Legislation capping rent increases makes its furthest progress yet in WA after passing in Senate

A bill that would cap rent increases passed in the Senate, but not before Democratic lawmakers amended it by raising the limit on rent increases to 10% plus inflation in a single year, an increase from the 7% cap the House approved last month.

House Bill 1217 passed in the Senate on Thursday by a single vote. Some exemptions exist, like single-family home rentals if they aren’t owned by a real estate development trust or company. Landlords would need to provide a 90-day written notice before increasing rent.

Senator Sharon Shewmake, D-Bellingham, the representative who proposed the amendment to raise the limit, argued that 7% is too limiting.

“A 7% cap, I think, is dangerous. I hope I’m wrong,” Shewmake said during the Senate floor debate. “I’m worried, at a time of turmoil and change, that we can see a lessening of supply, and that when people have to move for various reasons, because they got a job, or they moved out, or they moved in, they’re going to face a worse rental market.”

WA’s history with bills targeting rent increases

This is the furthest rent cap legislation has gone in Washington, according to The Washington State Standard. Last year, a rent cap bill couldn’t advance past the Senate Ways & Means Committee after passing the House.

The bill now is sent back to the House to weigh in and approve the changes made in the Senate. If it passes there, it goes to the governor’s desk. If signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson, the proposal would go into effect immediately.

The legislative session has reached its final two weeks, with plenty of legislation to sort through until then.

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