Hundreds rally at Washington state capitol for rent control bill

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Hundreds of people rallied outside the state Capitol Friday in support of a bill that would place limits on annual rent increases.

House Bill 1217 passed in the Washington state House a few days ago and has moved into the state Senate.

If passed, the bill would cap annual rent increases at 7% and bar any rent increase during a tenant’s first year.

It does include several exemptions, including for residential construction that’s less than 12 years old.

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What tenants said

Tenants who came to the rally Friday said rising rents are crushing them.

“The new owners raised the rent $150,” said Caroline Hardy, an Aberdeen resident who lives at a mobile home park. “The next year, it went up $110.”

Hardy said she and most of her neighbors are senior citizens on fixed incomes.

“It’s looking like a lot of us are going to end up homeless,” she said.

Supporters of the bill, including the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, say the rent cap would still allow landlords to make a profit and pay for maintenance costs, while bringing stability to renters’ lives.

Not everyone supports the rent control bill

Critics, like Washington’s Republican Party Chairman Rep. Jim Walsh, argue it would hurt housing development in a time when the state desperately needs more housing units.

“If you control rent, you take away the financial incentive to build more housing units,” Walsh said.

Walsh said making it easier for developers to build more units would resolve the scarcity problem.

“Rent control will not make more housing,” he said. “All it does is try to fix the costs of the existing inventory.”

Who are ‘rent burdened’

A state report found more than half of Washington renters were rent burdened in 2023, meaning they paid at least 30% of their income to their rent.

Among Washington’s largest cities, rents remain highest in Seattle ($2,000), according to Zillow Rental Data. Rents were cheapest, among large cities, in Tacoma ($1,650).

Rent increased over the last year in Seattle, Everett, and Tacoma (up the most, based on dollar amounts), according to Zillow. Rent dropped sharply in Olympia, down $200 on average, compared to a year ago.

You can follow the bill’s progress here.

A similar companion bill is also moving forward in the state senate.