English
EspañolAfter I give notice to terminate my lease, what rent do I have to pay?
You will have to pay rent only for the month in which you terminate your lease but not for the following months.1 So, for example, let’s say you usually pay your rent on the first of the month and you want to terminate your lease in the month of January. You will still have to pay a full month’s rent whether you leave the rental property on January 2nd or January 31st. But you will not have to pay rent for February or the remaining months on the lease.
However, if you don’t pay rent monthly, then you may have to pay rent for a shorter period of time. For example, if you pay weekly, then you’d have to pay for the week period when the termination takes place.2
1 R.C.W. § 59.18.575(2)(a)
2 R.C.W. § 59.18.575(2); see R.C.W. § 59.18.200(1)(a)
What happens to my security deposit?
You are entitled to get your security deposit back as if you finished out the term of your lease. Even if your lease says that you will forfeit your deposit if you break the lease, that does not apply if you terminate your lease under these laws.1
However, the landlord can still deduct from the security deposit any damage caused to the property or unpaid rent as they normally would. A landlord who seeks reimbursement for damages to the property from Washington’s landlord mitigation program, however, cannot keep any of your security deposit or sue you for damages.2
1 R.C.W. § 59.18.575(2)(b)(i)
2 R.C.W. § 59.18.575(2)(b)(ii)
If there are other tenants on the lease, what happens to their tenancy when I terminate my lease?
If there are other tenants who have signed the lease, they are still bound by the lease. The termination doesn’t affect their duty to pay rent for the rest of the lease. The only exception to this is if the other tenant is the “household member” of yours who is the victim of sexual assault, stalking, unlawful harassment, or domestic violence.1
1 R.C.W. § 59.18.575(2)(c)
