Renter rights by state

Washington renter rights: the basics for first-time renters

Last reviewed: October 2026 · First Apartment Kit

Washington's Residential Landlord-Tenant Act is Chapter 59.18 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW), and it was updated substantially in 2025 with a statewide limit on rent increases. This guide summarizes the chapter as published by the Washington State Legislature, along with the Department of Commerce's 2026 rent-cap announcement and the Attorney General's landlord-tenant resources.

Quick facts

Quick facts are simplified. Read the sections below for exceptions, and check your city or county too.

Security deposits

• Written lease and checklist first: a landlord can't collect a deposit unless the rental agreement is in writing and you get a written checklist or statement describing the unit's condition. The lease must say when the deposit can be kept.
• Cap: state law doesn't set a maximum deposit.
• Installments: if you ask in writing, the landlord generally must let you pay deposits, nonrefundable fees, and last month's rent in installments. The exception is when deposits and fees total 25% or less of the first month's rent and no last month's rent is required up front. For a lease of 3 months or more, you can choose three equal monthly payments.
• No deductions for: normal wear and tear; carpet cleaning (unless the landlord documents wear beyond normal use); or repair of items whose condition wasn't documented on the move-in checklist.
• Return: within 30 days after the lease ends and you move out, the landlord must give you a full and specific statement explaining any amount kept, with copies of estimates, invoices, or receipts, plus any refund due. Mailing it to your last known address within 30 days counts.
• Penalty: a landlord who misses the deadline owes the full deposit and generally can't raise defenses for keeping it. For an intentional refusal, a court can award up to two times the deposit.

Rent increases and late fees

• Rent increase limit: for most tenancies, a landlord can't raise rent during the first 12 months, and can't raise it in any 12-month period by more than 7% plus inflation or 10%, whichever is lower. The Department of Commerce set the 2026 maximum at 9.683%. Exemptions include buildings whose first certificate of occupancy is 12 years old or less, some nonprofit and public housing, rooms shared with an owner, and certain owner-occupied homes and small multiplexes. A landlord claiming an exemption must state the facts in the notice. The limit is set to expire July 1, 2040.
• Notice: at least 90 days' written notice of any increase (30 days for income-based subsidized rent), and the increase can't take effect before the end of the lease term.
• Lease type parity: the rent for a given unit can't differ by more than 5% between month-to-month and fixed-term offers.
• Late fees: none if rent is paid within 5 days after the due date. State law doesn't set a dollar cap on late fees, so check your lease. If your main income is a monthly government benefit that arrives after rent is due, you can ask in writing to move the due date up to 5 days later.
• How payments are applied: payments must go to rent first, before late fees, damages, or legal costs, and your right to stay can't be tied to paying anything other than rent (with limited exceptions).
• New rules: a new rule (other than rent or termination) needs 30 days' written notice and takes effect at the end of the lease term unless you agree sooner.

Ending a month-to-month tenancy

• Your notice (month-to-month): at least 20 days' written notice before the end of a rental period. For a fixed-term lease, you can give 20 days' written notice before it ends. Service members with qualifying orders can give less.
• Landlord needs a reason: Washington requires a listed cause to evict, refuse to renew, or end a month-to-month tenancy. Causes include unpaid rent after a 14-day notice; a substantial lease breach not fixed after a 10-day notice; waste, nuisance, or unlawful activity (3 days' notice); the owner or family moving in (90 days' notice); selling a single-family home (90 days' notice); and condemned units (30 days' notice).
• End of an initial lease: a landlord can end a tenancy without cause at the end of the first lease only in narrow cases. Those are an initial 6–12 month lease that would have rolled to month-to-month, or a lease of 12 months or more that never became month-to-month. Either way, the landlord must give at least 60 days' written notice. Otherwise, a fixed-term lease becomes month-to-month when it ends.
• The Legislature has already passed changes to these sections that take effect January 1, 2028. This page describes the current versions.

When the landlord can come in

You can't unreasonably refuse entry for inspections, repairs, services, or showings. Except in emergencies, the landlord must give at least two days' written notice and enter only at reasonable times. The notice must give the date and the exact time or the earliest and latest times, plus a phone number for objecting or rescheduling. For showings to buyers or new tenants, one day's notice is enough, but the landlord can't show the unit excessively or use access to harass you.

Repairs and living conditions

The landlord must keep the unit fit to live in and in compliance with codes. Give written notice of the problem to the person who collects the rent or the designated agent. The landlord must start repairs within:

• 24 hours for no hot or cold water, heat, or electricity, or a condition that's imminently hazardous to life;
• 72 hours for loss of a landlord-supplied refrigerator, range and oven, or major plumbing fixture;
• 10 days for everything else.

Repair and deduct: if the landlord doesn't start on time, you can give a good-faith estimate and hire a licensed or qualified person. After the landlord has a chance to inspect, you can deduct the cost from rent, up to two months' rent per repair and two months' rent total in any 12 months. For 10-day repairs, you must wait 10 days after notice or 2 days after the landlord gets the estimate, whichever is later. Smaller repairs (up to one month's rent) have their own do-it-yourself rules. You must be current on rent (and any utilities you agreed to pay) before using these remedies.

Eviction basics

• Unpaid rent: a 14-day notice to pay or vacate in the form the law prescribes. It must point you to the Attorney General's multilingual notice and rental-assistance information, and it must explain your right to a court-appointed lawyer if you qualify as low-income.
• Other breaches: a notice giving at least 10 days to fix the breach. Waste, nuisance, or unlawful activity needs 3 days' notice to quit.
• Court: the eviction (“unlawful detainer”) summons lists the date you must respond by. If you miss it, you can lose your right to defend yourself and to an appointed lawyer, so respond by that date.
• No self-help: a landlord can't remove or lock you out without a court order. If it happens, you can get back in or end the lease, recover your damages, and the winner can get attorney's fees.

Retaliation and discrimination

Retaliation: a landlord can't retaliate for good-faith complaints to a government agency about code violations or for using your rights under the law. Retaliation includes eviction, rent increases, and cutting services. If the landlord acts within 90 days after your complaint or a resulting inspection, retaliation is presumed (with exceptions if you're behind on rent).

Discrimination: RCW 49.60.222 bans housing discrimination based on sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, families with children, honorably discharged veteran or military status, disability, or use of a guide dog or service animal. The Washington State Human Rights Commission takes complaints.

City and county rules

Cities and counties can add tenant protections on top of state law, and several do, including Seattle and Tacoma. Check your city or county housing office for local rules on notice, relocation help, and fees.

Move-in checklist for Washington renters

• ☐ Get a written lease and read all of it before signing
• ☐ Get a receipt for the deposit and any move-in money
• ☐ Photograph every room, dated, before you unpack
• ☐ Fill out (or write your own) move-in condition list and keep a copy
• ☐ Note the rent due date, grace period, and late fee
• ☐ Write down how to request repairs, and do it in writing
• ☐ Save the landlord's legal name and address for notices
• ☐ Put your notice deadline for moving out in your calendar

Still apartment hunting? Our list of questions to ask a landlord before signing a lease covers deposits, fees, repairs, and move-out rules you will want answered in writing.

Where to get help in Washington

• Washington Attorney General — Landlord-Tenant — multilingual 14-day notice, rental assistance, and complaints.
• Washington State Human Rights Commission — housing discrimination complaints.
• Washington Courts — court information and forms.
• Find free legal aid near you — the federal Legal Services Corporation's directory of local legal aid offices.
• File a housing discrimination complaint with HUD — the federal fair housing agency.

More help

Nonprofit and legal aid resources (not government sources):

• Eviction Defense Screening Line / Northwest Justice Project — free legal help, 855-657-8387 (nonprofit; number listed in RCW 59.18.057).

Official sources

These are the official state law and government pages we checked for every fact on this page. The law itself controls if anything here differs.

• RCW Chapter 59.18, Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (.057 notice, .070 and .100 repairs, .140 rent increase notice, .150 entry, .170 late fees, .200 month-to-month, .240–.250 retaliation, .260–.280 deposits, .283 payments, .290 lockouts, .610 installments, .650 cause, .700–.710 rent increase limit)
• RCW 49.60.222, Unfair practices in real estate transactions
• Washington Department of Commerce — 2026 rent cap announcement
• Washington Attorney General — Landlord-Tenant

Not legal advice; laws change and cities may add rules. Check the official sources below or a local legal aid office. This page is a plain-language summary written by First Apartment Kit, not the law itself. Last reviewed: October 2026.

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