Tenant Moved Out, Unpaid Rent Due, Collections or Repayment Plan?

[Josh Tsang]

Hello BiggerPockets Community!

I apologize in advance if this topic has already been discussed but I was unable to find it.  I have a tenant who moved out of one of my rental units in Bellevue, WA, in July 2021.  He stopped paying rent starting in April, 2021 and now owes about $8K. Fortunately the unit was cleaned and undamaged, and I sold it shortly after.   

When he moved out, he of course said he would pay back the amount due, but couldn't provide a repayment timeline.  He also failed to provide me with a forwarding address despite repeated attempt to get this information from him.  He has now gone radio silent by phone, text and email and no attempt has been made to repay any of the outstanding rent. 

My question is as follows:  do I need to offer him a specific rental repayment plan that mirrors the requirements set forth in SB 5160 (send him a letter offering him a repayment plan with monthly amounts due that are not to exceed 1/3 of the monthly rental amount)?  And only if he fails to respond and/or agree to the plan within 14 days, or if he agrees to the plan but misses a payment deadline, then am I able to move forward with pursuing collections?

Or, at this point, am I free to move forward with pursuing collections ASAP (without offering him a payment plan).  Secondly, if I wish to be more reasonable, can I make one more attempt to offer a repayment plan of my choosing and within a shorter timeframe, and then pursue collections if he fails to respond to that plan and/or starts missing payments per the terms of the plan?  

Thank you for any clarification that can be provided.