Around Puget Sound, deposits and move-in fees are capped city by city, and tenants often have the right to pay them in installments. Pick where the property is, enter the rent, and this tool shows your maximums.
Seattle, Tacoma, Burien, Kenmore, Kirkland, Redmond, and unincorporated King County all cap total move-in charges (security deposits plus fees, and in some cities prepaid last month's rent) at one month's rent, with installment payment rights layered on top.
Statewide, there is no cap for ordinary rentals. We verified that against the 2025 session law directly: HB 1217's one-month cap applies only to manufactured and mobile home tenancies. But no deposit may be collected anywhere in Washington without a written rental agreement and a signed condition checklist (RCW 59.18.260), and that checklist is also what lets you withhold for damage at move-out.
Where the property is. Each city's cap is its own ordinance; unincorporated King County has the county's version.
Monthly rent. The caps are expressed in months of rent, and Seattle's sub-caps are percentages of the first month.
The paid calendar tracks the deadlines that follow move-in: notice windows, the state cap, registration renewals, all with citations and reminders.
Thinking ahead to the other end of the tenancy? The deposit return calculator shows your 30-day deadline when the tenant moves out.
