What a Landlord Cannot Do in Washington
The main limits Washington law puts on landlords — lockouts and utility shutoffs, entering without notice, retaliation, deposits, fees and discrimination — each with the statute or official source.
In short: a Washington landlord cannot evict without a court order, cannot punish a tenant for asserting legal rights where state law protects them, and must follow the state's rules on entry, deposits and fees shown below.
| Lockouts & utility shutoffs | Landlord may not remove or exclude a tenant except under a court order; tenant may recover possession or terminate, plus actual damages, costs and attorney's fees. Intentionally terminating a tenant's utility services is unlawful: actual damages plus up to $100 for each day or part of a day without service, plus costs and fees. Lockout section: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18.290 Source: RCW 59.18.290; RCW 59.18.300 |
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| Landlord entry notice | At least two days' written notice stating the exact date(s) and time or a time window, with a phone number for objections; one day's notice to show the unit. No notice required in an emergency or abandonment. Entry only at reasonable times; landlord may not abuse access to harass the tenant. Source: RCW 59.18.150(6) |
| Landlord retaliation | Landlord may not evict, raise rent, reduce services or increase obligations (or threaten to) in retaliation for good-faith complaints to a government authority about code violations or for asserting rights under RCW 59.18. Action within 90 days after the protected act (or a resulting inspection/proceeding) is presumed retaliatory. Presumption is rebuttable and does not arise if tenant is in rent arrears when a termination notice is given. Prevailing party recovers costs and reasonable attorney's fees. Source: RCW 59.18.240; RCW 59.18.250 |
| Security deposit limit | No statutory cap on a residential security deposit. A holding fee/deposit to secure a unit may not exceed 25% of the first month's rent, and tenants may request to pay deposits, nonrefundable fees and last month's rent in installments (3 equal monthly installments for terms of 3 months or more; 2 otherwise). Installment right does not apply if deposits + nonrefundable fees total no more than 25% of the first full month's rent and no last month's rent is required. Refusing a valid installment request: statutory penalty of one month's rent plus attorneys' fees. HB 1217 (2025) capped move-in fees + deposits at one month's rent (two with pets) only for manufactured/mobile home lots (RCW 59.20.170), not for RCW 59.18 rentals. A deposit may only be collected if the rental agreement is in writing and a signed move-in condition checklist is provided (RCW 59.18.260). Source: RCW 59.18.260; RCW 59.18.610 |
| Penalty for withholding | Landlord who fails to provide the statement/documentation within 30 days owes the full deposit and loses the right to assert claims against it; court may award up to two times the deposit for intentional refusal; prevailing party gets costs and reasonable attorneys' fees. Collecting a deposit without a move-in checklist makes the landlord liable for the deposit amount (RCW 59.18.260). For tenancies starting on or after July 23, 2023, landlord suits for damages above the deposit must be filed within three years. |
| Late fees | No statutory dollar or percentage cap for RCW 59.18 rentals. No late fee may be charged for rent paid within five days of the due date. Tenants whose primary income is government assistance may request a due date up to five days later (RCW 59.18.170(3)). HB 1217 (2025) added late-fee caps (2%/3%/5% of monthly rent) only for manufactured/mobile home lots (RCW 59.20.060), not for RCW 59.18 rentals. Source: RCW 59.18.170(2) |
| Rent control / increase limits | Statewide rent stabilization (HB 1217, 2025 c 209, effective May 7, 2025): no rent increase during the first 12 months of a tenancy, and increases in any 12-month period capped at 7% + CPI or 10%, whichever is less. Commerce-published maximum: 9.683% for calendar 2026 and 10% for calendar 2027. 90 days' written notice of any increase required. Manufactured/mobile home lots: 5% cap. Exemptions (RCW 59.18.710) include buildings whose first certificate of occupancy was issued 12 or fewer years before the increase notice, certain public/nonprofit and tax-credit housing, and some owner-occupied single-family homes/ADUs and owner-occupied duplex-fourplexes (not if owned by a REIT, corporation, or LLC with a corporate member). Remedies: excess rent plus up to three months of unlawful rent, fees; AG civil penalties up to $7,500 per violation. Tenant may terminate on 20 days' notice before an unlawful increase takes effect. Lease-type parity: no more than 5% rent difference between month-to-month and term leases. Expires July 1, 2040. Local rent control still preempted by RCW 35.21.830 (cities/towns). 2026/2027 figures from Commerce HB 1217 Landlord Resource Center (https://www.commerce.wa.gov/housing-policy/hb1217-landlord-resource-center/). |
| Statewide ban on refusing Section 8 / source of income | Yes, statewide. Landlords may not refuse to rent, evict, set different terms or fees, discourage, misrepresent availability, or advertise preferences based on a tenant's source of income, which includes housing assistance (e.g., vouchers), public assistance, emergency rental assistance, veterans benefits, Social Security/SSI and other federal, state, local or nonprofit programs. If an income threshold is used, the voucher/subsidy must be subtracted from the rent before applying it. Narrow exception where the subsidy requires an inspection and repairs would cost more than $1,500 and mitigation funds were not received. Liability up to 4.5 times monthly rent plus costs and attorney's fees. Source: RCW 59.18.255 |
| Cameras & privacy | No landlord camera statute. Washington is an all-party consent state: recording a private conversation or private communication without the consent of all participants is unlawful. Voyeurism laws make it a crime to knowingly view, photograph or film a person without knowledge and consent in a place where the person would reasonably expect privacy. New smart-access-system rules (effective Jan. 1, 2027) limit the data a landlord's electronic/biometric entry system may collect, require a written privacy policy (including what data on guests is collected), and require a non-biometric, non-phone alternative key on request. Voyeurism text: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9A.44.115. Smart access provisions: Laws of 2026, ch. 55. Landlord entry generally requires 2 days' notice (RCW 59.18.150). |
| Other rental fees | Nonrefundable fees must be in a written rental agreement that clearly says they are nonrefundable; otherwise they are treated as a refundable deposit (or refunded entirely if there is no written agreement), and they may not be called a deposit. On written request, tenants may pay deposits, nonrefundable fees and last month's rent in installments (3 monthly installments for terms of 3+ months, otherwise 2) without extra fees or interest, unless deposits and fees total 25% or less of the first month's rent and last month's rent is not required up front; refusal carries a penalty of one month's rent plus attorney's fees. No late fee may be charged for rent paid within 5 days of the due date. No general convenience/online-payment-fee ban or total-cost-of-rent disclosure statute was found in ch. 59.18. Installment rule text: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=59.18.610. |
Can I sue my landlord in Washington? · All Washington tenant rights
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.