listed grounds, and closing the community takes two years' notice unless the owner pays relocation money to shorten it to eighteen or twelve months.
Lot-rent, closure, park-sale and home-sale rules with statute citations →
Washington Fair Market Rents (FY 2026) — HUD's benchmark rents for every Washington metro area and county.
Changes since last full verification
The Verified date above (July 8, 2026) marks the last time every figure on this page was verified end-to-end against official state sources. The changes below were published since then, each verified against the official source it names (what these dates mean).
- Updated, August 12, 2026 — Two in-force requirements of RCW 59.12.040 are now described: every chapter 59.12 termination notice must specify the date by which the recipient must vacate or comply (added by 2025 c 44, kept verbatim by 2026 c 144), and the mail component of substitute or posted service must be posted from within Washington state — a requirement that survived the 2026 return to regular first-class mail.
- Correction, August 5, 2026 — Washington's rent-stabilization sunset is now pinned from the statute text: RCW 59.18.700, .710, and .720 each expire July 1, 2040 by their own terms (2025 c 209), replacing a hedged 'reported 2040.' The three security-deposit prerequisite statutes (RCW 59.18.260, .270, .285) were read directly and added to the citations, with one refinement: trust-account interest belongs to the landlord unless the parties agree otherwise in writing.
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.