59.18.310(1) and the RLTA’s clear intention to protect tenants.
To support its claim for forfeiture of the security deposit, CDR argues that early
termination of a lease causes damages other than lost rent, including labor costs to
schedule and manage cleaning and repairs, relisting and advertising, screening and
interviewing new applicants, and executing a new lease. CDR characterizes the
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No. 82976-9-I/10
retained security deposit as liquidated damages for these losses. 4 However, RCW
59.18.310(1)(b)(ii) already accounts for these costs by specifying that the tenant is liable
for “actual costs incurred by the landlord in rerenting the premises together with
statutory court costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees.” Because a landlord can already
recoup these costs in addition to lost rent, subject to the mitigation requirement,
forfeiture of the security deposit is unnecessary to remedy non-rent losses.
Finally, the cases cited by CDR do not support its claim that leases can contain
provisions for nonrefundable security deposits upon abandonment of the lease, as
neither addressed the issue. In Carlstrom v. Hanline, the lease stated that the deposit
was non-refundable if the tenant moved out within the first six months of the lease. 98
Wn. App. 780, 782, 990 P.2d 986 (2000). The issue was whether the lease was
ambiguous; the court was not asked to, and did not review the merits of the
nonrefundable security deposit provision in the lease. Id. at 784. In Hammond v.
Boatsman, the court reviewed only whether a notice to pay rent or vacate waived the
right to sue for liquidated damages. 24 Wn. App. 24, 26, 600 P.2d 581 (1979). There