Gee Scott: Rent control will ‘drive away the mom and pop landlords’
Feb 20, 2025, 1:15 PM | Updated: Feb 21, 2025, 3:38 pm
Gee Scott warns there will be unintended consequences to a rent control bill. (KIRO 7)
(KIRO 7)
State lawmakers have advanced Senate Bill 5222, which aims to limit annual rent hikes to 7% and prevent increases during a tenant’s first year. But “The Gee and Ursula” cohost Gee Scott has a warning: it’s going to scare away small landlords.
Washington state has long debated rent regulation, with a 1981 law banning rent control. A similar bill, House Bill 2114, was introduced in 2024 but stalled in the Senate. The current iteration also includes tenant protections, such as requiring six months’ notice for rent hikes over 3%, capping move-in fees at one month’s rent, and limiting late fees.
Scott made his case against the bill on “Seattle Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio.
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Rent Control, Tenant Protections, and Potential Market Impact
Gee opposes the bill, arguing it would drive away small, “mom-and-pop” landlords, reducing rental options. That could potentially lead to increasing rents.
“When you start putting a cap on rent increases you drive away the mom and pop landlords. When you drive away the mom and pop landlords, now you’re going to have a limited supply of available places to rent,” said Gee. “It’s going to be harder for the people like me, back in the day with bad credit, to find a home. It was the mom and pop places that gave me an opportunity. These places that are going to be owned by these investment properties, they’re not giving me that chance.”
“Seattle’s Morning News” producer David Burbank, however, countered.
“You don’t have the privilege to look forward to the market implications,” Burbank said. “You’re thinking about what is my rent going to be this coming year? What’s my rent going to be in six months? You’re thinking, how am I going to pay my rent in six months.”
The Senate Housing Committee approved SB 5222 along party lines, moving it forward in the legislative process. A companion bill, HB 1217, is awaiting a vote in the House. The bill’s future remains uncertain.
Listen to the discussion below.
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Listen to “Seattle’s Morning News with Charlie Harger” on KIRO News 97.3 FM from 5am-9am.
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