How often can your WA state landlord raise your rent? Your reader question, answered
Discussions about renter’s rights have seen renewed dialogue in Washington state since the pandemic. While local nonprofits such as Northwest Justice Project have online resource guides and a hotline for legal help, they continue to receive an overwhelming number of queries and requests for help, according to the organization.
One question frequently asked by readers is how often a landlord can raise the rent in Washington state. Here are some answers.
This article is part of a series by McClatchy News’ Northwest Public Service Journalism team to answer reader questions about housing concerns in Washington state. If you have a question, please submit it in the form at the end of this article.
How often a landlord can raise rent in WA
Cities and towns cannot impose rent control ordinances to residential structures, per state law. Landlords can raise rent by any amount they please and as often they wish, as long they provide proper written notice.
Washington state law requires that landlords provide 60-day notice to tenants prior to raising their rent. That rule differs in some parts of the state, but the minimum notification is still at least 60 days no matter where you live. In Seattle, landlords must provide notice of a rent increase at least 180 days in advance.
The law in Washington state does not specify whether a text message is sufficient for written notice, so tenants should check their lease to see if it contains any additional information.
How do Washington cities differ on rental increases?
In July, the Tacoma City Council approved the renter’s rights ordinance, as well as a resolution that is set to be on the ballot in November. Efforts to get more protections are also behind a citizen-backed initiative by the renters’ rights group Tacoma 4 All, which utilizes volunteers to help them run a phone bank open to all, and regular public meetings.
In Olympia, new tenant protections that went into effect in 2022 and 2023 require that a landlord give 120 days notice for rent increases over 5%. If the increase is over 10%, the landlord must give notice at least 180 days in advance. Farther north in Bellingham, in March 2023 the city enacted an ordinance requiring landlords to give at least 120 days notice for rent increase.
On the east side of the state, Benton County provides emergency rental assistance, and in Spokane city leaders adopted new guidelines to protect tenants recently.
What are rental laws in other states?
Other states maintain rent control laws to ensure affordable housing is available to residents and that landlords don’t unreasonably increase the rent. For instance, California landlords cannot raise their tenants’ rent more than 10% annually under their Tenant Protection Act.
New York City, the largest city in the U.S. with a population of over 8.8 million people, has some of the most protective laws for renters in the nation.
Under New York state law, NYC is one of a handful of places in the state that strictly controls specific facets of housing, like rent increases, built pre-1947 in municipalities that never declared an end to the post-WWII housing emergency.
Since 1969, the city has also had rent-stabilized housing. About 1 million rent-stabilized homes in New York City cannot be subject to sharp rental increases and tenants have the right to renew the lease. In addition, city real estate agents must also abide by the 40-times rent rule when finding a home for a renter. Under the rule, the renter must make an annual salary of 40 times the rent in order to qualify for the lease. So for an apartment that costs $2,000 per month, the tenant would need to make an annual salary of at least $80,000 in order to even apply and be considered.
Washington has no similar laws, according to WashingtonLawHelp.org. But discussions about rent gouging are happening at the state level. In 2023, Washington state legislators introduced House Bill 1389, which aims to curb annual rent increases to 3% and 7%. A second piece of legislation, House Bill 1388, is geared toward protecting against predatory rental practices.
