Washington abandoned property law: the 45 day notice, the $250 shortcut and one year for surplus
RCW 59.18.310 applies when a tenant defaults in rent and signals through words or actions that they will not return. The landlord may take and store the property, mail a notice, and sell or dispose of it after 45 days, or after seven days if it is worth $250 or less.
What counts as abandonment in Washington?
Subsection (1) requires two things together: the tenant defaults in paying rent, and reasonably indicates by words or actions that they do not intend to resume the tenancy. On learning of the abandonment, the landlord must make a reasonable effort to reduce the loss from it. A month-to-month tenant owes the rent for the thirty days after the landlord learns of the abandonment or the next regular payment date, whichever comes first. A tenant with a longer term owes the lesser of the remaining rent or the rerenting costs and rent difference, with costs and fees.
What must the notice say?
Subsection (2) lets the landlord immediately enter, take possession of the tenant's property found there and store it in a reasonably secure place. The landlord must make reasonable efforts to give the tenant a notice with these points:
- The landlord's name and address.
- The place where the property is stored.
- That the property will be sold or disposed of under the section, and the date of the sale or disposal.
- The tenant's right under RCW 59.18.230 to have the property returned before sale or disposal.
Those efforts are satisfied by mailing the notice first class, postage prepaid, to the tenant's last known address and to any other address the tenant gave in writing or the landlord actually knows where the tenant might receive it.
How long until you can sell or dispose of it?
After 45 days from the date the notice is mailed or personally delivered, the landlord may sell or dispose of the property, including personal papers, family pictures and keepsakes. If the property's cumulative value is $250 or less, the landlord may sell or dispose of it, except personal papers, family pictures and keepsakes, after 7 days from mailing or delivery of the notice, while still making reasonable efforts to notify the tenant.
Until then, the tenant who makes a written request for return before sale must get the property back after paying the actual or reasonable drayage and storage costs, whichever is less.
Example a made-up landlord mails the notice on June 1 for property worth about $180 plus a box of family photos. After 7 days, June 8, the landlord may dispose of the furniture, but the photos wait until the full 45 days run, to July 16.
What happens to the money?
The landlord may apply income from a sale to money due, including actual or reasonable drayage and storage costs, whichever is less. Any excess must be held for the tenant for one year from the sale date. If the tenant makes no claim or starts no action in that period, the balance becomes the landlord's, including interest paid on it. The section does not apply to the property of a deceased tenant, which RCW 59.18.595 governs when the tenant was the sole occupant.
DoorKeeping and the Washington notice
Two dates matter here, the mailing date and the value of what you hold. DoorKeeping stores the inventory with an estimated value, lists the personal papers and keepsakes separately and counts the 7 and 45 days on your list. It drafts the notice with the required points for your approval. This is general information, not legal advice. Check the current statute or ask a local attorney before you act. The text cited was published by the Washington Legislature; check for amendments since it was certified.
Sources
Questions
- How long must a Washington landlord wait before selling abandoned property?
- 45 days from the date the notice is mailed or personally delivered, or 7 days if the cumulative value is $250 or less, except personal papers, family pictures and keepsakes.
- What happens to surplus sale money in Washington?
- It is held for the tenant for one year from the sale, then becomes the landlord's if no claim is made.
- Can the tenant get property back before sale?
- Yes, with a written request before sale and payment of the actual or reasonable drayage and storage costs, whichever is less.