Washington Residential Lease Agreement

• No statewide deposit limit; a deposit requires a written lease and a signed move-in checklist. Within 30 days after the lease ends and the tenant moves out, the landlord must give a full and specific statement of the reasons for any deduction, with copies of estimates or invoices, plus the refund; missing the deadline makes the landlord liable for the full deposit (RCW 59.18.260, 59.18.280).

Reviewed 5 Oct 2026 · RCW 59.18.260, 59.18.280

Reviewed 5 Oct 2026 · RCW 59.18.260, 59.18.280

• Where Washington's just-cause rule covers the tenancy, a landlord's notice alone does not end it; the landlord also needs one of the causes that rule lists (see below).
• Since 2021 c 212 a LANDLORD may end a periodic tenancy only for a cause enumerated in RCW 59.18.650(2); the 20-day tenant-to-landlord notice in RCW 59.18.200(1)(a) no longer gives landlords a no-cause option.
• Cause-specific landlord notice periods under RCW 59.18.650(2): 20 days (shared dwelling with owner, 2(i); end of rental term), 30 days (transitional housing, 2(j)), 60 days (fixed-term non-renewal 1(b)/(c); other good cause 2(m); repeated violations 2(n)), 90 days (owner/immediate family move-in 2(d); sale of single-family residence 2(e)), 120 days (demolition/substantial rehab/change of use/condo conversion, RCW 59.18.200(2)).
• RCW 59.12.030(2) still frames the unlawful-detainer ground as notice served 'more than 20 days prior to the end of such month or period'.

Quoted from the source: “shall end by written notice of 20 days or more, preceding the end of any of the months or periods of tenancy”

Reviewed 27 Sep 2026 · RCW 59.18.200(1)(a); RCW 59.12.030(2); RCW 59.18.650

• Where Washington's just-cause rule covers the tenancy, a landlord's notice alone does not end it; the landlord also needs one of the causes that rule lists (see below).
• RCW 59.18.200(1)(a) treats any tenancy with periodic rent as 'from period to period' ending on 20 days' written notice preceding the end of a period; no separate shorter period for week-to-week.

Quoted from the source: “shall end by written notice of 20 days or more, preceding the end of any of the months or periods of tenancy”

Reviewed 27 Sep 2026 · RCW 59.18.200(1)(a); RCW 59.18.650

• RCW 59.12.030(1): a tenant holding over after expiration of a term is guilty of unlawful detainer without notice; but under RCW 59.18.650(1)(b)-(c) an RLTA landlord may treat a fixed term as expired only after 60 days' advance written notice (else the tenancy continues month to month).

Quoted from the source: “60 days' advance written notice that the tenancy will be deemed expired”

Reviewed 27 Sep 2026 · RCW 59.12.030(1); RCW 59.18.650(1)(b),(c)

• Covered housing: all tenancies under the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (chapter 59.18 RCW); a landlord 'may not evict a tenant, refuse to continue a tenancy, or end a periodic tenancy except for the causes enumerated in subsection (2)'.
• Exemptions/limits: a landlord may end a 6-12 month initial fixed term, or a 12+ month fixed term, without cause on 60 days' advance written notice (RCW 59.18.650(1)(b),(c)); shared-dwelling and transitional-housing situations have their own 20/30-day grounds; the remaining-occupant provision does not apply to subsidized housing (RCW 59.18.650(3)).

Quoted from the source: “A landlord may not evict a tenant, refuse to continue a tenancy, or end a periodic tenancy except for the causes enumerated in subsection (2)”

Reviewed 27 Sep 2026 · RCW 59.18.650 (2021 c 212 s 2)

• Applies to tenancies under the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (chapter 59.18 RCW); non-RLTA tenancies keep the 3-day notice in RCW 59.12.030(3).
• Notice must be 'in substantially the following form' set out in RCW 59.18.057(1) (pay-or-vacate form with itemized amounts, payment address, AG/2-1-1 legal-aid information).
• Just-cause statute RCW 59.18.650(2)(a) independently requires the 14-day pay-or-vacate notice before eviction for nonpayment.
• Service under RCW 59.12.040; when served by mail, five additional days must elapse before an action may be commenced (as amended 2025 c 44 / 2026 c 144).

Quoted from the source: “14 days after service for tenancies under chapter 59.18 RCW”

Reviewed 27 Sep 2026 · RCW 59.12.030(3); RCW 59.18.057(1); RCW 59.18.650(2)(a)

• No late fee on rent paid within five days after its due date; after that, late fees may run from the first day after the due date (RCW 59.18.170(2)). The statute sets no dollar cap.

Source: RCW 59.18.170(2)

• Statewide cap (RCW 59.18.700): 7% + CPI, never more than 10%, in any 12 months, and no increase during the first 12 months of the tenancy. The Department of Commerce publishes each year's maximum. At least 90 days' written notice (RCW 59.18.140); 30 days where a subsidized tenancy bases rent on income. Some tenancies are exempt from the cap (RCW 59.18.710).

Source: RCW 59.18.140, 59.18.700

• Tenant may cure by performing the condition/covenant within 10 days after service of the notice (RCW 59.12.030(4)).
• RCW 59.18.650(2)(b): the compliance date in the notice 'must be at least 10 days after service of the notice'.

Quoted from the source: “Within 10 days after the service of such notice the tenant, or any subtenant in actual occupation”

Reviewed 27 Sep 2026 · RCW 59.12.030(4); RCW 59.18.650(2)(b)

• Triggers: tenant commits or permits waste, sets up or carries on an unlawful business, or maintains a nuisance (RCW 59.12.030(5); RCW 59.18.650(2)(c)).
• Other no-cure grounds under RCW 59.18.650 carry their own periods: 60 days' notice after four or more lease-violation notices in 12 months (2(n)); gang-related activity per RCW 59.18.130 (RCW 59.12.030(7)).

Quoted from the source: “at least three days' advance written notice to quit after he or she commits or permits waste or nuisance upon the premises”

Reviewed 27 Sep 2026 · RCW 59.12.030(5); RCW 59.18.650(2)(c)

• For showing the home to prospective tenants or buyers: 1 day's notice.

Reviewed 21 Oct 2026 · RCW 59.18.150

• RCW 59.12.040: personal delivery to the tenant; or, if absent from the usual place of abode, leaving a copy with a person of suitable age and discretion there AND mailing a copy; or, if no such person is found, affixing a copy in a conspicuous place on the premises AND mailing a copy; when service is made by mail, five additional days must be allowed before an action is commenced; proof by affidavit of the server.
• 2025 c 44 (HB 1003, eff. 2025-07-27) changed the mail rule to five additional days and required certified mail; 2026 c 144 (HB 2664, eff. 2026-06-11) removed the certified-mail requirement (regular mail, posted from within the state, postage prepaid).

Quoted from the source: “when service is made by mail five additional days shall be allowed before”

Reviewed 27 Sep 2026 · RCW 59.12.040 (history 2026 c 144 s 1; 2025 c 44 s 1; 2021 c 115 s 14)

• Mandatory: every 14-day pay-or-vacate notice under RCW 59.12.030(3) 'must be in substantially the following form' set out in RCW 59.18.057(1), itemizing rent/utilities/other charges due, total, payment deadline, where and how to pay, eviction warning, right-to-counsel statement and AG/2-1-1 legal-aid contact information; AG translations at Rent-increase notices must follow RCW 59.18.720 (2025 c 209).

Quoted from the source: “Every 14-day notice served pursuant to RCW 59.12.030(3) must be in substantially the following form:”

Reviewed 27 Sep 2026 · RCW 59.18.057(1) (history 2023 c 336 s 3; 2021 c 115 s 10; 2020 c 315 s 2; 2019 c 356 s 3); RCW 59.18.720