Washington state lawmakers are moving forward on a bill looking to limit how much landlords can raise rents each year.
Washington Senate Bill 5222 would cap rent increases at 7% and prevent landlords from raising rents at all during a tenant’s first year.
That means if you’re paying $2,000 each month in rent, your landlord would be capped at raising your rent beyond $140 the next year.
Supporters argue the bill is necessary to keep people in their homes during a housing crisis.
“This bill simply provides some commonsense guard rails to say that landlords can’t raise the rent at an excessive level, while they still can raise the rent, make a fair return and invest in the property,” said WA Sen. Emily Alvarado (D), who represents the 34th District.
Opponents argue that these regulations could push developers away from Washington, slow maintenance projects at rental properties and hurt mom-and-pop landlords who rely on rental income.
“It’s not that I’m not sympathetic to people that have had issues paying rent,” said WA Sen. Keith Goehner (R), ranking member of the Senate Housing Committee. “It is tough to do that. But what’s even worse is having housing basically go away.”
A companion bill in the House, HB1217, is moving forward too.
Across major cities in the region, Seattle has the highest average rent price, according to Zillow Rental Data. Average rent in Seattle across all size units is $2,017. In Olympia, it’s $1,870. Everett renters pay an average of $1,834, while Tacoma renters pay an average of $1,685.
Rents have increased over the last 12 months in Seattle (up $22) and Tacoma (up $60). They’ve dropped in Olympia (down $97) and Everett (down $16), according to Zillow.
Tacoma renters we spoke to said they’d welcome limits to help curb rising rents.
“It definitely makes things more tight for sure,” said Tyler Cook. “Originally there’s a lot of extra money. Now, there’s definitely a lot less extra money.”
“I hope it will keep people wanting to live in this great city,” said Molly Pollock.
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