What Counts as Normal Wear and Tear in Washington?

The statutory definition

Washington’s phrase is “wear resulting from ordinary use of the premises,” and the statute has defined it since 2023. Here is the definition, word for word:

"Wear resulting from ordinary use of the premises" means deterioration that results from the intended use of a dwelling unit, including breakage or malfunction due to age or deteriorated condition. Such wear does not include deterioration that results from negligence, carelessness, accident, or abuse of the premises, fixtures, equipment, appliances, or furnishings by the tenant, immediate family member, occupant, or guest. RCW 59.18.030

In plain terms: if a condition came from the unit being lived in normally, it is wear and you cannot charge for it. That includes an appliance or fixture that breaks or stops working because of its age or deteriorated condition. If the condition came from negligence, carelessness, accident or abuse by the tenant, an immediate family member, an occupant or a guest, it is not wear, and you can charge for it if you meet the rules below. The tenant’s side of the same line: at move-out the tenant has to restore the unit to its initial condition, except for wear from ordinary use (RCW 59.18.130(10)).

The four limits on what you can withhold

If your written lease says the deposit may be kept for damage, you may keep it for damage beyond ordinary wear that the tenant is responsible for, and for unpaid rent and other charges the tenant owes (RCW 59.18.260(1)). The statute then sets four limits:

No portion of any deposit may be withheld: (i) For wear resulting from ordinary use of the premises; (ii) For carpet cleaning unless the landlord documents wear to the carpet that is beyond wear resulting from ordinary use of the premises; (iii) For the costs of repair and replacement of fixtures, equipment, appliances, and furnishings if their condition was not reasonably documented in the written checklist required under RCW 59.18.260; or (iv) In excess of the cost of repair or replacement of the damaged portion in situations in which the premises, including fixtures, equipment, appliances, and furnishings, are damaged in excess of wear resulting from ordinary use of the premises but the damage does not encompass the item’s entirety. RCW 59.18.280(1)(c)

• Ordinary wear, as defined above, can never be charged.
• Carpet cleaning cannot be charged unless you document wear to the carpet beyond ordinary wear.
• Repairing or replacing fixtures, equipment, appliances or furnishings cannot be charged if your move-in checklist did not reasonably document their condition.
• No more than the cost of the damaged portion can be charged when the damage does not cover the whole item.

Can a landlord charge for carpet cleaning in Washington State?

Only if you document wear to the carpet beyond ordinary wear (RCW 59.18.280(1)(c)(ii)). Routine carpet cleaning between tenants is your cost. Our illustration, not a ruling: a burn, or a pet stain the tenant’s household caused, is more likely damage than wear. You can charge for it if you document it and send the estimate, invoice or record of your time and rate along with your statement, and if the carpet counts as a fixture or furnishing, the move-in checklist must also have recorded its condition (RCW 59.18.280(1)(c)(iii)). On our reading, damage to part of the carpet limits the charge to that part ((1)(c)(iv)).

Anywhere in Washington, a tenant who paid a nonrefundable cleaning fee may not be charged for normal cleaning (RCW 59.18.130(10)).

Seattle goes further: if the tenant paid a non-refundable move-in fee for cleaning, you may not deduct any additional cleaning fees from the deposit (SMC 7.24.035.B.3). That Seattle section does not apply to a unit in a single-family home that is the owner’s principal residence (SMC 7.24.035.H). Seattle’s other move-in limits are on our Washington deposit limits page.

Can a landlord charge for painting in Washington State?

Only for damage beyond ordinary use. Paint that has faded, scuffed or simply aged from ordinary living is wear, and you cannot charge for it. The deposit statutes set no repainting schedule and no rule of their own for paint; they mention paint only in the move-in checklist requirement (RCW 59.18.260(2)(a)). Our examples, not the statute’s: a few small holes from hanging pictures are likely ordinary use, while large holes, gouges or an unapproved color are more likely damage.

Two rules shape what you can claim. The move-in checklist has to describe the walls, including wall paint and wallpaper (RCW 59.18.260(2)(a)), so it is your record of how the paint looked at the start. And on our reading, the damaged-portion rule in RCW 59.18.280(1)(c)(iv) means a mark on one wall supports a charge for that wall at most, not for repainting the whole unit. Section 59.18.280 does not mention paint by name.

Things the move-in checklist did not record

The checklist matters twice. Without a written checklist given to the tenant at the start of the tenancy, you may not collect a deposit at all, and collecting one anyway makes you liable to the tenant for the amount of the deposit (RCW 59.18.260(2), (5)). The checklist must also be signed and dated by both of you, with a copy for the tenant (RCW 59.18.260(3)).

No deposit may be collected by a landlord unless the rental agreement is in writing and a written checklist or statement is provided by the landlord to the tenant at the commencement of the tenancy specifically describing the condition and cleanliness of or existing damages to the premises, fixtures, equipment, appliances, and furnishings including, but not limited to: (a) Walls, including wall paint and wallpaper; (b) Carpets and other flooring; (c) Furniture; and (d) Appliances. RCW 59.18.260(2)

Then at move-out, you cannot charge for repairing or replacing fixtures, equipment, appliances or furnishings whose condition the checklist did not reasonably document (RCW 59.18.280(1)(c)(iii)). If the checklist never mentioned the dishwasher, you cannot withhold anything for repairing or replacing it.

Receipts, estimates and your own labor

Since July 23, 2023, the statement you send has to come with paperwork that backs up each damage charge (RCW 59.18.280(1)(b)):

• Work by a contractor: copies of the estimates you received or the invoices you paid.
• Work you or your employee did: a statement of the time spent and the reasonable hourly rate charged, plus a bill, invoice or receipt for any materials.
• Materials you already had on hand or buy regularly: a bill, invoice, receipt, vendor price list or other vendor document showing the cost of what you used.

The statement, the paperwork and any refund go out together within 30 days after the rental agreement ends and the tenant has moved out, and mailing them first class to the tenant’s last known address within that time counts (RCW 59.18.280(1)(a)). The checklist and receipt rules do not apply to money you keep for something other than damage, such as unpaid rent (RCW 59.18.280(4)), but you still owe the statement ((1)(a)). The statute does not say whether that exception also lifts the liability for collecting a deposit without a checklist. The Washington return letter guide covers what goes in the statement.

Your lease has to say what the deposit covers

If you take a deposit, the rental agreement must be in writing and must set out the terms under which you may keep part of it. If you may keep it to cover damage the tenant is responsible for, the agreement has to say so (RCW 59.18.260(1)). Check that your lease says this before you rely on it at move-out.

Charges you cannot pass on in any other way

A charge for ordinary wear, or a damage charge you cannot back up with the paperwork above, may not be charged to the tenant, reported to a credit bureau or other consumer reporting agency, a tenant screening service or a prospective landlord, or sent to a collection agency (RCW 59.18.280(3)(b)).

If you get it wrong

Missing the 30-day deadline, or sending the statement without the required paperwork, makes you liable for the full deposit, and that sentence of the statute carries no exception on its face. In the tenant’s suit to recover the deposit you are also barred from claiming any of it, and a court may award up to twice the deposit for an intentional refusal, each unless circumstances beyond your control prevented a timely statement or the tenant abandoned the unit. In that suit the winning side recovers its costs and reasonable attorney’s fees (RCW 59.18.280(2)).

The free Washington deposit tool works out your deadline, asks for each damage charge whether the move-in checklist described the item and flags the ones RCW 59.18.280(1)(c)(iii) may bar, and drafts the statement. Whether a charge is wear or damage stays your call. It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Washington normal wear and tear: common questions

What is considered normal wear and tear in Washington State?

Washington calls it “wear resulting from ordinary use of the premises” and defines it as deterioration that results from the intended use of a dwelling unit, including breakage or malfunction due to age or deteriorated condition. It does not include deterioration from negligence, carelessness, accident or abuse by the tenant, an immediate family member, an occupant or a guest. A landlord may never keep deposit money for it. (RCW 59.18.030; RCW 59.18.280(1)(c)(i))

Can a Washington landlord charge for an appliance that broke from age?

No. The definition of wear from ordinary use expressly includes breakage or malfunction due to age or deteriorated condition, and that wear can never be deducted. Breakage caused by the negligence, carelessness, accident or abuse of the tenant, an immediate family member, an occupant or a guest is not wear and can be charged, but only if the move-in checklist reasonably documented the appliance’s condition and the paperwork goes out with the statement. (RCW 59.18.030; RCW 59.18.280(1)(b), (1)(c)(i), (iii))

Can a Washington landlord charge for doing the repairs themselves?

Yes, if you document it. When you or an employee do the work, the statement must include the time spent and the reasonable hourly rate charged, with a bill, invoice or receipt for any materials. (RCW 59.18.280(1)(b))

Can a landlord charge for something the move-in checklist did not record?

Not for repairing or replacing fixtures, equipment, appliances or furnishings whose condition the checklist did not reasonably document. And without a written move-in checklist given at the start of the tenancy, no deposit may be collected in the first place. (RCW 59.18.280(1)(c)(iii); RCW 59.18.260(2))

Sources

• RCW 59.18.030: the definition of wear resulting from ordinary use of the premises
• RCW 59.18.130(10): the tenant’s duty at move-out, and no charge for normal cleaning after a nonrefundable cleaning fee
• RCW 59.18.260: the written lease terms and the move-in checklist
• RCW 59.18.280: the statement, the documentation, the four limits on withholding, and the penalties
• Seattle Municipal Code 7.24.035: .B.3, no cleaning deduction after a non-refundable cleaning fee; .H, the owner-occupied exemption
• The Washington security deposit tool and full cited rules

About this page

The definition and the quoted passages are read from the same statute-cited rules the Washington tool runs on, and they are on our weekly watch of the official Revised Code of Washington. Where a sentence gives our reading or an illustration rather than the statute’s words, it says so. How we verify the law explains the process. This is general information that cites the statute, not legal advice, and Orygn LLC is not a law firm. For advice about your situation, talk to a licensed Washington attorney.