Olympia – Landlords in Washington state can no longer raise rents by more than 10% per year under landmark legislation Gov. Bob Ferguson signed into law on Wednesday.
Effective immediately, House Bill 1217 caps residential rent hikes in any 12-month period at 7% plus inflation, or 10%, whichever is lower. The new restriction will sunset in 15 years. The bill also restricts manufactured home rent increases to 5% with no expiration date.
When a new tenant moves in, landlords can set the initial rate however they please but cannot raise the rent for the first year.
New construction is not subject to the cap 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.
90 day notices are now required before rent increases go into effect. That’s up from 60 days under the previous law.