Security Deposit Demand Letter - Washington

WASHINGTON SECURITY-DEPOSIT DEMAND

[SENDER OR LAW FIRM]

[________________________________]

[________________________________]

Telephone: [________________________________]
Email: [________________________________]

[__/__/____]

VIA: ☐ First-class mail ☐ Certified mail ☐ Electronic delivery ☐ Hand delivery ☐ Other: [________________________________]

[________________________________]

[Landlord or property manager]

[________________________________]
[Address or email]

Re: Tenant: [________________________________]

Rental premises: [________________________________]

Tenancy ended: [__/__/____]
Premises vacated: [__/__/____]

Dear [________________________________]:

This letter concerns $[________________________________] paid as a refundable deposit or security for performance under the rental agreement. The checked claims below are based on the attached records and chapter 59.18 RCW.

1. PARTIES AND TENANCY

Abandonment issue:

☐ Not asserted

☐ Landlord asserts abandonment under RCW 59.18.310; facts and date landlord learned: [________________________________]

2. THIRTY-DAY REVIEW

For a non-abandonment case, RCW 59.18.280(1)(a) requires the statement, required damage-charge documentation, and refund within thirty days after both termination of the rental agreement and vacation of the premises.

The landlord complies with the delivery method in § 59.18.280(1)(a) by personal delivery or by depositing the materials in first-class United States mail, properly addressed to the tenant's last known address, within the thirty days. Receipt by the tenant on a later date does not by itself establish late mailing.

3. SELECTED CLAIMS

A. Missing or late statement, documentation, or refund

☐ No full and specific statement was timely delivered.

☐ No refund was timely delivered.

☐ Damage-charge documentation required by § 59.18.280(1)(b) was missing or late.

☐ The statement and refund were mailed or delivered after the thirtieth day.

Facts and supporting record:

[________________________________]

Under § 59.18.280(2), failure to timely provide the required statement, documentation, and refund makes the landlord liable for the full deposit and bars claims or defenses for retention, subject to the statute's exceptions concerning circumstances beyond the landlord's control and abandonment as defined in RCW 59.18.310.

B. Damage-charge documentation

For damage charges, § 59.18.280(1)(b) requires the applicable supporting material:

☐ Estimate received

☐ Invoice paid

☐ Bill, invoice, or receipt for materials or supplies

☐ Vendor price list or other vendor document for stock or ongoing-purchase materials

☐ For landlord or employee labor, time spent and reasonable hourly rate

Section 59.18.280(4) states that the checklist and damage-documentation requirements do not apply when a deposit is withheld for reasons unrelated to damage to the premises, fixtures, equipment, appliances, or furnishings, such as rent or other charges owing. Any such charge must still be identified and tested against the written rental agreement and other applicable law.

C. Prohibited damage deductions

Section 59.18.280(1)(c) prohibits withholding:

☐ For wear resulting from ordinary use of the premises

☐ For carpet cleaning without documented carpet wear beyond ordinary use

☐ For repair or replacement of an item whose condition was not reasonably documented in the required written checklist

☐ In excess of the cost to repair or replace the damaged portion when damage does not encompass the entire item

Challenged deduction and facts:

[________________________________]

Move-in and move-out evidence:

[________________________________]

D. Written agreement and checklist

Under RCW 59.18.260:

• a deposit requires a written rental agreement stating the terms for retention;
• a landlord may not collect a deposit without providing the required written condition checklist at the start of the tenancy;
• the checklist must be signed and dated by landlord and tenant, and the tenant receives a copy;
• a tenant may request one free replacement copy; and
• a landlord who collected a deposit without providing the checklist is liable for the deposit amount, with costs and a reasonable attorney fee available to the prevailing party.

☐ No written rental agreement stated the deposit-retention terms.

☐ No checklist was provided at the commencement of the tenancy.

☐ The checklist was not signed and dated by both parties.

☐ The tenant did not receive a copy.

☐ A free replacement copy was requested on [__/__/____] but not provided.

Checklist evidence:

[________________________________]

Do not assert a statewide pre-move-out inspection right under RCW 59.18.285. That section governs nonrefundable fees, not inspections.

E. Deposit account and receipt

Under RCW 59.18.270, the landlord deposits security money in the specified Washington trust account and provides a written receipt plus the depository's name, address, and location and notice of later changes. Unless the parties agreed otherwise in writing, the landlord is entitled to the trust-account interest.

☐ No deposit receipt was provided.

☐ No depository notice was provided.

☐ The disclosed account or transfer information is disputed: [________________________________]

☐ A written agreement allocates interest to the tenant: [________________________________]

Requested account information or correction:

[________________________________]

F. Nonrefundable fee designation

RCW 59.18.285 prohibits designating nonrefundable money as a deposit. A nonrefundable fee requires a written rental agreement clearly identifying it as nonrefundable. If the agreement is absent, the landlord is liable for the fee amount; if the writing does not clearly say the fee is nonrefundable, the fee is treated as a refundable deposit under RCW 59.18.260, .270, and .280.

☐ The landlord labeled nonrefundable money as a deposit.

☐ No written rental agreement supported the claimed nonrefundable fee.

☐ The writing did not clearly identify the fee as nonrefundable.

Fee and document:

[________________________________]

4. AMOUNT CALCULATION

Deposit and refund

Optional intentional-refusal claim

Section 59.18.280(2) permits—but does not require—the court to award up to two times the deposit for an intentional refusal to provide the statement, required documentation, or refund due, subject to the statutory exceptions.

☐ No multiplier is demanded at this stage.

☐ Tenant asserts intentional refusal based on these facts: [________________________________]

Costs and attorney fee

The prevailing party in an action to recover the deposit is entitled under § 59.18.280(2) to the cost of suit or arbitration, including a reasonable attorney fee. This letter does not treat a future award as already entered.

Fees or costs presently requested under another identified basis, if any: [________________________________]

5. DEMAND

Please do the following by [__/__/____]:

1. Pay $[________________________________] as the deposit or refundable-fee amount identified above.
2. Provide the missing statement or damage-charge documentation identified in Section 3.
3. Provide the receipt and depository information identified in Section 3.E.
4. Withdraw or explain the disputed deductions in writing.
5. Send payment and the response to:

[________________________________]

The response date above is a settlement deadline selected for this letter. It is not described as a statutory cure period.

6. OPTIONAL RESOLUTION PATH

If the dispute is not resolved, the tenant will evaluate the forum and remedies supported by the amount and facts.

Under RCW 12.40.010, a district court small-claims department has nonexclusive money-only jurisdiction up to:

• $10,000 for a case brought by a natural person; or
• $5,000 for all other cases.

☐ Claimed amount fits the natural-person small-claims limit.

☐ Claimed amount exceeds that limit or includes relief requiring another forum.

☐ Local, subsidized-housing, lease, or arbitration rules require separate review.

No complaint, agency referral, consumer-protection claim, collection remedy, interest claim, or local-code claim is threatened or added by this template without a separate factual and legal review.

7. RESPONSE POSITION

Please identify:

• each deduction still asserted;
• the rental-agreement paragraph supporting it;
• whether it concerns damage, rent, or another charge;
• each supporting record; and
• the amount, if any, you agree to refund.

Sincerely,

[________________________________]

[Name and capacity]
For [Tenant]

8. ATTACHMENTS

☐ Rental agreement

☐ Deposit receipt or proof of payment

☐ Move-in checklist or request for replacement copy

☐ Move-in and move-out photographs or video

☐ Termination, vacation, and key-return records

☐ Landlord's statement and envelope or delivery record

☐ Estimates, invoices, receipts, vendor documents, and labor statement supplied by landlord

☐ Tenant's repair-cost evidence

☐ Correspondence

☐ Other: [________________________________]

VERIFIED OFFICIAL SOURCES

Accessed July 30, 2026:

• RCW 59.18.260: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18.260
• RCW 59.18.270: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18.270
• RCW 59.18.280: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18.280
• RCW 59.18.285: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18.285
• RCW 12.40.010: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=12.40.010

Amendment detection found enacted 2025–2026 bills that reference §§ 59.18.270 or .280, but the current official section texts remain unchanged in the relevant provisions. SB 6200 (effective June 11, 2026) references § 59.18.280 in a new portable-cooling-device section rather than amending the deposit-return rule. Recheck the official sections before sending.