Five things to know about WA proposal to limit rent hikes

OLYMPIA — The Washington House passed a measure last week to limit rent increases by a maximum of 7% annually statewide. House Bill 2114, however, is far from becoming the law of the land.

Majority Democrats in the Legislature are advancing the policy as many renters in the state are struggling to afford the cost of housing. The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that if you work a minimum wage job in Washington, you would have to work 77 hours a week for market rent on a one-bedroom apartment to be considered affordable. (Market rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Washington is $1,577, per the coalition.)

There are about 1 million renter households in Washington, or about 36% of the state’s households, according to the coalition.

The proposal goes next to the state Senate, where it is likely to face hurdles because a previous version of the bill died in the Senate Housing Committee last month. The Senate Ways and Means committee is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the bill on Thursday.

But here’s what the version of the bill that passed the House on Feb. 13 would do if it is passed into law.

Would this apply to you?

It depends. There are carveouts exempting certain landlords from the annual limit on rent increases.

But many provisions of the bill would apply to a wider range of landlords and tenants, like a requirement that landlords give 180 days notice when they want to increase the rent by 3% or more, and a limit on late fees.

If you have a housing voucher, like Section 8, which covers a portion of your rent, the limit would still apply to you, depending on where you were living. That’s because the limit is tied to the type of landlord you have and whether they are covered under the bill.

What would it mean for my rent?

In many cases, your landlord would be limited to raising your rent by a maximum of 7% every year.

That means that if your rent is $1,500 per month in your first year of renting, it could go up by a maximum of $105 per month in the next year. The year after that, the maximum increase would be 7% of whatever your rent had been raised to in the second year.

The limit on increases would only apply to existing tenants. But once you moved out, a landlord could set the rent on your old unit to whatever they wanted.

The proposal would also limit late fees to 1.5% of monthly rent for a broader range of tenants, not just those whose landlords are covered under the bill. If your rent is $1,500 a month, that would mean a cap of $22.50.

Which landlords would be exempt?

If you live in a newer building, the limits lawmakers are considering might not apply to you.

New buildings would be exempt for 10 years from the date they were certified to be occupied.

Another exemption would exist for some units if the owner lives on the property and they rent out up to two units.

So, if the owner of a property lived in a single-family home and rented out an accessory dwelling unit — also known as a mother-in-law unit — they would be exempt from the annual 7% limit on rent increases.

But if you lived in a fourplex and your landlord lives in one of the units, they would not be exempt from the limit.

And certain entities — nonprofits, public housing agencies and public development agencies — would be exempt from the requirement as well.

When would it take effect?

If passed into law, it would go into effect immediately.

But whether it will get passed into law is one of the big questions looming over the legislative session, which is slated to end March 7.

To survive, the bill must pass the Senate, which could amend the bill. Either way, the two chambers have to agree on a final version of the policy, and then it would have to go to Gov. Jay Inslee, who has veto power.

“I don’t know if that’s the right number, or the right approach, so I’ve got to look at the specifics,” Inslee said about the bill last week. “But in general, I think some marginal way to restrain the rate of change is not something we should rule out. But I’ll need to look at the specifics of the bill.”

What if my landlord raised my rent higher than 7%?

If the current version of the bill passes, and your landlord isn’t exempt from the limits and raises your rent higher than 7%, you would have a few options.

To claim an exemption, a landlord would have to show you that they are exempt from the law. If they’re not exempt, you could inform them that the increase exceeds the legal limit, and see how that conversation goes.

If you wanted to move out, you could break your lease any time before the increase goes into effect, but you’d have to give the landlord at least 20 days notice in writing. It would be 30 days for a tenant of a mobile or manufactured home park.

In that case, you’d only owe pro rata rent through the date when you vacate the unit and a landlord couldn’t charge you any fines or fees for terminating the lease.

You could also take your landlord to court.

And under the current proposal, the state attorney general would be authorized to enforce violations of the limit on rent increases and other provisions intended to protect tenants.