W. WEAVER, WASHINGTON PRACTICE: REAL ESTATE: PROPERTY LAW § 6.53, at 398
(2d ed. 2004). The tenant’s duties include keeping the premises reasonably clean and
sanitary, refraining from causing damage or committing waste, and “restor[ing] the
premises to their initial condition [upon termination of the tenancy,] except for
reasonable wear and tear or conditions caused by failure of the landlord to comply
with his or her obligations under [the RLTA].” RCW 59.18.130. The landlord may
retain a portion of the deposit if the tenant fails to perform these duties (provided it
also gives a full and specific statement of the basis within 14 days, see supra note 3,
after vacation of the rental unit), but the landlord cannot withhold any portion of a
deposit due to ordinary wear and tear. RCW 59.18.280(1)(a); see also Stoebuck,
supra, at 1030 (“[T]he landlord is entitled in Washington to retain out of the deposit
only so much as will compensate him for his actual damages upon the tenant’s
breach. In other words, no part of the deposit becomes the landlord’s until the
breach.” (footnote omitted)). Also, the RLTA provisions governing security deposits
11
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Silver v. Rudeen Mgmt. Co.
No. 98024-1
are among the few sections of the act that provide for an award of costs and
reasonable attorney fees for the prevailing party. See RCW 58.18.260, .270, .280.
Within the statutorily allotted time after the termination of a residential
tenancy, the landlord must either return the tenant’s deposit or provide “a full and
specific statement of the basis for retaining any of the deposit together with the
payment of any refund due the tenant under the terms and conditions of the rental