This is in regards to an apartment in Washington state.

On March 30 I gave my landlord notice of my intent to move before the end of April. At that time they informed me that a verbal notice would not be accepted and that I needed to give them a written notice before the 10th of the month.

On April 2nd I gave them written notice stating that I would be out of the apartment by the 10th of the month. I finished moving and cleaning faster than I thought so on the evening of April 3rd I handed over the moving out checklists and surrendered the keys to the apartment. I made an appointment for a walkthrough on Monday the 6th at 4 pm. On Monday morning I called the power company and had the power switched from my name as I no longer had access to the building and was completely moved out.

On Monday at 345pm I received a phone call stating that they would have to cancel the walk through because they were too busy with rent and payroll. They also informed me at this time that I was rude to the office person when I made the last appointment, when in actuality she had been rude to me. They also said that after we turned over the keys to them they went to the apartment and found it unsecure. Which is completely untrue as I locked all the windows and doors on my way out. They said they would have to schedule a walkthrough for later in the month and would call me back and let me know when they were available.

I had not heard from them for over a week so on April 14th I called them and tried to schedule a walkthrough. I offered up that Friday (the 17th) as a day I had free. They told me this was not close enough to the end of the month for them but that they would schedule it for the following Friday which is the 24th.

On Saturday, April 18th, I received a letter in the mail that had a date of April 15. This letter stated that they had already performed a walkthrough of the apartment and that while there were minor things (dusty blinds) the apartment was in good order. They then informed me that I had been rude and demanding a walk through of the apartment even after I had been told they wouldn't do it until the end of the month. This is simply not true. They also said that they will be taking the electricity charges for April 3rd - April 30th from my deposit. They say they told me that I needed to maintain the electricity there until the end of the month, which is also not true.

My question is what kind of recourse do I have? In the state of Washington they have 2 weeks from the day the property is vacated to give an accurate accounting of any fees and return the deposit. They are trying to tell me the property is mine until the end of the month but I have no way to access it and they refuse to hand me over the keys so that I can access it. If the property is mine until the end of the month, they entered it twice illegally because they gave me no notice. They are now also refusing to allow me any kind of walkthrough and "don't want to deal with me anymore as I am obnoxious". (true quote from their letter).

I think you are confusing the issue with all these dates and events. You told the landlord March 30 you wanted to leave. I assume like most people, and from the description above there is a 30 day notice clause. Meaning your lease ended April 30.

So you would have to pay all of April's rent and electricity costs, even if it's just a few dollars to keep the appliances running (which is important cause a fridge turned off with the door closed gets really nasty after a month).

In terms of them having to respond with any damages/issues within 2 weeks... your lease ended April 30, the fact that you moved out April 3 was your decision, you are responsible for the unit until April 30 and they had until May 14 (2 weeks after the lease ends) to send you that letter.

Although you are financially responsible for the apartment until the 30th you surrendered it back to them so they can enter on their own any time now.

When we told them we were leaving there was no lease, we were month to month. We had to give them notice of intent to vacate by the 10th of the month. They were given notice on the 2nd accepted the keys on the 3rd. At that time they did not mention anything about the end of the month or electricity costs, they took the keys. In my eyes this constitutes accepting responsibility for the apartment.

They are only just recently saying that it is ours until the end of the month. If this is the case then they have illegally entered the apartment without notice on at least 2 occasions, which they admit to doing both in writing and on the phone. I called today and asked for the keys back if they apartment is ours until the end of the month, they refused. Also the electricity was not shut off, it was only transferred back to the name of the landlord.

I agree with LowTax. There is no way you can give notice on March 30 and not expect to be charged for April, unless you are on less than a monthly rental. Even a month to month lease generally requires one month's notice. In fact, in some states its one RENTAL PERIOD's notice. So you actuall could be held responsible for May as well.

Also 2 weeks is a very short time to present an accounting for the deposit. Can you cite the law that states that? But the issue is really moot since you did receive notice on a timely basis.

I would just accept the deduction for electricity and end things.

RCW 59.18.280 is the Washington state law that gives 14 days for accounting of the deposit.


We are not contesting the rent for April. It was paid in full and we told them that they did not need to pro-rate any of it. The took possession of the keys on the 3rd. If it is my property still and I have to pay to maintain the electricity as they are now saying then they have entered the property illegally at least twice and refuse to give me acess to it as it is "now their property"

Also a letter stating that they will be keeping the money for electricity does not constitute it being accounted for. They have to send me a copy of the bill or a receipt to prove it. They have told me they will send me neither.

RCW 59.18.280 states; "Within fourteen days after the termination of the rental agreement". Since you were paid through the end of April then they had to May 14.

It further states the landlord has to; " give a full and specific statement of the basis for retaining any of the deposit". There is nothing that states that have to provde further documention of the charges.

As to whether they illegally entered the property, The fact that you handed over the keys probably precludes that claim. I doubt if a judge would rule in your favor on that point.

Sorry, it looks to me like you did limited homework here and didn't handle vacating the property as you should have.

The landlord had 14 days from the date that the tenant delivered possession of the apartment. The keys were turned over on April 3. That means that the landlord had possession on April 3 and the tenant had no further responsibility (other than April rent) as of that date. I would sue for the amount that was withheld from the deposit for the electric bill.

Not sure I agree with Lisa, but this should be a small claims court matter so I don't think it will cost much to try.

Let us know what happens.

Yeah, if you want to spend the time and filing fee ($25 in a lot of places) then you can try taking them to civil court and get a judge to decide.

I still think you have a responsibility to keep the electricity turned on until the end of your lease for things like appliances, security devices (smoke detectors, security alarms that might be hard-wired and not battery powered) and heating / cooling systems. I don't see how a judge would agree you are allowed to shut off all these things, potentially causing damage to the apartment, just to save a few dollars.

As ScottGem suggested if you choose to take them to small claims court let us know the outcome.