Home > Research Legal Advice > Landlord / Tenant > Purchase/sale agreement necessary to break lease?
Asked 2 months ago - Tacoma, WA
FlagOur lease contract states we must provide a purchase/sale agreement on the purchase of our home to break lease. We gave notice and the p/s was never brought up. Now over two months later he says he can keep the deposit because he did not get this.
If this is a residential tenancy, under the Washington Residential Landlord Tenant Act, a deposit can only he held if a written condition report is provided at the time of move in. After you move out, the landlord has 14-days to either refund the deposit, provide an accounting and explanation for why any portion was retained, and could be liable for not doing so. The deposit may have to be refunded in full, and if the court decides the landlord willfully refused to refund your deposit, double the amount of the deposit may be awarded. You can also recover attorney's fees and costs. I am not sure without seeing the lease agreement what a purchase and sale agreement has to do with anything. There may be some enforceability issues here. You should consult an attorney about this and have the agreement thoroughly reviewed.
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