Law Offices of John P. Martin

When you need your landlord to repair or make improvements to your rental home or apartment make sure you give them notice in writing.

The law usually requires you give the landlord an opportunity to correct or repair the problem before you can take action of your own (such as breaking a lease, or making your own repairs). The law often requires that tenants give notice of any problems or complaints to their landlord in writing.

In most cases, it will not help you to point to problems with your rental unit as an excuse for not paying rent or breaking lease, unless you gave the landlord fair notice, in writing, before the landlord has taken action against you.

A while back, I posted a note discussing the Washington State Residential Landlord Tenant Act’s (RLTA) requirement that a landlord has 14 days to return a tenant’s deposit, or provide a written statement as to why any deposit money was held back. A reader asked a good question. He asked, “How are the fourteen days counted?” Here is my understanding. (Disclaimer: This is general information - not legal advice. Please consult a lawyer to see how your specific case will be handled.)

The statute we are concerned with is RCW 59.18.280. So we will look to it first for answers.

The first part of the reader’s question is related to the starting point of the countdown (paraphrasing): When does the clock start running on the fourteen days? Does it start at the end of lease, or when the tenant returns the keys to the residence?

The statute says:

Within fourteen days after the termination of the rental agreement and vacation of the premises or, if the tenant abandons the premises as defined in RCW 59.18.310, within fourteen days after the landlord learns of the abandonment, the landlord shall give a full and specific statement of the basis for retaining any of the deposit together with the payment of any refund due the tenant under the terms and conditions of the rental agreement.

The statute says that the fourteen days starts adding up when the lease, or rental agreement is terminated, AND the residence is vacated. In other words, the fourteen day countdown will not start until you give up possession of the residence. Additionally, the countdown begins as soon as the landlord notices that the rental has been abandoned by the tenant. Of course, whether the landlord has noticed, or should have noticed the abandonment, depends on the circumstances.

Now that we have a good idea of when the countdown starts, there are more details to analyze. Whenever the law defines a time period it is always important to clarify how the days are counted. For example, are weekends and holidays included or excluded? Does the last day count? Does the first day count? What if the last day falls on a weekend or holiday?, etc.

Luckily for us, there are specific laws written to answer these kinds of questions. Sometimes an “act,” like the RLTA will contain a specific provision defining how time is calculated. Unfortunately, there is no such statute in Washington’s RLTA so we have to look outside the Act.

RCW 1.12.040 Computation of Time to the rescue. This statute will answer our time counting questions by providing the general rules applicable for counting time. The statute reads:

The time within which an act is to be done, as herein provided, shall be computed by excluding the first day, and including the last, unless the last day is a holiday, Saturday, or Sunday, and then it is also excluded.

This statute clears up any uncertainty regarding counting the 14 days. The first day does not count. This means that the day you turn-in your keys and vacate the premises, does not count towards the 14 day deadline. However, weekends, and holidays are included in the count, unless the fourteenth day falls on a weekend or holiday. If the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or Holiday, the final day to deliver the deposit notice will be the next, non-weekend, or non-holiday, or non-weekend day that follows the 14th day.

Generally, a landlord will meet the time requirements of RCW 59.18.280, if he or she has the deposit or notice envelope postmarked by US Mail, on the 14th day, as calculated according to RCW 1.12.040.

I hope this post sheds some light on counting to fourteen under the RLTA.

At the end of a lease tenants are often left wondering how much of their deposit the landlord will return, and when they will see it. It can be very easy for a landlord to delay returning a deposit - whether it is done deliberately or by accident.

Luckily, for all of us, the Washington State’s Residential Landlord Tenant Act (Chapter RCW 59.18) spells out in detail, the mechanics and requirements, of when and how the landlord must return the deposit.

Within fourteen days after the termination of the rental agreement and vacation of the premises … the landlord shall give a full and specific statement of the basis for retaining any of the deposit together with the payment of any refund due the tenant under the terms and conditions of the rental agreement. No portion of any deposit shall be withheld on account of wear resulting from ordinary use of the premises. The landlord complies with this section if the required statement or payment, or both, are deposited in the United States mail properly addressed with first class postage prepaid within the fourteen days.

…If the landlord fails to give such statement together with any refund due the tenant within [14 days] he shall be liable to the tenant for the full amount of the deposit. The landlord is also barred in any action brought by the tenant to recover the deposit from asserting any claim or raising any defense for retaining any of the deposit unless the landlord shows that circumstances beyond the landlord’s control prevented the landlord from providing the statement within the fourteen days or that the tenant abandoned the premises as defined in RCW 59.18.310. The court may in its discretion award up to two times the amount of the deposit for the intentional refusal of the landlord to give the statement or refund due. In any action brought by the tenant to recover the deposit, the prevailing party shall additionally be entitled to the cost of suit or arbitration including a reasonable attorney’s fee.

It is cut and dried. If the landlord does not get the written receipt and refund amount in the mail within fourteen days, the tenant will be able to get ALL of the deposit back - whether or not there was some damage that would otherwise be covered.