What happens to the personal belongings of a tenant?

Washington state law specifies the procedure that must be followed before a landlord can remove or dispose of any personal property a tenant leaves behind?  It is illegal to include a clause in the lease that that waives or shortens this process.   A judge can award a tenant up to $500 per day for every day a tenant is without his/her personal property if a landlord illegally removes a tenant’s property.  If a landlord disposes of the tenant’s property without due process, the landlord could also owe the tenant the stated value of the belongings. Know the law!