Security Deposit Rules
in Your Lease
What it actually means, what Washington law says, what's specific to Seattle - and exactly what to do. In plain English.
Quick Summary - What You Need to Know
- Seattle caps your security deposit plus every nonrefundable move-in fee at one month's rent combined under SMC 7.24.035.
- Washington State sets no cap on deposits for ordinary apartments and houses, so the real protection here is local.
- Nonrefundable move-in fees can't exceed 10% of your first month's rent, and a pet deposit is capped at 25%.
- You can pay Seattle move-in costs in up to six equal monthly installments instead of one lump sum.
- Your landlord owes a specific written statement of any deductions within 30 days of the tenancy ending.
Understanding the Security Deposit Rules
Seattle is one of the rare U.S. cities where the law caps what you hand over before you get the keys. Your deposit plus every nonrefundable move-in fee has to fit inside one month's rent combined, and those fees on their own top out at 10% of the first month's rent.
Washington State, meanwhile, sets no cap at all on deposits for ordinary rentals. That gap is where renters lose money, because a property manager running one Washington-wide lease template can quietly charge a Seattle tenant an amount that's only legal outside city limits.
What renters assume
Washington has no deposit cap, so renters assume a Seattle landlord can name any deposit figure and stack admin, cleaning, and move-in fees on top of it.
What is actually true
Seattle's own ordinance caps the deposit and all nonrefundable move-in fees at one month's rent together, and those fees alone can't exceed 10% of the first month's rent.
The chart puts Washington in the no-cap column alongside Texas, Florida, and Illinois, but that's the state line, not the Seattle line. Inside city limits your ceiling is one month's rent for deposit and fees together, tighter than Phoenix's 1.5 months or Atlanta's 2 months.
Plain English Version
Think of your move-in costs as one suitcase with a strict weight limit. Seattle says everything you pay before moving in has to fit inside one month's rent, and the landlord doesn't get a second suitcase.
Security Deposit Forfeiture Example - What the Wording Looks Like in Seattle, WA
The sample clause below is real lease language - a court quoted it word for word, and then ruled on it. What the judge decided is at the bottom of this block.
Find the equivalent paragraph in your own lease and read the two side by side. The wording will differ; the moving parts rarely do.
If Tenant vacates prior to the Expiration Date (as extended, if applicable), the security deposit shall be forfeited and Tenant shall be obligated for rent payments for the remainder of the term, or until the Property has been re-rented whichever is less.
Quoted from the published opinion in Cromar v. TAG Realty, LLC, No. 87780-1-I (Wash. Ct. App. Div. I, 2026). Judicial opinions are not subject to copyright; the lease language is reproduced in limited part for commentary under 17 U.S.C. § 107.
“If Tenant vacates prior to the Expiration Date”
Leaving early is a breach, and a breach gives a landlord real claims. What it does not give them is a shortcut. Washington lets a landlord collect a deposit only where the rental agreement is in writing and both parties signed a checklist describing the unit's condition. No checklist, no lawful deposit.
“the security deposit shall be forfeited”
This is the sentence a Washington court refused to enforce. A deposit is your money held in trust - the statute requires it to sit in a trust account with written notice to you of the bank's name and address. A clause cannot convert held-in-trust money into forfeited money just by saying so.
“Tenant shall be obligated for rent payments for the remainder of the term”
Read this next to the forfeiture. Taking the deposit and charging the balance of the term is charging twice for the same loss - which is precisely the stacking the Cromar court found unlawful.
“or until the Property has been re-rented whichever is less”
This half is actually the tenant-friendly part, and it is worth noticing. It caps the running rent at the point the place is re-let. The problem is not this limb - it is that the forfeiture sits on top of it.
Held unlawful, and the tenants were awarded double damages. They broke the lease early to buy a home. The landlord issued a move-out statement headed “EARLY TERMINATION SECURITY DEPOSIT FORFEIT” and told them no refund was due. The court held the forfeiture clause could not override the statute governing what a landlord may actually keep.
One court, one lease, one state. That answer is not automatically yours, and your lease may be worded to land differently. Use this to know what to look for and what to ask - your state's tenant hotline or a local tenant attorney can answer it for your document.
Washington Law on Security Deposit Rules
- The Residential Landlord-Tenant Act sets no maximum deposit for ordinary apartment and house rentals.
- A landlord may only collect a deposit if the rental agreement is in writing and both parties sign a checklist describing the unit's condition at move-in.
- Deposits must be held in a trust account, with written notice to the tenant of the depository's name and address.
- Within 30 days of the tenancy ending the landlord must give a full and specific written statement of the basis for keeping any of the deposit, plus any refund.
- The one-month cap in 2025's EHB 1217 was written into RCW 59.20.170 and reaches only manufactured and mobile home lot tenancies, not standard rentals.
RCW 59.18.260 - statutes change; verify the current text for your situation.
Washington's Residential Landlord-Tenant Act doesn't cap deposits for regular apartments and houses, so statewide that number is a negotiation rather than a legal limit. The one-month cap lawmakers passed in 2025 landed in a different statute and reaches only manufactured and mobile home lot tenancies.
What state law hands you instead is a paperwork trap for landlords. A deposit is only collectible if the rental agreement is in writing and you both sign a checklist describing the unit's condition at move-in. The money then sits in a trust account you're told about in writing, and a specific written statement of any deductions is due within 30 days of the tenancy ending, slower than New York's 14 days.
Washington Tenant Protections
A landlord can't collect any deposit at all unless your rental agreement is in writing and you both sign a checklist describing the unit's condition at move-in. Your deposit has to be held in a trust account, and you must be given written notice of that depository's name and address. Within 30 days of the tenancy ending, the landlord owes you a full and specific written statement of the basis for keeping any of the money, along with any refund.
What's Specific to Seattle
Figures are the state rule, or the stronger city ordinance where one exists. Verify the current law for your own situation before relying on it.
Seattle adds real teeth. SMC 7.24.035 caps the security deposit plus every nonrefundable move-in fee at one month's rent combined, holds those fees to 10% of the first month's rent, and limits a pet damage deposit to 25%. You can also pay the move-in bill in up to six equal monthly installments rather than one lump sum.
That matters more here than almost anywhere, because one month's rent in Seattle is already a four-figure number across most of Ballard, Capitol Hill, and South Lake Union. In a tight market landlords still push big up-front asks, and out-of-state property managers often run statewide lease templates that ignore the city rules entirely.
There has to be. A Washington landlord can't legally collect a deposit without a written rental agreement plus a condition checklist you both sign.
It should. Your deposit must be held in a trust account, and you're owed written notice of that depository's name and address.
Red flag in Seattle. The deposit plus all nonrefundable move-in fees can't exceed one month's rent combined.
You can insist on up to six equal monthly installments for the deposit and move-in fees, so a lump-sum-only clause doesn't hold here.
Sources
The law this guide relies on, and where to read it. Statutes change, so confirm the current text before you act on it.
- RCW 59.18.260 on app.leg.wa.gov, Washington's own publication of its statutes.
Red Flags to Watch Out For
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Deposit and fees over one month
In Seattle the refundable deposit plus every nonrefundable move-in fee has to total one month's rent or less. Anything above that breaks SMC 7.24.035.
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No move-in checklist offered
Skipping the signed condition checklist isn't sloppiness. Without it and a written lease, a Washington landlord has no legal basis to collect a deposit at all.
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Move-in fees above 10%
Nonrefundable admin or cleaning move-in fees max out at 10% of the first month's rent in Seattle, on top of sitting inside the one-month combined ceiling.
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Pet deposit above 25%
A pet damage deposit is capped at 25% of the first month's rent inside Seattle. A landlord asking for a flat pet deposit equal to a full month is over the line.
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Lump sum or no keys
Refusing a payment plan isn't a landlord preference. Seattle renters can spread the deposit and move-in fees across up to six equal monthly installments.
Your Rights as a Seattle Tenant
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Written lease and signed checklist
No deposit is collectible in Washington unless your rental agreement is in writing and you both sign a checklist describing the unit's condition at move-in.
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Your money in a trust account
Deposits must be held in a trust account, and you're entitled to written notice of the depository's name and address.
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A 30-day written statement
Within 30 days of the tenancy ending, the landlord owes you a full and specific written statement of anything kept, plus the refund.
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The one-month Seattle ceiling
Inside city limits your deposit and all nonrefundable move-in fees can't exceed one month's rent together, a limit state law never imposes on standard rentals.
What To Do - Step by Step
Add up the move-in ask
Total the deposit and every nonrefundable fee in the lease. If it clears one month's rent in Seattle, raise it in writing before you sign.
Ask for the installment plan
Seattle lets you pay those move-in costs in up to six equal monthly installments. Request it by email so the answer is on record.
Sign and photograph the checklist
Fill in the move-in condition checklist honestly, photograph every scuff the same day, and keep your signed copy. No checklist means no deposit.
Give a forwarding address
Send your new address in writing when you hand back the keys so the statement and refund reach you. The 30-day clock runs from the tenancy ending either way.
Demand the itemized statement
If day 31 arrives with no specific written statement of deductions, email a dated demand for the full deposit back.
Escalate to city or court
Seattle's SDCI runs the Renting in Seattle helpline for deposit and move-in fee violations. Money still unreturned is a straightforward small claims case in King County.