Washington state is poised to limit annual residential rent increases with legislation now headed to the governor’s desk.

The House and Senate on Sunday, the last day of the legislative session, passed the rent increase limit at 7% plus inflation or 10%, whichever is lower. Landlords could still set rent however they please when a tenancy begins.

Rent increases for manufactured homes are limited to 5% under House Bill 1217. While the rent cap policy on traditional homes would expire after 15 years, the manufactured home rule wouldn’t lapse.

The final version was a compromise after moderate Democrats in the Senate wouldn’t go along with the initial 7% cap, without inflation, the House had approved.

Landlords also couldn’t raise rents in the first year of a tenancy under the proposed law. If a landlord violates the provisions, tenants or the state attorney general could bring litigation.

Buildings owned by nonprofits or public housing authorities would be exempt from the limits. The same goes for duplexes, triplexes or fourplexes if the owner lives in one of the units, as well as new construction for its first dozen years.

Republicans argue the bill will chill development and price landlords out of the business. Most Democrats say it’ll give renters a modicum of predictability as they deal with the high cost of living.

The Senate approved the bill on a 27-20 vote, with Democratic Sens. Annette Cleveland and Sharon Shewmake joining Republicans in opposition. The House vote was 54-44. Five Democratic representatives opposed the final bill.

It was a long and windy road to Sunday’s votes.

After stalling in the Senate last year, lawmakers came into 2025 energized to enshrine House Bill 1217 into law. But after passing the House, the Senate, in dramatic fashion, lifted the cap from the initial 7% to 10% plus inflation and exempted many single-family homes entirely, moves advocates said “gutted” the proposal.

In negotiations, Democrats in both chambers agreed to excise the carveout and find a middle ground on the limit.

But when the new iteration landed on the Senate floor Friday night, lawmakers were thwarted by a procedural snafu that delayed votes a couple more days.

The compromise frustrated advocates, but they said it was better than nothing.

“Even a 7% rent increase will force some people to move, disrupting their lives and their communities, and some will have no option but to move into cars, shelters, or tents,” said Michele Thomas, of the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance. “But this bill makes a first step towards sensible protections against egregious predatory rent increases.”

Gov. Bob Ferguson has repeatedly declined to weigh in on the legislation.

He told reporters Friday that he recognizes “the different perspectives that different folks within the caucuses have, and so we’re trying to be helpful on that and I feel optimistic that they’re going to work something out,” but stopped short of saying what he hoped that resolution would be.

Once the bill reaches his desk, Ferguson has 20 days, excluding Sundays, to act on it. If he signs, the policy would go into effect immediately.

Washington State Standard is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501(c)(3) public charity.

This republished story is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit opb.org/partnerships.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/04/27/washington-legislature-passes-rent-control-bill/