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.
Track every deadline across your whole portfolio, with reminders sent automatically. Same rules, same citations, every property on one calendar.
Thinking ahead to the other end of the tenancy? The deposit return calculator shows your 30-day deadline when the tenant moves out.
Not for ordinary rentals. House Bill 1217's one-month cap applies only to manufactured and mobile home tenancies. Several cities set their own caps.
Seattle, Tacoma, Burien, Kenmore, Kirkland, Redmond, and unincorporated King County all cap total move-in charges at one month's rent. That total covers security deposits plus fees, and in some cities prepaid last month's rent, with installment payment rights on top.
No. Nowhere in Washington may a deposit be collected without a written rental agreement and a signed condition checklist. That checklist is also what lets you withhold for damage at move-out.
