Under this chapter:

Need help with a review of a residential lease?
Have it reviewed by a lawyer, get answers to your questions and move forward with confidence.
Connect with a lawyer now

Terms Used In Washington Code 59.18.283

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Landlord: means the owner, lessor, or sublessor of the dwelling unit or the property of which it is a part, and in addition means any person designated as representative of the owner, lessor, or sublessor including, but not limited to, an agent, a resident manager, or a designated property manager. See Washington Code 59.18.030
  • Premises: means a dwelling unit, appurtenances thereto, grounds, and facilities held out for the use of tenants generally and any other area or facility which is held out for use by the tenant. See Washington Code 59.18.030
  • tenant: is a ny person who is entitled to occupy a dwelling unit primarily for living or dwelling purposes under a rental agreement. See Washington Code 59.18.030
(1) A landlord must first apply any payment made by a tenant toward rent before applying any payment toward late payments, damages, legal costs, or other fees, including attorneys’ fees.
(2) Except as provided in RCW 59.18.410, the tenant’s right to possession of the premises may not be conditioned on a tenant’s payment or satisfaction of any monetary amount other than rent. However, this does not foreclose a landlord from pursuing other lawful remedies to collect late payments, legal costs, or other fees, including attorneys’ fees.
(3) When, at the commencement of the tenancy, the landlord has provided an installment payment plan for nonrefundable fees or deposits for the security of the tenant’s obligations and the tenant defaults in payment, the landlord may treat the default in payment as rent owing. Any rights the tenant and landlord have under this chapter with respect to rent owing equally apply under this subsection.

NOTES:

Intent2019 c 356: See note following RCW 59.12.030.