Washington Abandoned Tenant Property Notice

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   A Washington notice of sale or disposal is what lets a landlord lawfully sell or dispose of a former tenant's leftover belongings. RCW 59.18.310(2) prescribes no printed form, but it does prescribe five contents: the landlord's name and address, the place the goods are stored, a statement that a sale or disposition will take place under that section, the date of the sale or disposal, and the tenant's right under RCW 59.18.230 to have the property returned before it is sold or disposed of.

2. 2

   The section is triggered by abandonment as Washington defines it: a default in rent plus words or actions that reasonably indicate the tenant does not intend to resume the tenancy. Both halves matter. Washington has also abolished the landlord's common law right of distress for rent, and RCW 59.18.230(4) makes a landlord who takes or detains a tenant's property without specific written consent, and does not promptly return it after written demand, liable for its value and actual damages, plus up to $500 a day, capped at $5,000, where the refusal is intentional.

3. 3

   Under the statute the landlord's efforts at notice are satisfied by first-class mail, postage prepaid, to the tenant's last known address and to any other address the tenant gave in writing or the landlord actually knows. Both the 45-day and the 7-day periods run from the date the notice is mailed or personally delivered, so count the date in the notice from that day rather than from the day the unit was found empty.

4. 4

   The $250 figure is cumulative: it measures everything left behind together, not item by item. At or under it the 7-day path is open, but personal papers, family pictures and keepsakes stay on the 45-day path whatever they are worth, and the statute still requires reasonable efforts to notify the tenant. Over it, nothing may be sold or disposed of until the 45 days have run, and after that the keepsakes may go too.

5. 5

   Until the sale or disposal, the tenant can get the goods back. The landlord shall return the property once the tenant pays the actual or reasonable drayage and storage costs, whichever is less, provided the tenant makes a written request before the landlord has sold or disposed of it. Drayage, the cost of hauling the goods, is capped the same way as storage: the lower of what was actually spent and what is reasonable.

6. 6

   Sale income may be applied against moneys due the landlord, including drayage and storage at the lesser of actual or reasonable cost. Any excess is held by the landlord for the tenant's benefit for one year from the date of sale. If the tenant makes no claim and commences no action within that year, the balance, including any interest paid on it, becomes the landlord's property.

7. 7

   Two situations run on different rules. Goods the landlord takes on execution of a writ of restitution fall under RCW 59.18.312, which uses a 30-day period after the notice of sale for goods worth over $250, lets the tenant require storage by a written request served within three days of service of the writ, and sends unclaimed surplus to the department of revenue after a year. And RCW 59.18.310(3) excludes a deceased tenant's property, which RCW 59.18.595 governs where the tenant was the sole occupant.

Washington Requirements for Abandoned Tenant Property Notice

• Facts Showing Abandonment Under RCW 59.18.310(1)

  Record the rent default (amount and due date) and the words or actions that reasonably indicate the tenant does not intend to resume the tenancy, such as a returned key, a moving-out message or an emptied unit. The section rests on both. Without them the goods are still a sitting tenant's goods, and taking or detaining them without specific written consent can create liability under RCW 59.18.230(4).

• The Landlord's Name and Address

  RCW 59.18.310(2) requires the notice to contain the name and address of the landlord. Use an address where a written request for return of the property will actually reach you before the sale date, because the tenant's right to recover the goods runs through a written request.

• The Reasonably Secure Place Where the Goods Are Stored

  The statute lets the landlord store the property in any reasonably secure place and requires the notice to say where it is stored. Give the street address of the storage location or say that the goods remain at the premises. Keep the receipts for hauling and storage, since the tenant can be charged only the lower of actual and reasonable cost for each.

• The Statement That a Sale or Disposition Will Take Place, and Its Date

  The notice must inform the tenant that a sale or disposition of the property shall take place under RCW 59.18.310 and give the date. Count that date from the day the notice is mailed or personally delivered: at least 45 days, or 7 days where the cumulative value is $250 or less, with personal papers, family pictures and keepsakes always held for the 45 days.

• The Tenant's Right Under RCW 59.18.230 to Have the Property Returned

  The notice must tell the tenant of the right under RCW 59.18.230 to have the property returned before its sale or disposal. Say how: a written request before the sale date, and payment of the actual or reasonable drayage and storage costs, whichever is less. On that request and payment the landlord shall return the property.

• First-Class Mail to Every Address You Know

  The landlord's notice efforts are satisfied by first-class mail, postage prepaid, to the tenant's last known address and to any other address the tenant provided in writing or the landlord actually knows. Note the mailing date and keep proof of it, or record the date of personal delivery, because both waiting periods run from that day.

• The Cumulative Value, and the Keepsakes Set Aside

  Before using the 7-day period, make and keep a dated inventory and photographs showing the total value of everything left is $250 or less. Separate out personal papers, family pictures and keepsakes, which may not be sold or disposed of until 45 days after the notice whatever the total. If the total is over $250, the 45 days apply to all of it.

• The Sale Accounting and the One-Year Hold on Any Excess

  If the goods are sold, record the date, price and buyer, and the drayage and storage applied, at the lesser of actual or reasonable cost, along with any other sums owed. Hold any excess for the tenant for one year from the sale date. If no claim is made and no action commenced in that year, the balance, including interest paid on it, becomes the landlord's property under RCW 59.18.310(2).