Breaking a Lease Early in Washington: What Are My Options?

If you leave without a legal reason

1. 1

   On a lease for a set term, say you stop paying rent and show by words or actions that you will not return. You then owe the lesser of 2 amounts. One is all the rent left on the lease. The other is rent for the time reasonably needed to re-rent the home. It adds the gap between the new rent and yours, re-renting costs, court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees.

   Source:

   1. RCW 59.18.310(1), Washington State Legislature. Law.
   Tip.

   Read your lease before you decide. Check whether it lets you end it early and what penalty you must pay.

2. 2

   If you stop paying rent and show by words or actions that you will not return, your landlord must try to limit the loss. In a month-to-month rental, you owe 30 days of rent. The 30 days start when your landlord learns you left or the next rent is due, whichever is first.

   Source:

   1. RCW 59.18.310(1), Washington State Legislature. Law.

When you can leave early

3. 3

   To end your lease over a repair problem, give written notice of it. The law gives your landlord a set repair time after they get your notice to fix it. If they still have not fixed it within a reasonable time, send written notice that you are leaving. You then owe no rent after you leave and get back unused prepaid rent. Follow the repair rules strictly and be current on rent.

   Sources:

   1. RCW 59.18.090, Washington State Legislature. Law.
   2. Tenants' rights: Moving out, Northwest Justice Project (WashingtonLawHelp.org). A nonprofit group.
   Think before you call an inspector.

   You or a neighbor can ask the city to send a code inspector. Be careful: if the home is in very bad shape, the inspector can condemn it (say no one may live there). Then everyone must move out, you too, sometimes on short notice. Think about where you would go before you call.

   From Washington Law Help (Northwest Justice Project).
   Tip.

   Write down each problem, every time you contacted your landlord, and the day you moved out.

How to leave

4. 4

   To end a month-to-month rental, give your landlord written notice of 20 days or more before the end of a month or other rental period. Send it by certified mail with a return receipt requested. Save texts and emails as well.

   Sources:

   1. Tenants' rights: Moving out, Northwest Justice Project (WashingtonLawHelp.org). A nonprofit group.
   2. RCW 59.18.200(1)(a), Washington State Legislature. Law.
   Tip.

   Keep a copy of every letter you give your landlord, and keep your mail receipt. Save the texts and emails you send your landlord, and any replies.

After you move out

5. 5

   The law gives your landlord 30 days to send you a full and specific statement of why any deposit was kept, with any refund. The 30 days start after your lease ends and you leave, or, if you abandoned the home, when your landlord learns you left. Your landlord can keep deposit money only as your written rental agreement allows, and never for wear from ordinary use.

   Sources:

   1. RCW 59.18.280(1)(a), Washington State Legislature. Law.
   2. RCW 59.18.260(1), Washington State Legislature. Law.
   Tip.

   Before you leave, clean the home and take photos of how you left it.

6. 6

   If your landlord says you owe more, a debt collector may call or write to you. The collector must tell you how much, who it is for and how to say it is wrong. You have 30 days after you get that notice to write back. Then the collector must stop trying to get that money until it answers you.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. What information does a debt collector have to give me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
   3. What should I do when a debt collector contacts me, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
7. 7

   Your landlord can take money from your pay or benefits only after winning in court. The court must issue a judgment (the court's final decision) that you owe the debt. If you are sued, do not ignore it. You can lose the case if you do not go to court.

   Sources:

   1. Our editorial rules.
   2. Can a debt collector take or garnish my wages, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A government guide.
   Tip.

   If you get court papers, do not ignore them. Go to court, or you can lose the case.

   From Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Special protections

8. 8

   Say you or someone in your home was a victim of a crime such as domestic violence or stalking. Write to your landlord. Then give your landlord a copy of a protection order, or a signed record of a report to a qualified third party. You can then end your lease and move out. The law gives you 90 days after the act you reported to ask.

   Source:

   1. RCW 59.18.575(1)(a), Washington State Legislature. Law.
9. 9

   Say you end your lease as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, unlawful harassment (unwanted, hostile treatment) or stalking. You owe no rent after the last day of the month you leave. You owe that month's rent, unless you end the lease under the month-to-month notice rule. Your landlord must return your full deposit, even if your lease says you lose it for leaving early.

   Source:

   1. RCW 59.18.575(2)(a), Washington State Legislature. Law.
10. 10

    If you are in the military, including the national guard and reserves, you can end a lease for a set time. So can your spouse or dependent. You need orders to move to a new post or to deploy. Give your landlord at least 20 days' written notice. Add a copy of the orders or a signed letter from your commander. It must show a reason, such as a move of 35 miles or more.

    Source:

    1. RCW 59.18.220(2), Washington State Legislature. Law.
11. 11

    Say your landlord sexually assaulted, stalked or unlawfully harassed (unwanted, hostile treatment) you or someone in your home. You can end your lease and move out first. The law gives you 7 days after you move out to deliver a protection order or a signed record of a report. You owe no rent after the later of the day you move out or that delivery.

    Source:

    1. RCW 59.18.575(3)(a), Washington State Legislature. Law.
12. 12

    Say another renter in your home threatened you with a gun or other deadly weapon and was arrested for it. Tell your landlord. The law gives your landlord 7 days after law enforcement tells them of the arrest to file an eviction case against that renter. If they do not, you can end your lease with written notice. You owe no rent after you leave.

    Source:

    1. RCW 59.18.352, Washington State Legislature. Law.