Not all rental properties are subject to the cap
Jake Goldstein-Street
Washington State Standard
For the rest of this year, Washington landlords are limited to rent hikes of 10% or less under a landmark new state law.
House Bill 1217, signed into law this month by Gov. Bob Ferguson, restricts annual residential rent increases to 7% plus inflation, or 10%, whichever is lower.
The state Department of Commerce calculated the former option as 10.8%. Since that’s above the threshold, rent increases are capped at 10% through the end of 2025.
The maximum allowable increase for 2026 is expected to be published in July, based on inflation data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The highly divisive legislation went into effect immediately after Ferguson’s signature.
Democrats hope the new cap provides greater predictability to tenants whose lives can be turned upside down by major rent increases. Progressives had initially pushed for a hard 7% limit, but raised it to win over moderate Democrats in the Legislature.
Republicans termed the bill “rent control” and argued it would chill development and price out small landlords. After the governor signed the new law, the Rental Housing Association of Washington said it was exploring a legal challenge.
Rent hikes are no longer allowed in the first year of a tenancy under the law either.
Not all rental properties are subject to the cap.
New construction is not covered for its first 12 years. Public housing authorities, low-income developments, and duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes in which the owner lives in one of the units are also exempt.
Notices of rent increases are now required 90 days before they go into effect, up from 60 days under previous law.
Increases are capped at 5% for manufactured homes.
If a landlord raises rent above the caps without an exemption, the renter must give the landlord a chance to fix the error or can terminate their lease with 20 days’ notice. A tenant or the state attorney general can bring litigation to enforce compliance. The attorney general can recover up to $7,500 per violation.
This report was first published by the Washington State Standard.
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