The rule
- Deposit limit
- No limit
- Return deadline
- 30 days
- Interest owed
- Not required
- Itemized deductions
- Required
- The limit
- No statutory limit.
- The deadline
- Within 30 days after the rental agreement ends and the tenant vacates (or the landlord learns of abandonment), with a full and specific statement and supporting estimates, invoices, or receipts.
- Interest
- State law doesn’t require interest on the deposit.
- Deductions
- The landlord must give you an itemized list of anything kept from the deposit.
- If it isn’t returned
- A landlord who misses the deadline owes the full deposit and cannot assert defenses for keeping it; the court may award up to twice the deposit for intentional refusal.
Law: RCW 59.18.280
Last reviewed September 30, 2026
Not legal advice. Statutes change; check the linked section.