Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Washington

Lease Termination for Military Enlistement

I signed a year long lease agreement. About 2 months before my lease had ended, I enlisted in the military and was set to leave in October. I turned in a written notice to the management office informing them of my actions and reason of early lease termination. A month later, they send me a bill statemet informing that I owed over $3000 in rent and cleaning. Due to this, I had to push my departure date to March 2008. They have just now set it to a collections. What can I do to get the collections and apartment complex to call of the collections?


Asked on 1/08/08, 2:04 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Elizabeth Powell ELizabeth Powell PS Inc

Re: Lease Termination for Military Enlistement

Washington has a specific statute allowing lease termination for military relocation orders. What your landlord did is not allowed by the statute. Look up RCW Title 59, Chapter 18 towards the end ( around Section 450, I don't remember the exact section number) and write to the collector and tell them that you dispute the debt based on your orders.

The cleaning could be a different issue. Was there a walk though checklist detailing the condition of the inside at the time you moved in? What was your deposit supposed to address? Damage or security? Did the apt. advise you within two weeks after you left what they intended to do with your deposit, and did they advise you that they needed to clean up damage?

Most importantly, did you leave the place damaged?

Don't hesitate to contact me if you want more help. Elizabeth Powell

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Answered on 1/08/08, 10:08 am


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