So if you live in any city in Washington state, just know that tenant law is on your side. The law tilts in favor of tenants. Then aside from state law (RCW statutes), some cities (like Seattle) and counties (like King) have even more of their own laws that further tilts landlord-tenant disputes in the tenant’s favor. But what the law says and what actually happens are two different things.
For instance, take the issue of security deposits. If you are moving out of a place, can the landlord take your security deposit if you do not clean up and leave a mess behind? Well, that depends.
Let’s look at the law. According to Washington state law (59.18 RCW), “[n]o portion of any deposit shall be withheld on account of wear resulting from ordinary use of the premises.”
So technically, the landlord is not suppose to take your security deposit unless there is damage beyond normal wear-and-tear. So even if they stipulate in the contract that you must clean up the place before moving out or you will lose the security deposit, that is against state law. But that’s not how things usually work out in the real world.
In the real world, things are much more murky. It is pretty common practice for landlords to deduct security deposits here and there if you leave the place a mess before moving out. Because “ordinary wear” is not something that is extremely obvious. Landlords also know that the vast majority of the time, the tenant is not going to fight those charges…rather it be in court or with the landlord. It is often the case that the amount of security deposit kept by the landlord is much less than hiring a lawyer and filling a lawsuit in court.
Additionally, if you do not have well-documented photo evidence of the condition of the place before you moved in and after you moved out, but the landlord does, then you are at a disadvantage even if you do go to court.
Thus, it is advisable to avoid all this headache and just get the place cleaned up yourself so that the landlord does not have anything to stand on if they want to keep your security deposit. It is very rare for a landlord to keep a security deposit if you move out and leave the property in pristine condition. However, it is common for a landlord to keep a security deposit if you leave the place a mess—even if it is not completely legal.
Cleaning up when moving out is a headache. We know. So if you need help with a move-out clean around Seattle, don’t hesitate to give us a call!
