Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Washington

Statue of limitations

I am in collection for a bill that is just over 4 years old. The home rental company didn�t require a non-refundable move-in fee for normal cleaning in my rental agreement. I moved out and they want normal cleaning fees ($185). No where in the rental agreement does it indicate that I am responsible for anything other then that which is not normal. My security deposit is to be used for those expenses. They gave me an itemized list after I moved out but my question is: Is there a time limit to appeal the bill to the courts, if necessary? Are landlords allowed to charge a normal cleaning fee without it being in the rental agreement? They also accused me of damages that I did not do and can prove. Am I too late to fight the bill?


Asked on 9/17/06, 2:00 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Elizabeth Powell ELizabeth Powell PS Inc

Re: Statue of limitations

The statute of limitations on a written contract in WA is six years.

Landlords can charge whatever they can get for "Fees". A fee is not refundable, you are simply paying it because they say they want it.

If you check apartment cleaning rates, likely you can find somebody to do the move out clean for 150 -$200.

RLTA requires there to be a checklist at the beginning of the tenancy to compare with the place when you move out. If there is no checklist, there is no way for the landlord to prove that you caused damage. The itemized list they gave you is worthless without a itemized list from when you moved in. Did they give you that as well?

That said, if they can prove that you did damages beyond normal wear and tear then they can sue you to recover it. The fact that no one has filed suit, but they are pursuing collections instead, suggests that they can't prove what happened, either way.

There is a lot of information on line about the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. You might want to look at it.

Best of luck with this - Powell

Read more
Answered on 9/17/06, 2:26 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Landlord & Tenants questions and answers in Washington