Assignment Of Interest

There is, in turn, nothing in chapter 59.18 RCW or in any other statute which our Orig. Page 3 research has disclosed which would prohibit a landlord who, under RCW as amended, is entitled thereto from assigning interest earned on damage or security deposits to a real estate broker serving as property manager or, for that matter, to anyone else.

"(1) Bank accounts shall be designated as trust accounts in the firm name of the real estate broker as licensed.

This is the content of the form and is provided for your convenience.

No amendment to this Assignment shall be binding upon the parties unless it is in writing and executed by both parties. If there are other related forms you may need in the future, it may be beneficial to look at our combo packages.

Trust bank accounts shall be noninterest-bearing demand deposit accounts, except as follows: "(c) Interest-bearing trust bank accounts containing only damage or security deposits received from tenants of residential income properties managed by the broker for an individual owner may be established by the broker when directed by written management agreement, and the interest on such trust bank accounts may be paid to the owner (landlord), if the broker is by written agreement designated as 'representative of the landlord' under the provisions of RCW , Residential Landlord-Tenant Act." This administrative regulation was adopted by the director of Licensing, in 1982, under the authority granted by RCW .

And, from your letter, some confusion appears to have arisen because of the regulation's internal reference to RCW , .

The Assignor agrees to do, execute and perform such other acts, documents and things as the Assignee may reasonably request in order to give full force and effect to the true meaning and intent of this Assignment, including but not limited to executing such documents as may be necessary or desirable to register, record, perfect or file the assignment of the Assignor This Assignment constitutes the entire agreement between the Assignor and the Assignee relating to the subject matter hereof and stands in the place of any previous agreement, whether oral or in writing.

No amendment to this Assignment shall be binding upon the parties unless it is in writing and executed by both parties.

Nothing in that statute, or in WAC 308-124E‑011(1)(c), In so concluding, however, we should also make note of RCW which requires real estate brokers to keep funds owned by them separate and apart from the client's trust fund. That provision, however, poses only a practical and not a legal problem insofar as your present question is concerned.

The relevant language of that statute reads as follows: "Every real estate broker shall also keep separate real estate fund accounts in a recognized Washington state depositary authorized to receive funds in which shall be kept separate and apart and physically segregated from licensee broker's own funds, all funds or moneys of clients which are being held by such licensee broker pending the closing of a real estate sale or transaction, or which have been collected for said client and are being held for disbursement for or to said client . An assignment of moneys due extinguishes the assignor's right and interest in the moneys due and the assignee, by virtue of the assignment, obtains the assignor's right and interest in those moneys‑-unless the assignment is a partial assignment of the assignor's right and interest in moneys due.