A $5K Counterclaim Backfires — Landlord Forced to Pay Tenant's Court Fees!

Added: 2026-05-11

[00:00:00]All right, so I rented Miss Landsberg's unit between December 21st and 2024 and May 3rd, 2025.

[00:00:10]And when we moved in, we didn't do an inspection. And so I she sent over via email a written checklist, but we never actually did the inspection. We didn't write down the condition of the unit.

[00:00:25]Um and I never signed a checklist. Uh however, she still collected a deposit of $1,500 from me without the signed checklist.

[00:00:36]Um and so my concern here was that this does not follow RCW 59 18 260 that specifies that a written checklist signed by myself and Miss Landsberg needed to be documented.

[00:00:55]Um in order for her to collect the deposit. Um the our lease also shows that an inspection was required. It specified that the landlord and the tenant would be completing this inspection. However, we never did so. I moved in on the evening of December 21st and Karen Miss Landsberg left on December 22nd and was gone through January 4th. You can see this in her house notes, which are exhibit is it an exhibit O.

[00:01:29]Um so right away no inspection, she left.

[00:01:35]Still collected the money from me.

[00:01:38]Um later on after I had moved out, she wrote to me that she would not be returning my deposit.

[00:01:45]And this I realized was not in compliance with the law.

[00:01:50]So I sent her a letter detailing why I should be receiving my deposit back.

[00:01:57]Uh she responded with an email.

[00:02:00]I then sent her a follow-up email uh and then another email letting her know uh why I needed my deposit and letting her know that I would be opening a small claims court um claim if my deposit was not returned.

[00:02:18]So, there was a request already placed um for my claim to be for my deposit to be returned before we came to court.

[00:02:29]>> Did she return any portion of it?

[00:02:31]>> Nothing. Nothing.

[00:02:33]Um and then in her um in her email, she let me know that I had she alleges that I had caused damage to her floors. Um she charged me, I think, for a shovel for um all sorts of miscellaneous things. I think she charged me for oats.

[00:02:53]Um in in her initial email um not in this claim, but in the initial email, she wanted to charge me for some oats that had spilled on her floor.

[00:03:04]Um and yeah, so overall, that's where I'm coming from. That is my claim that we did not fill out their own checklist.

[00:03:12]She did not reach out to make the time to go through and inspect the unit.

[00:03:17]There's no documentation of the status of the unit.

[00:03:22]Of the specific condition of the unit.

[00:03:24]>> Let me kind of stop you there for a second because that issue that you raised uh may be dispositive of the case.

[00:03:33]Um and it looks like your claim is only based on that amount. Uh it's >> Yes, my claim is only based on that amount. Uh so, the only the only amount you're requesting is the deposit and the all the basis that you're saying the deposit should be returned is that there was non-compliance with the requirement for the move-in checklist. Correct.

[00:03:54]Okay. Let's I'm going to I may return to you, but I'm going to stop there because uh typically a thing like this can be dispositive of a case. I don't know if it is yet, but I'll I'll find out. I'm going to give Ms. Landsberg an opportunity to talk about that issue and uh I may I may be able to make a decision in the case just based on that.

[00:04:16]So, Ms. Landsberg, why don't we just zero in on the issue of this move-in checklist. She claims that there was not one and uh that may be dispositive, so can you tell me your version of that? Um could I ask for a definition? I'm not familiar with the term dispositive. I'm not a legal I've never worked in a legal environment.

[00:04:38]>> That that may be the issue the single issue that decides the entire case.

[00:04:44]>> Okay. Thank you. Thank you.

[00:04:46]>> Yeah, that that just keeps the focus down on one thing. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:04:50]>> So, um I I would like to point out that I have filed a counterclaim as well. So, that should be in all of your materials.

[00:04:57]I submitted a number of exhibits um that should be uploaded.

[00:05:02]Um Your Honor, I I >> Uh Just a second here. I need to open your counterclaim. All right, here we are.

[00:05:14]Oh, yeah. Okay, so it was filed just last week, it looks like. I I received that >> know that? Uh Ms. Dwaynes, did you have this counterclaim? Yes, I received it on May 5th. Okay.

[00:05:27]Okay, I've got it here. Yeah, Your Honor, I received notice of this case on um April 28th.

[00:05:34]And so, about I took me about 2 days to get my materials together and um file things with the court and then submit materials to um submit the counterclaim or send that to uh Ms. Dwaynes.

[00:05:47]I got it. I I see that there's the counter claim filed.

[00:05:50]>> Yeah. Yeah.

[00:05:51]>> It's like some things things kind of got put in the file late, so I didn't see them and that looks like this was put in the file last Friday and there are a couple things that were put in the file yesterday, which I also haven't seen.

[00:06:06]That that is the return receipt from my certified letter to her serving her the notice of the counter claim.

[00:06:13]It came in the mail. So Yeah, then if uh the reason I'm I'm bringing this up in this way is that even if the uh issue of the move-in inspection were to be uh you know, determined in favor of Ms. Duenas, um that would then preclude the deposit from being retained on that basis.

[00:06:41]But it does not preclude the uh defendant in this case, Ms. Landsberg, from filing her own counter claim based on damages.

[00:06:51]Okay. So that and I know those sorts of things can get confusing in a hurry. So, Ms. Duenas, do you understand what I mean by that? Yes.

[00:07:01]Okay, good. So, um that that means that we would then have to go into the issue of whether there was damage to the unit above and beyond a you know, wear and tear, that sort of thing. Um so Ms. Duenas, are you prepared to deal with this counter claim? Did you get notice of it in time to deal with it?

[00:07:23]Yes. Okay.

[00:07:25]All right. Well then Ms. Landsberg, unless you have anything else to say on the issue of this move-in inspection, I think that we can determine that right away and move into this counter claim issue.

[00:07:41]>> I would like to make a statement on that. Um I did include a form with the lease that they could fill out.

[00:07:49]Um this I approached this as a little bit as a a little bit of less formal rental situation. I'm not I mean I do have an ADU, but I'm this is not something I do professionally. This was I was um renting out my home during the legislative session and um I I was also it's also unaware that it was a legal um of I guess my understanding is there was a change in the law in 2023 requiring the checkout the checklist. I was unaware of that change. Um and I was doing my best to act in good faith um on this um the checklist was provided there.

[00:08:33]Um Ms. Duenas and her co-tenant had the opportunity to fill it out, take pictures, whatever they wanted to do um as well. So Mhm.

[00:08:43]Okay.

[00:08:44]Um all right. Uh you the burden of the uh compliance with that section of the landlord-tenant law can't be shifted in that way. Um so right away I can determine that the the deposit was not properly withheld because there was a failed failure to comply with the requirement for the move-in checklist.

[00:09:09]That's just simply not been complied with.

[00:09:12]So uh that part that the claim the initial claim Ms. Duenas is going to be determined in your favor for that $1,500, but uh that doesn't determine the counter claim, of course. That's a separate issue that has to be determined. Um and uh let me ask the both of you though before I proceed with that, if the determination of the initial substantive claim creates an opportunity for the two of you to resolve the entire claim, counterclaim included.

[00:09:50]The mediators are still here if you want to go back into the room and see if you can't hammer this out.

[00:09:59]I think we've come to an impasse, Your Honor.

[00:10:01]Okay. All right, fair enough. I just wanted to give you an opportunity to do it if the if the hang-up had to do with the compliance with that uh move-in.

[00:10:10]Okay. Then let's move on to the counterclaim and uh Ms. Landsberg, go ahead. You can present that and then Ms. Dwayne-Isle give you an opportunity to respond to it, okay? Thank you.

[00:10:22]Thank you, Your Honor. Um so, my counterclaim is about the two floors that were damaged during the tenancy and at the documented cost of $5,253.89 to replace those and the associated costs.

[00:10:37]When the tenants vacated, I found that the bathroom floor has swollen and separated at the seams consistent with sustained water exposure. The most significant damage was in front of the center of the bathtub. Um and that was something beyond normal shower splash. I had let them know that sometimes I got some shower splash at the end of the curtain, but this was water damage in a different area.

[00:11:01]In the laundry room, the marmoleum flooring failed at a seam. Um it was lifting up and creating a tripping hazard.

[00:11:09]During their tenancy, the co-tenant showed both damaged areas to me directly, explained that there was a detergent spill in the laundry room that caused the damage and presumed that water caused the damage in the bathroom.

[00:11:22]I documented those admissions in my letter to them on May 23rd and that's in exhibit F.

[00:11:29]And the damage has never been disputed by either tenant to me in their communications since then.

[00:11:35]I've lived in this house for 9 years without causing similar levels of damage.

[00:11:40]There are a number of pictures there is in exhibit M showing the floors before and after their tenancy. You can see the same a distinctive cork pattern in the bathroom floors.

[00:11:53]And the laundry So there's bathroom pictures from 2021 and October of 2024.

[00:12:00]There are laundry room photos from 2022 and 23 that show the linoleum intact.

[00:12:08]Amy Robinson cleaned the property on December 20th, the day before the tenants moved in, and again on December 5th, 2 days after they left.

[00:12:17]Excuse me. Yeah, December 21st and then or 20th and May 5th and she provided a letter which is exhibit my exhibit L and she described her observations the house before and after the tenancy including the conditions of the floors.

[00:12:33]I've also provided some photos showing the general condition of the premises after the move-out just showing the general level of care exercised during tenancy.

[00:12:45]Abby Capital's and floor Abby Capital Floors and Interiors explained that the laundry room floor could not be repaired because of detergent that caused the flooring to come up would prevent it from adhering properly if it were re-glued and so the floor had to be fully replaced.

[00:13:00]The work was completed in December 2025.

[00:13:03]The paid invoice is exhibit J and that totals $4,373.14 for both floors. I had to have a plumber reinstall the bathroom sink and the hot water heater after the flooring work.

[00:13:17]His invoice is exhibit K and that's $766.16.

[00:13:22]All of my costs together were um $5,253.89 subtracting the deposit for that. My counterclaim was for $3,753.89.

[00:13:37]Um and so um you know, in in addition to the RCW for the checklist, there's also an RCW of 59.18.130 that requires tenants to not negligently uh damage the premises.

[00:13:54]Um And finally, I notified the tenants promptly that I was retaining their deposit. I've offered to discuss the matter multiple times, sent a detailed certified letter.

[00:14:05]Um I've submitted the dispute to the dispute resolution center last spring.

[00:14:10]Um they confirmed that they reached out to both tenants to no response, and that's an exhibit H. I feel like I've really reached out to try to have a conversation about this and at every turn been told, "No, I absolutely I have to return the deposit. I have to return the deposit."

[00:14:25]Um they've not um um denied the damage that was done, and so I asked that you um find in my favor for um I guess the $5,253.89 disregarding the deposit issue.

[00:14:49]All right. Ms. Dwanis, can I hear your response to the counterclaim for the damage? Yes. Um so, to begin, I would respectfully ask that the court not give weight to exhibit L, which is Ms. Robinson's letter. Ms. Robinson's letter is not addressed to the court. It also does not include a statement um signed under penalty of perjury.

[00:15:12]The statement is possibly biased because she has she isn't employed by Ms. Landsberg. She does her their cleaning.

[00:15:20]Um and they have an ongoing relationship, which makes her partial to be supporting Ms. Landsberg's claims.

[00:15:28]So, I would like to say that to begin.

[00:15:30]Um, and then I would like to state that neither I nor the other tenant caused the the damage to the laundry room flooring or the bathroom floor.

[00:15:41]Uh, this damage could have easily been caused by the pre-existing humidity levels that were very high within Ms. Landsberg's home.

[00:15:50]Or it could have been caused by Ms. Landsberg herself.

[00:15:54]Um, if you will look at exhibit in exhibit O, um, which are her house notes, Ms. Landsberg writes, "For some reason, I sometimes get pool of wa- pool of water outside the tub when I take a shower. I haven't figured out exactly what I'm doing to cause it."

[00:16:11]So, right there you are able to see that she is also getting water on her bathroom flooring frequently, um, and has not figured out how to stop it.

[00:16:25]Then in her house notes, she also shows that there are pre-existing high humidity levels. She writes, "A few years ago, I had some mold issues due to inadequate attic ventilation."

[00:16:39]Um, she also instructed us to use a dehumidifier, which we did. Um, right followed all of her instructions. And she shares, "I currently have it set to dehu- dehumidifier at 35%, but it is only sensing the air around the device.

[00:16:56]It has been reading lower than other parts of the house."

[00:16:59]So, in both of these statements, we are able to see that there are high pre-existing high humidity levels. There has been humidity issues within the home, and she has also, um, been getting wat- water herself on her bathroom flooring, which could have caused the swellings that she says she sees, um, in her home on the floors.

[00:17:21]Um she did submit some images. However, I'm concerned by these images because they weren't taken directly before I moved in.

[00:17:31]Uh the image in exhibit M8 was taken in June of 2023.

[00:17:38]I moved in December 21st of 2024.

[00:17:43]This is many months um after that image was taken.

[00:17:48]So, in that time period between when that image was taken and when I moved in, that damage could have occurred or it could have started to occur.

[00:17:57]Um image M5 is unclear and it's too far to see the floor in detail.

[00:18:03]And finally, the other images, which are images M1, M2, M3, and M4 were taken in March of 2021.

[00:18:12]This is 3 years before I moved in.

[00:18:16]These images do not document the condition of the home before I moved in.

[00:18:22]What would have documented the condition of the home is a written checklist signed by myself and Ms. Landsberg, which is absent because she did not um schedule an inspection properly.

[00:18:38]Um let's see.

[00:18:41]So, that's really Overall, I don't believe that there is enough evidence to really prove that I or the other tenant caused the damage to the flooring.

[00:18:54]All right. Thank you, Ms. Daniells.

[00:18:57]All right. Uh I understand the nature of the the claim and the nature of the defense. Um So, I've already resolved the issue in the primary claim.

[00:19:11]Your Honor, And I've so Could I provide a little bit more information? Uh no, you you provided your case. She provided her case. It's just like I explained in the beginning.

[00:19:21]Okay. Thank you.

[00:19:22]>> Okay? That's how That's how this goes.

[00:19:25]Um so here I decided the primary claim uh filed by Ms. Anius as plaintiff uh and the um uh the award is $1,500, which is the amount of the deposit because it was not collected in compliance with the statute requiring the move-in checklist.

[00:19:46]Uh then any potential offset to that, I'm going to move on to the counterclaim filed filed by Ms. Landsberg for the damage to the floor [snorts] uh claiming that the floor was damaged due to uh water and other material on the floor that caused it to like come up or buckle up and require repairs.

[00:20:11]Um So, in this case I I'm would have to find sufficient evidence to be convinced by a preponderance of the evidence that the damage to the floor was caused by Ms. Anius or her co-tenant.

[00:20:28]And um in this case I don't have sufficient evidence to determine that by a preponderance of the evidence.

[00:20:39]There are some pictures and those are not They they they definitely show the floor, but they're in and of themselves not persuasive to the level of preponderance of the evidence to show that uh the floor was uh not damaged prior to the time Ms. Anius took possession of property in December of 2024 or the mechanism of the the being the uh consistent with the allegation that there was water and or a detergent on the floor to cause the floor to buckle.

[00:21:15]Uh it's actually not not at all proved to that level of satisfaction the mechanism of the damage to the floor.

[00:21:26]I don't know how old these floors are. I don't know what the characteristics of these floors are. I don't know if floors like this are subject to damage in the way that this Landsberg claims that they were.

[00:21:38]Um all I see is how much it cost to repair them.

[00:21:43]So, I'm going to enter uh judgment in favor of Ms. Dwainius for the $1,500 on the um deposit claim plus her filing fee, which was $50. I don't know how much your service fee was. Ms. Dwainius, can you tell me how much it cost to have the notice served on Ms. Landsberg? Yes, it was $11 and 7 cents.

[00:22:09]$11.07, okay.

[00:22:12]And [snorts] on the counterclaim, I'm finding in favor of Ms. Dwainius, the plaintiff counterclaim defendant, and there will be no offset to that award.

[00:22:22]So, the total amount of the award in Ms. Dwainius's favor is uh $1,561.07.

[00:22:33]>> [snorts] >> Okay, that'll be the judgment of the court. That'll be filed uh by the court clerk and available to both of you later today.

[00:22:48]Thank you. All right, thank you both.

[00:23:13]>> Woo.