What Landlords Can and Cannot Deduct From Security Deposits in Washington

A Washington landlord can deduct from your security deposit for damage beyond “wear resulting from ordinary use of the premises” and for rent or other charges you actually owe. A landlord cannot deduct for ordinary wear, cannot charge for carpet cleaning without documenting carpet wear beyond ordinary use, cannot charge for items the move-in checklist did not reasonably document, and cannot charge more than the cost of fixing the damaged portion of an item. Every damage charge must be backed by estimates or invoices. This guide explains each rule from RCW 59.18.280, shows how they apply to common situations, and lays out how to dispute a charge.

This is general information drawn from the current text of chapter 59.18 RCW and, where labeled, the City of Seattle’s renter guidance. It is not legal advice. For the full deposit timeline from move-in to day 30, see our guide to Washington security deposit rules.

The statute’s standard: wear resulting from ordinary use

Both RCW 59.18.260(4) and RCW 59.18.280(1)(c)(i) say no portion of a deposit may be withheld for “wear resulting from ordinary use of the premises.” People usually call this normal wear and tear, and the City of Seattle’s renter guidance uses the phrase “reasonable wear and tear,” but the statute’s own words are the ones that count.

Your side of the bargain comes from RCW 59.18.130(10). At move-out, a tenant must “restore the premises to their initial condition except for wear resulting from ordinary use of the premises or conditions caused by failure of the landlord to comply” with the landlord’s own duties. “Initial condition” means the condition recorded at move-in, which is why the signed checklist matters so much.

Important: the statute gives a standard, not a list. Nothing in chapter 59.18 RCW names specific items as wear or damage. It has no rule on nail holes, no rule on repainting, no rule on how long carpet should last, and no depreciation formula. Whether a specific mark is wear or damage depends on the facts, the checklist, and, if it gets that far, a judge.

Wear versus damage: illustrative examples

The City of Seattle’s return of your security deposit page gives its own examples: it describes paint fading, scuff marks on linoleum, and wear patterns on carpet as wear and tear, and holes in the wall, broken windows, and burn marks as damage. The table below extends that idea. It is illustrative only. It is our editorial reading of how the statutory standard is commonly applied, not a list from the statute, and a different set of facts can change the answer.

Area	Usually looks like wear from ordinary use	Usually looks like damage beyond ordinary use
Walls	Paint fading near windows, light scuffs along a hallway	Large holes, crayon or marker, gouges from moving furniture
Carpet	Traffic patterns, matting in walkways, slight fraying at seams	Burns, pet urine stains, large dye or bleach spots, torn sections
Hard floors	Dulled finish in walkways, light surface scratches	Deep gouges, water damage from an unreported leak, burns
Kitchen	Worn cabinet hardware finish, faded countertop	Cracked countertop, broken drawer fronts, burned laminate
Bathroom	Minor grout discoloration over years, worn caulk	Cracked sink or tub surface, missing towel bar ripped from wall
Windows and blinds	Sun-faded blinds, stiff older window tracks	Broken slats from pets, cracked glass, torn screens
Doors	Loose hinges from years of use, worn knobs	Holes punched or kicked in, broken frames

Two cautions. First, the move-in checklist controls the starting point: a scratch that is already on the checklist cannot become your damage. Second, Seattle’s damp climate produces mildew in bathrooms and on window frames in many older buildings. Whether mildew is the tenant’s cleaning issue or a building condition that falls under the landlord’s duty to keep the premises fit for human habitation under RCW 59.18.060 depends on the cause, so report recurring moisture problems in writing while you live there.

The carpet cleaning rule

RCW 59.18.280(1)(c)(ii) is specific: no portion of the deposit may be withheld “for carpet cleaning unless the landlord documents wear to the carpet that is beyond wear resulting from ordinary use of the premises.”

In practice that means a routine “carpet cleaning fee” taken from every departing tenant does not meet the statute on its own. The landlord must document carpet wear beyond ordinary use, and the charge still needs the estimates or invoices described below. If your lease has a carpet cleaning clause, read it alongside this statutory rule, and ask a legal aid resource how the two interact in your situation. Vacuuming thoroughly before you leave, and photographing the result, is cheap insurance either way.

The documentation requirement

Under RCW 59.18.280(1)(b), the landlord’s deposit statement must include:

• Outside repairs: copies of estimates received or invoices paid that reasonably substantiate the damage charges.
• In-house repairs (landlord or employee): a copy of the bill, invoice, or receipt for materials; for supplies already on hand or bought on an ongoing basis, a bill, receipt, vendor price list, or other vendor document showing the item’s cost; and a statement of the time spent and the reasonable hourly rate charged.

The statute does not mention photographs. Photos are still useful evidence for both sides, but they are not what the statute requires the landlord to send. Our guide to documenting your apartment’s condition covers how to build your own photo record.

If a charge has no estimate, invoice, receipt, or time-and-rate statement, RCW 59.18.280(3)(b) says it may not be charged to you, reported to a consumer reporting agency, tenant screening service, or prospective landlord, or sent to collections.

The partial damage rule, subsection (1)(c)(iv)

This is the rule many renters miss. RCW 59.18.280(1)(c)(iv) says no portion of the deposit may be withheld “in excess of the cost of repair or replacement of the damaged portion” when something is damaged beyond ordinary wear “but the damage does not encompass the item’s entirety.”

Put simply: if one section of carpet is burned, the charge is limited to repairing or replacing that section, not the whole room. If one cabinet door is broken, the charge is for that door, not the full set. The statute does not say how to handle matching (for example, when a patch would not match the surrounding carpet), so that becomes a question of the specific facts.

No checklist entry, no charge for fixtures and appliances

Under RCW 59.18.280(1)(c)(iii), a landlord cannot withhold for repairing or replacing fixtures, equipment, appliances, and furnishings if their condition was not reasonably documented in the written move-in checklist required by RCW 59.18.260. If the checklist simply says “kitchen: OK” and the landlord later charges for a dishwasher rack, compare the charge against what was actually written.

Cleaning: what you owe and how nonrefundable fees change it

RCW 59.18.130(1) asks tenants to keep the unit “as clean and sanitary as the conditions of the premises permit,” and subsection (10) requires restoring the initial condition except for ordinary wear. So if the unit was clean at move-in and you leave it dirty, cleaning costs can be a legitimate deduction, subject to the documentation rules.

There is an important exception. RCW 59.18.130(10) says a tenant “shall not be charged for normal cleaning if he or she has paid a nonrefundable cleaning fee.” Under RCW 59.18.285, that fee only counts as nonrefundable if a written rental agreement clearly says so. The City of Seattle’s move-in costs page states the Seattle version: a landlord cannot charge for cleaning at the end of the rental agreement if they charged for cleaning at the start.

Paying a cleaning fee does not cover damage, and “normal cleaning” is not defined in the statute. Grease left caked on a range hood after several years may be argued either way. The practical answer is to leave the unit as clean as it was when you arrived. Our Seattle apartment move-out cleaning checklist is built around that standard.

Unpaid rent and other charges are different

RCW 59.18.280(4) says the checklist and documentation requirements in RCW 59.18.260 and .280 do not apply when a landlord withholds part or all of the deposit “for reasons unrelated to damages,” such as rent or other charges owing. The 30-day statement deadline still applies, and the statement still has to be full and specific about the basis for keeping the money.

The City of Seattle’s renter guidance notes that outstanding utility charges can be taken from the deposit. If you are billed for a final utility amount, ask for a copy of the bill so you can check the dates and the amount.

Worked example: reading a statement line by line

The following is a hypothetical scenario for illustration. Sam leaves a two-bedroom apartment in Capitol Hill after three years. Sam paid a deposit and a nonrefundable cleaning fee that the lease clearly labeled nonrefundable. On day 27, Sam receives a statement listing:

Line on the statement	Documentation included	What the statute says to check
Carpet cleaning, both bedrooms	None	(1)(c)(ii): needs documented wear beyond ordinary use; (1)(b): needs estimate or invoice
Replace living room carpet (one burn mark near the couch)	Invoice for full-room carpet	(1)(c)(iv): limited to the damaged portion
General cleaning, 4 hours	Time and hourly rate	130(10): no charge for normal cleaning when a nonrefundable cleaning fee was paid
Replace cracked bathroom mirror	Vendor invoice	Allowed if beyond ordinary use and not noted on the move-in checklist
Unpaid water and sewer for final month	Utility bill copy	(4): rent and other charges are outside the damage documentation rules

Reading the statement this way, Sam can see that the mirror and utility lines look supported, the carpet replacement may be overcharged under the partial damage rule, and the carpet cleaning and general cleaning lines are the ones to question. The outcome of any dispute depends on facts this example does not include.

How to dispute a deduction

1. Compare each line to the move-in checklist and your photos. Note anything that was already listed at move-in.
2. Match each damage line to the documentation rule. Mark any charge without an estimate, invoice, receipt, or time-and-rate statement.
3. Write to the landlord. List each disputed line, the reason (for example “no carpet wear documented, RCW 59.18.280(1)(c)(ii)”), the amount you think should be returned, and a reasonable date to respond. Keep a copy and proof of sending.
4. Get information and advice. WashingtonLawHelp.org’s Deposits and damages guide includes sample letters, and the Washington Attorney General’s landlord-tenant page collects state resources. Our tenant resources directory lists Seattle-area help.
5. Know the small claims limit. Under RCW 12.40.010, district court small claims departments hear money claims up to $10,000 brought by a natural person. RCW 59.18.280(2) also says the prevailing party in a deposit suit recovers costs and a reasonable attorneys’ fee, so weigh the strength of each disputed line before deciding whether to file.

A clear, line-by-line letter that cites the statute can sometimes settle a dispute without a courtroom, because it shows the landlord exactly which charges you believe do not meet the rules.