Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Washington

Re: slum lord

There are a series of issues going on with the facts that you conveyed. However, what seems like the crux of the issue is whether the landlord or the landlord's agents & contractors had a right to enter the apartment on the 7th after your daughter gave notice that she would be gone on the 1st.

Bad News:

The landlord has a defense to entering on the 7th and for charging for cleanup. When your daughter gave notice for the 1st, and never wrote to update the landlord that she needed more time to get her possessions out, that would leave a reasonable landlord to think that your daughter departed as per her notice and abandoned what was left behind. The landlord has no duty to call or check on your daughter, once they reasonably believe that the premises has been surrendered.

Good News:

You don�t say when the damage to the unit occurred from the storm, but you describe a unit that is unfit for habitation. The presence of black mold, if proven was there at the time your daughter moved in, or if you can prove that a meth lab was there prior to her moving in, will demonstrate that the unit was unfit for habitation, and thus, your daughter is entitled at least to an offset of rent paid..

As for the doorknobs, the landlord should already have a set of keys. If on the other hand, your daughter installed locks without the landlord�s permission and giving copies of keys to the landlord, then the landlord is probably going get these costs.

If we can document the damage to the unit, and document that notice was conveyed and the landlord did nothing, then you have a good case in court, for at least a partial refund of rents paid

Last, within 14 days after the termination of the rental agreement and vacation of the premises, the landlord shall provide a statement of the basis for retaining any of the deposit as well as payment of any refund due your daughter under the lease.

If the landlord fails to give a statement with any refund due your daughter within 14 days, she will be liable to your daughter for 100% of the deposit. If your daughter sues to recover the deposit, the landlord can�t raise any claim or defense for retaining the deposit without showing that circumstances beyond the landlord's control prevented her from providing the statement within the 14 days.

The court may, in its discretion, award up to two times the amount of the deposit for the intentional refusal of the landlord to give the statement or refund due. In a lawsuit by your daughter against the landlord to recover the deposit, the prevailing party is entitled to the cost of suit including a reasonable attorney's fees.

If you would like legal representation in this matter, do not hesitate to call or e-mail me. Best of luck!