Does Washington Cap Security Deposits?
Not statewide. Washington law sets no maximum on a security deposit for an ordinary apartment or house, and the one-month cap that many sites report was in a 2025 bill and was removed before it passed. Cities are a different story: eight of the ten cities we researched cap the deposit or move-in money at one month’s rent, each in its own way. This page covers the state rule, the installment right that works like a brake, and a city-by-city table. Statutes and city codes verified September 6, 2026.
Is there a limit on how much a Washington landlord can charge for a deposit?
Not in state law. We read every section of Washington’s Residential Landlord-Tenant Act, RCW chapter 59.18, and it sets no maximum on a residential security deposit. That is a negative we established by reading the whole chapter, not a sentence we can quote, because the statute simply never sets a number.
Two state limits do apply around the edges. A fee or deposit to hold a unit before the tenancy starts may not exceed 25% of the first month’s rent (RCW 59.18.253(3)). And once deposits and non-refundable fees together exceed 25% of the first full month’s rent, or whenever you require last month’s rent up front, the tenant can require you to take them in installments (below).
Didn’t HB 1217 cap deposits at one month’s rent?
It tried to. House Bill 1217 as introduced, and both of its substitute versions, contained a section 107 amending RCW 59.18.270 to cap move-in fees and security deposits combined at one month’s rent. That section was taken out before the bill passed. The session law that resulted, 2025 c 209, does not mention RCW 59.18.270 anywhere. Its title lists the existing sections it amends as RCW 59.18.140, 59.20.170, 59.20.060 and 59.20.030, and the new sections it adds to chapter 59.18 limit rent and fee increases, not deposits.
What the act did do is cap move-in fees and deposits for manufactured and mobile home lots (below) and cap rent increases, and both get reported as a deposit cap. Check it yourself: HB 1217 as introduced contains the section 107 cap; the session law as passed does not.
Which Washington cities cap security deposits?
We researched ten Washington cities, Seattle, Tacoma and Bellevue among them, reading each city’s code except Bellevue’s, which we searched; together they hold roughly a third of the state’s renter households. Eight of them cap the deposit or move-in money at one month’s rent, but they do not agree on what counts toward that month, and the difference is real money:
| City | What the one-month cap counts | Pet deposit |
|---|---|---|
| SeattleSMC 7.24.035, 7.24.038 | Deposit plus non-refundable move-in fees (the fees alone at most 10%, apart from a screening report that costs more) | 25% of the first full month’s rent, on top of the cap on the City’s reading |
| TacomaTMC 1.100.015, 1.100.040 | Every charge before possession, including the deposit, application and screening charges, and prepaid last month’s rent | 25% of one month’s rent; the definition excludes “a valid pet fee”, which on our reading leaves a pet deposit outside the total |
| OlympiaOMC 5.82.050, 5.82.060 | Refundable deposit, or last month’s rent taken to secure possession; fees not on the city’s list are barred | 25% of one month’s rent; the code does not say whether it sits inside the cap |
| BellinghamBMC 6.16.030 | Refundable deposit (two months if a nonprofit pays it for a client); fees not named in the city code or in RCW 59.18 are barred | 30% of monthly rent; the code does not say whether it sits inside the cap |
| RedmondRMC 9.54.040 | All move-in fees and security deposits charged before the tenant takes possession | No separate limit; on our reading a pet deposit taken at move-in is a deposit and counts inside the one month |
| KenmoreKMC 8.55.040 | All move-in fees and security deposits charged before the tenant takes possession | No separate limit; on our reading a pet deposit taken at move-in is a deposit and counts inside the one month |
| AuburnACC 5.23.040 | Everything paid at the start to obtain the unit, deposit included (see the note below) | An additional pet deposit is allowed if reasonable; no percentage set |
| BurienBMC 5.63.020, 5.63.040 | Deposit, non-refundable move-in fees and last month’s rent, together | No separate limit; on our reading a pet deposit is a deposit and counts toward the one month |
In Federal Way and Bellevue we found no city rule on residential security deposits, so state law is the answer there as far as we can tell. We have not read the codes of any other Washington city, including large rental markets such as Spokane, Vancouver, Everett, Kent and Renton, so if your rental is elsewhere, check your city’s code before relying on the state answer alone.
Three details the table cannot hold. Seattle’s cap does not apply to a unit inside a single-family home that is the owner’s principal residence; the 25% pet limit sits in a different section with no matching exception, so on our reading it still does. In Redmond, Kenmore and Olympia the code does not settle whether prepaid last month’s rent counts toward the cap. And Auburn’s section opens by allowing any non-rent charge agreed in writing and signed at the start of the initial lease; read literally that could reach the cap itself, the code does not say whether it does, and we publish the cap as written. Seattle has also passed changes that take effect July 1, 2027; they do not change the cap or the pet limit, but they raise what getting it wrong costs.
Can a Washington tenant pay the deposit in installments?
Yes, once the money is large enough. If deposits and non-refundable fees together come to more than 25% of the first full month’s rent, or you also require last month’s rent up front, the tenant can ask in writing to pay in installments, and you have to agree:
Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, upon receipt of a tenant’s written request, a landlord must permit the tenant to pay any deposits, nonrefundable fees, and last month’s rent in installments. RCW 59.18.610
On a term of three months or longer the tenant may choose 3 equal monthly installments; otherwise 2. You may not charge a fee or interest for it, and refusing a written request costs one month’s rent plus the tenant’s attorney fees. Several cities go further: Seattle, Tacoma, Redmond, Kenmore and Burien allow up to six monthly installments on a longer tenancy, and Auburn requires the landlord to offer the deposit over six months before the agreement is signed.
Is there a limit on pet deposits in Washington?
Not in state law, on our reading of chapter 59.18: like the general deposit, a pet deposit has no state maximum. Several cities set one. Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia cap a pet damage deposit at 25% of a month’s rent, and Bellingham at 30%. Redmond, Kenmore and Burien set no separate pet limit, so on our reading a pet deposit counts toward their one-month total (in Redmond and Kenmore, one taken before the tenant moves in), and Auburn allows an additional pet deposit if it is reasonable. Whether a pet deposit sits on top of the city cap differs by city and is often not settled by the text: in Seattle the answer is the City’s own published reading, in Tacoma it is our reading of the definition, and in Olympia and Bellingham the code does not say.
What about manufactured and mobile home lots?
This is the one-month cap that did become law, and it is often mistaken for a cap on apartments and houses. If the tenant owns a manufactured or mobile home and rents the lot it sits on, a different statute applies, and for leases entered into on or after May 7, 2025 it caps move-in fees and deposits combined at one month’s rent, or two if the tenant has pets. A lease entered into before that date stays outside the cap even when it is renewed:
For leases or rental agreements entered into on or after May 7, 2025, if a landlord charges a tenant any move-in fees or security deposits, the move-in fees and security deposits combined may not exceed one month's rent, unless the tenant brings any pets into the tenancy, in which case the move-in fees and security deposits combined may not exceed two months' rent. RCW 59.20.170(1) (Manufactured/Mobile Home Landlord-Tenant Act)
Can a landlord collect a deposit without a move-in checklist?
No. Before any cap question arises, Washington bars collecting a deposit at all unless the rental agreement is in writing and the landlord gives the tenant a written move-in checklist describing the condition of the unit (RCW 59.18.260). Collecting one without it makes the landlord liable for the amount of the deposit. The Washington deposit tool covers what the checklist has to contain and what it means at move-out.
Return a Washington deposit correctly
How much you may collect is the start of the tenancy. At the end, the free Washington deposit tool works out your 30-day deadline and the three things that have to go out together, applies the Seattle rules where they reach, and generates a statute-cited return letter, all in your browser with nothing stored.
Washington security deposit limits: common questions
Is there a limit on how much a Washington landlord can charge for a security deposit?
Not under state law for an ordinary apartment or house: we read every section of RCW chapter 59.18 and it sets no maximum. The tenant can require installments once deposits and non-refundable fees exceed 25% of the first full month’s rent, or whenever last month’s rent is required up front, and several cities cap deposits themselves. (RCW 59.18; RCW 59.18.610)
Is the one-month deposit cap in HB 1217 the law in Washington?
Only for manufactured and mobile home lot tenancies, under RCW 59.20.170(1). The one-month cap for apartments and houses was in HB 1217 as introduced and in both substitute versions, and was removed before the bill passed: the session law, 2025 c 209, does not amend RCW 59.18.270 at all.
Which Washington cities cap security deposits?
Of the ten cities we researched, eight cap the deposit or move-in money at one month’s rent in one form or another: Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Bellingham, Redmond, Kenmore, Auburn, Burien. What the cap counts differs city by city. In Federal Way and Bellevue we found no city deposit rule. We have not read the codes of other Washington cities, including Spokane, Vancouver, Everett, Kent and Renton.
Does Seattle cap security deposits?
Yes. The deposit and any non-refundable move-in fees together may not exceed one month’s rent, the fees alone may not exceed 10% (apart from a screening report that costs more), and a pet damage deposit may not exceed 25% of the first full month’s rent, which the City reads as sitting on top of the one month. The cap does not apply to a unit inside a single-family home that is the owner’s principal residence. (SMC 7.24.035, 7.24.038)
Does Tacoma limit security deposits?
Yes. Tacoma caps "move-in fees" at the first month’s rent, and its definition counts the security deposit, application and screening charges and prepaid last month’s rent together. A pet damage deposit may not exceed 25% of one month’s rent. (TMC 1.100.015, 1.100.040)
Do Bellevue or Federal Way cap security deposits?
We searched both city codes and found no city rule on residential security deposits in either, so state law is the answer there as far as we can tell.
What happens if a Washington landlord refuses to take the deposit in installments?
Where the installment duty applies and the tenant asked in writing, refusing makes the landlord liable to the tenant for one month’s rent plus reasonable attorney fees. (RCW 59.18.610)
Sources
- RCW chapter 59.18, the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (no deposit maximum)
- RCW 59.18.610: installments and the holding-fee limit
- RCW 59.18.260(2), (3), (5): the move-in checklist
- RCW 59.20.170(1): manufactured and mobile home lots
- HB 1217 as introduced and 2025 c 209 as passed
- Seattle: SMC 7.24.035, 7.24.038
- Tacoma: TMC 1.100.015, 1.100.040
- Olympia: OMC 5.82.050, 5.82.060
- Bellingham: BMC 6.16.030
- Redmond: RMC 9.54.040
- Kenmore: KMC 8.55.040
- Auburn: ACC 5.23.040
- Burien: BMC 5.63.020, 5.63.040
- The Washington security deposit tool and full cited rules
About this page
Every quoted passage above comes from the same rules the Washington tool runs on, and the city table summarises each city’s verified row in those rules. The state statutes and most of the city codes are on an automated weekly watch; the rest are re-read by hand. Where a sentence gives our reading rather than the text, it says so. How we verify the law explains the process. This is general information that cites the law, not legal advice, and Orygn LLC is not a law firm. For advice about your situation, talk to a licensed Washington attorney.