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Washington Notice to Vacate Letter
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[Date]
[Your landlord's name]
Re: Notice to vacate — [Rental property address]
Dear [Your landlord's name],
Please accept this letter as my formal written notice that I will terminate my tenancy at [Rental property address] and vacate the premises on [Move-out date].
Under Residential Landlord-Tenant Act - Tenancy from month to month - Termination (RCW 59.18.200(1)(a)), a month-to-month tenancy may be terminated by the tenant on 20 days written notice. This notice is given in accordance with that requirement and with any additional notice period my lease provides.
I will leave the unit clean and in good condition, ordinary wear and tear excepted, and will return all keys and access devices on or before my move-out date. I would like a move-out inspection during my final week; please propose a date and time.
Please send my security deposit, with any itemized statement required by law, to my forwarding address: [Your forwarding address]. Kindly confirm receipt of this notice in writing.
Sincerely,
[Your full name]
Know your rights
Notice to vacate law in Washington
- Tenant notice required
- 20 days
- Governing statute
- RCW 59.18.200(1)(a)
- How the clock runs
- A tenant ends a month-to-month tenancy with written notice of 20 days or more preceding the end of a rental period, and the tenancy ends on the last day of that period - not 20 days after delivery. Notice given fewer than 20 days before the period ends pushes termination to the end of the following period.
- Delivering the notice
- Notice must be in writing; deliver it personally or by mail with enough lead time (and proof of mailing) that the landlord receives it at least 20 days before the period ends.
- Fixed-term leases
- A fixed-term lease expires on its end date, and many Washington leases convert to month-to-month unless the lease requires renewal notice; since 2021, landlords generally need a just cause under RCW 59.18.650 to remove a tenant even after a lease ends, but a tenant remains free to leave at expiry.
Worth knowing: Washington's 20 days is one of the shortest tenant notice windows in the country, and the current text of RCW 59.18.200(1)(a) frames the 20-day notice as given by the tenant to the landlord - landlords must instead show just cause under RCW 59.18.650 - making it effectively a tenant-only tool. Servicemembers (including National Guard and reserves), their spouses, or dependents may give less than 20 days' notice when PCS or deployment orders don't allow it (RCW 59.18.200(1)(b)). Domestic violence survivors can terminate early under RCW 59.18.575 with appropriate documentation. Seattle, Tacoma, and other cities layer on additional landlord-side just-cause and relocation rules that don't change tenant notice.
Last reviewed August 2026 · General information, not legal advice · Read the statute · Also for Washington: security deposit demand letter
Field notes
Three tips before you send
- Notice must be in writing; deliver it personally or by mail with enough lead time (and proof of mailing) that the landlord receives it at least 20 days before the period ends.
- A tenant ends a month-to-month tenancy with written notice of 20 days or more preceding the end of a rental period, and the tenancy ends on the last day of that period - not 20 days after delivery. Notice given fewer than 20 days before the period ends pushes termination to the end of the following period.
- Date math is unforgiving — the clock usually runs from the day your landlord receives the notice, not the day you write it. Build in a few days of cushion, and photograph the empty unit when you hand back the keys.
Other states
Notice to vacate letters for every state
Straight answers
Questions people ask
How much notice does a tenant have to give in Washington?
A tenant ends a month-to-month tenancy with written notice of 20 days or more preceding the end of a rental period, and the tenancy ends on the last day of that period - not 20 days after delivery. Notice given fewer than 20 days before the period ends pushes termination to the end of the following period. The governing statute is Residential Landlord-Tenant Act - Tenancy from month to month - Termination.
What happens when a fixed-term lease ends in Washington?
A fixed-term lease expires on its end date, and many Washington leases convert to month-to-month unless the lease requires renewal notice; since 2021, landlords generally need a just cause under RCW 59.18.650 to remove a tenant even after a lease ends, but a tenant remains free to leave at expiry. Check your lease for a renewal or notice clause — where the statute allows it, the lease controls.
Anything else Washington renters should know before moving out?
Washington's 20 days is one of the shortest tenant notice windows in the country, and the current text of RCW 59.18.200(1)(a) frames the 20-day notice as given by the tenant to the landlord - landlords must instead show just cause under RCW 59.18.650 - making it effectively a tenant-only tool. Servicemembers (including National Guard and reserves), their spouses, or dependents may give less than 20 days' notice when PCS or deployment orders don't allow it (RCW 59.18.200(1)(b)). Domestic violence survivors can terminate early under RCW 59.18.575 with appropriate documentation. Seattle, Tacoma, and other cities layer on additional landlord-side just-cause and relocation rules that don't change tenant notice.
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When to use this letter
Moving out should be the easy part — but in Washington, when you give notice and how you deliver it decide whether you owe another month of rent. The rule that matters: for a month-to-month tenancy, Washington law generally requires 20 days written notice from the tenant, under Residential Landlord-Tenant Act - Tenancy from month to month - Termination. This generator writes a tenant's notice to vacate that cites RCW 59.18.200(1)(a) by name, states your move-out date, and asks for the move-out inspection and your deposit instructions in the same letter — so nothing gets renegotiated later. No blank template to fight with: fill in your landlord, the address, and the date, then send it in a way you can prove, because notice clocks here run from delivery, not from the day you write it.