Rent Fairness In the News

News Article The Everett Herald 5/12/2025 Editorial: What state lawmakers achieved this session

Setting a cap on rent: House Bill 1217 originally proposed a 7 percent annual cap on rent increases, but after passage in both chambers, disagreement remained on the limit, which was settled in conference.

The law, signed this week by the governor, sets the cap at 7 percent plus inflation or 10 percent, whichever is lower. Rents for manufactured homes are limited to 5 percent increases. As well, increases require a 90-day notice. Between tenants, landlords can set rent at any amount.

News Article KREM 2 5/8/2025 ‘We all need a break’: Spokane renter, lawmaker hope new rent stabilization law will bring financial reprieve

Matt Goode has been renting an apartment in Browne’s Addition for 8 years, and he says each year gets more challenging. 

“Everybody’s rent has just gone up so significantly over the last couple of years. And I know people who have had to move to other places, just because it’s frankly, just not a sustainable model, like the way the housing market works right now,” said Goode. 

He says housing all across Spokane is expensive and hopes that the new Washington law will help.

News Article The Urbanist 5/8/2025 Rent Stabilization, Parking Reforms Become Law in Washington

“I’m confident when folks look back at this legislative session, they’ll call it the session of affordable housing,” Ferguson said before breaking out the pens. “I think what you’ll see today from the bills is strong bipartisan support from the legislature to get these bills to my desk, which reflects the fact that this is a statewide problem of great concern.”

News Article CoStar 5/8/2025 Washington becomes third US state with sweeping rent control law

The law serves as “a modest middle ground to help protect working people,” state Sen. Liz Lovelett, a Democrat from the north Puget Sound region city of Anacortes, said during a fiery floor speech on the last weekend of the legislative session.

“Forty percent of people in Washington state are renters,” Lovelett said. “They are desperate for these protections. I am watching people in my community pay 25% more, 50% more, year over year.”

News Article KPTV 7 5/8/2025 Washington gov. makes rent increase cap law

Rent increases for most people will be capped at 7% (plus inflation) or 10%,whichever is the lower number. The state will calculate the exact cap every year starting on June 1, 2025.

News Article KIRO 7 5/8/2025 WA now has rent control; What happens now?

“‘We are all so grateful. You just cannot even imagine. Living on fixed incomes, having health issues, all those things…” – Sarah Eubank

News Article The Center Square 5/8/2025 WATCH: WA governor signs rent cap bill into law

In a ceremony at Blake House, a low-income high-rise in Seattle, Ferguson first introduced bill sponsor Sen. Emily Alvarado, D-West Seattle.

“One thing I really respect in life is people with a nose to the grindstone,” Ferguson said of Alvarado’s efforts to see a rent cap bill get over the finish line after stalling during the 2024 legislative session. “You know they’ve got a goal, and they’re focused on it and working on behalf of the people, and that’s their mission, and I just have a ton of respect for that, and this is really an example of that.”

News Article Fox 13 Seattle 5/8/2025 Gov. Ferguson signs bill capping annual rent increases

“Rent goes up faster than wages. Seniors see rent go up faster than social security. A record number of families in this state are paying more than half of their income for rent. That’s not okay.” – Senator Emily Alvarado

News Article Capitol Hill Seattle Blog 5/8/2025 Washington now has a 10% cap on rent increases — Governor signs ‘stabilization’ bill co-sponsored by 43rd District Rep. Macri

43rd District Rep. Nicole Macri co-sponsored the milestone rent stabilization legislation,

“The challenge of affordable housing has only increased, despite years of legislative work to expand supply and subsidies provided during and after the pandemic,” Macri said in a statement upon the signing.

“It’s time for stability for renters. We must do more, but in the meantime, this is an incredibly important step forward and will provide renters the predictability that they need to make their household budgets. This is going to make a big difference for families who have been facing year after year of skyrocketing and price gouging rent increases.”

News Article The Seattle Times 5/8/2025 Gov. Ferguson signs slate of 10 new WA housing bills into law

Easily the most contested housing bill of the session, House Bill 1217 limits the amount a landlord can raise rent on tenants in a yearly period to 7% plus inflation, or 10%, whichever is less. Due to an emergency clause attached to the proposal, the cap went into immediate effect Wednesday with Ferguson’s signature. The law, which sunsets in 15 years, also limits any increase in rent within the first year of a tenancy. It does not limit how much landlords can raise rent on a unit after a tenant moves out.

News Article Oregon Public Broadcasting 5/8/2025 Cap on rent increases across Washington state is signed into law

Democrats believe the limit will give renters greater predictability in one of the most expensive states to live in, while Republicans think it will chill development and force landlords to sell their properties because they can’t keep up with maintenance costs and property taxes.

News Article The Associated Press 5/8/2025 Washington governor signs rent-control bill into law

Also in The Columbian, GoSkagit, KOIN, KOMO, ABC News, KATU, Morning Times, Corvallis-Gazette Times

Bill sponsor Sen. Emily Alvarado, a West Seattle Democrat, said the measure sets common-sense guardrails on the state’s rental-housing market “so that hardworking families and older adults don’t get unchecked excessive rent increases.”

“Housing is not a luxury. It’s a basic human need,” Alvarado said at the bill signing. “And everyone in this state deserves a stable and affordable home.”

News Article KXLY 5/7/2025 Governor signs rent stabilization bill into law, prompting praise and concern

Also in FOX 13

Prime sponsor Sen. Emily Alvarado, D-West Seattle, said the legislation is intended to prevent excessive rent increases with “common sense guardrails” as people struggle to keep up with increasing housing costs, including “unchecked” rent increases.

“Rent goes up faster than wages, seniors see rent go up faster than Social Security,” she said. “A record number of families in this state are paying more than half of their income on rent. That’s not okay.”

News Article Axios Seattle 5/7/2025 Washington is now third U.S. state with a rent cap

What they’re saying: Under the new state law, “the days of gouging renters with massive rent increases are over,” Michele Thomas of the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance told Axios.

News Article Puget Sound Business Journal 5/7/2025 Gov. Ferguson signs landmark rent control bill

The bill, which Gov. Ferguson called “especially consequential,” ends the state’s 44-year-old ban on rent control.

News Article The Spokesman-Review 5/7/2025 Rent caps, other housing protections signed into Washington law

According to Ferguson, the number one issue he heard while campaigning was the lack of affordable housing in the state.

“It just came up over and over and over again,” he said Wednesday. “It doesn’t matter if someone lives in North Seattle or Spokane, in a red jurisdiction or a blue jurisdiction, it doesn’t matter. I just heard that concern over and over and over again.”

News Article Cascadia Daily 5/7/2025 Herrera Beutler: Washington’s rent cap will backfire — here’s what we should do instead

If we don’t want to grow outward, we must be willing to build upward. Likewise, the Critical Areas Regulations force local governments to designate critical areas with land-use restrictions. Additionally, mandates imposing costly energy efficiency requirements under the State Building Code raise costs that renters ultimately pay. The list of these types of regulations goes on, but meaningful steps that ease our housing crunch are not being taken.

True reform targets the underlying supply shortage rather than relying on superficial political fixes. Hopefully, Washington’s political leaders learn this sooner rather than later.

News Article King 5 5/7/2025 Ferguson signs rent stabilization, suite of other housing proposals into Washington state law

The rent stabilization proposal passed through the Legislature on the last weekend of the session following some back-and-forth between the two chambers about what should be included in the final edition of the bill. A committee of senators and representatives landed on an agreement that caps annual rent increases at 7% plus inflation, or 10%, whichever is less. The rent cap on manufactured homes is even lower, at 5%.

News Article MyNorthwest 5/7/2025 ‘Meaningful progress’: Gov. Ferguson signs landmark bill to cap rent increases in Washington

Also in Yahoo News

“There is no single policy that will fix our housing crisis, but we need this comprehensive approach,” Sen. Emily Alvarado said at the bill signing.

Two amendments were added to HB 1217 by the Senate, changing the cap from a flat 7% to a choice of whatever is lower between a 7% raise with inflation or a flat 10%. The second amendment exempts single-family homes, which represent approximately 38% of Washington renters.

News Article Washington State Standard 5/7/2025 Cap on rent increases across Washington is signed into law

Also in Governing

“Today, we put common sense guardrails on our rental housing market so that hard working families and older adults don’t get unchecked excessive rent increases,” said bill sponsor Sen. Emily Alvarado, D-Seattle. “This law is a good beginning. It’s long overdue, and it’s urgently needed.”

News Article MyNorthwest 5/7/2025 Gov. Ferguson expected to sign bill capping rent increases today

Also in KIRO 7

“This is one of the most productive sessions on housing affordability our state has seen,” Sen. Jessica Batman, D-Olympia, said in a statement. “It’s the result of strong coalition-building in and outside the Legislature, bipartisan collaboration with our Republican colleagues and sustained, long-term engagement with the community and our constituents who are so deeply affected by these issues. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished so far this year and know that we have more work ahead.”

News Article The Associated Press 4/29/2025 Washington lawmakers pass rent-control bill, approve unemployment for striking workers

Also in the US News & World Report, Toronto Star

If signed into law, the rent stabilization bill would be among the first in the nation, adding Washington to states like Oregon and California that have sought new ways to curb homelessness. Washington joined Oregon in efforts to give striking workers unemployment payments, following recent walkouts by Boeing factory workers, hospital nurses and teachers in the Pacific Northwest.

News Article Washington State Standard 5/1/2025 Behind the scenes, Ferguson backed bill to cap rent increases for months

State Sen. Yasmin Trudeau, one of the chief architects of legislation to cap rent hikes across Washington, says Gov. Bob Ferguson’s team has made clear to lawmakers since the second week of the legislative session, back in January, that he supports the measure.

But even with the bill approved by the Legislature and awaiting his signature, Ferguson repeatedly declined to take a public stance on it. He finally did so Wednesday when pressed about Trudeau’s comments.

Letter to the Editor The Columbian 4/23/25 Support rent stabilization

The Columbian’s opposition to a sensible policy to limit how much landlords can increase rents on residential tenants is extremely disappointing (“Cleveland wise to embrace big picture on rent,” In Our View, April 15).

Urging lawmakers to focus on profits of property owners and developers over the “myopic focus on the needs of renters” is hurtful for my family and thousands of others who have been displaced repeatedly and even driven into homelessness by excessive rent increases. 

Unrestricted rent gouging is depriving the nearly 40 percent of us who rent our homes of the stability and predictability that homeowners have. As a Colville Tribe member, disabled veteran and survivor of domestic violence, my family already experiences challenges trying to maintain housing stability. My children and I have had to move five times in four years because of large rent increases.

Without a meaningful limit on rent increases, discrimination in housing through large predatory rent increases will continue. People of color, seniors and disabled people, workers and families with children will face more destabilizing moves and impossible decisions about what basic needs we can afford to cover.

Op-Ed Cascadia Daily News 4/23/25 Guest writer: Washington renters need stability

Amendment to legislation by state Sen. Shewmake is disconnected from renter reality

Shewmake’s amendment, supported by Senate Republicans, raised the rent increase cap on residential tenants to 10% plus inflation — undermining the very purpose of the bill. Under Sen. Shewmake’s policy, landlords would have been able to increase rents 13.4% in 2024, 14.6% in 2023, and 18.9% in 2022. Rent increases this high fuel displacement, evictions, homelessness and gentrification.

Another change supported by Sen. Shewmake would exempt landlords who lease single-family residences — that’s 38% of renter households! Under this amendment, the $1000 increase I faced two years ago would be allowed. These changes, on top of extensive exemptions for new construction, would leave the majority of renter households in Washington without any meaningful protection against unfair rent increases.

Shewmake explained her position on the Senate floor: “A 7% cap, I think, is dangerous. I hope I’m wrong … 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.”

This argument is disconnected from the reality renters experience right now. Renters already experience a dangerous rental market where we are often forced to move and have few to no affordable options to move into. Washington renters must decide between uprooting their lives, cutting back on groceries or medicine to pay unreasonable rent increases, or end up on the street. Renters know reasonable policies that create stability and reign in corporate landlords are not dangerous — they are plain common sense.

We implore Sen. Shewmake to listen to the testimonies of low-income renter families with children, seniors and disabled people on a fixed income in her district, and voters across Washington who overwhelmingly support rent stabilization. 

News Article Cascade PBS 4/21/25 The Washington Legislature’s final week brings long to-do list

Debates over rent caps, parental rights, taxes and — perhaps the most contentious — finalizing the budget, all must be resolved before April 27.

House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, told reporters last Thursday that conversations about this between the chambers are underway, but shared no details on what compromises might be made. “I think it’s pretty obvious that the amendments that the Senate took are not things that are welcomed by a lot of our members,” she said.  

Letter to the Editor The Columbian 4/21/25 Rent bill is misleading 

Don’t be fooled — the rent stabilization bill (EHB 1217) recently passed by the state Senate is a gift to corporate landlords who have been gouging renters. Amendments introduced at the last moment gutted protections for those in our state facing some of the highest rents in the nation. Instead of a 7 percent yearly maximum rent increase, the bill was amended to allow for a 10 percent increase plus the consumer price index. With inflation expected to increase, this could easily result in 15 percent rent increases or more — pricing the most vulnerable out of their homes. A second amendment exempts single-family home rentals if they aren’t owned by a real estate development company. However, since landlords have made certain there is no rent registry in our state, it is nearly impossible for renters to know if this applies to them or not.

We still have a chance to help those who need it the most. The House and Senate need to confer on this bill. Please ask Sens. Annette Cleveland and Adrian Cortes to pledge to support a final bill that caps rents at 7 percent and does not exempt those in single-family homes.

News Article Associated Press, US News & World Report, Seattle Times, OPB, and multiple papers across the state 4/20/25: Renters call on Washington lawmakers to approve rent-control bill

Disabled veteran and single parent Duana Ricks-Johnson has moved her family five times in the past four years to keep ahead of rising rents — all while fighting at the state Legislature for a rent control law that hasn’t come.“If this doesn’t go through, it just puts a whole myriad of things in motion, like a landslide that my little family wouldn’t be able to recover from,” she said. “Where do we go? 

Michele Thomas, the policy director at the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, said she’s convinced lawmakers can compromise. “Lawmakers in both the House and Senate are continuing to hear from literally thousands, thousands of people across the state who want them to fix the bill and pass a protective version with no more than a 7% increase for residential renters, 5% for manufactured homeowners and also one that doesn’t randomly exempt all people who live in a single family home,” Thomas told The Associated Press.

Dominique Horn, a renter in Camas, Washington who is paying 50% of her income on rent, fears any increase will force her family of four out of their home. For that reason, she said she’s concerned about the Senate amendment that cut out single-family homes, which she said would exclude 38% of renters from the protections in the bill.

Paying first and last month’s rent and deposits, it was over $6,000 for her family to get into housing, Horn said. “That expense is enough to take a housed family into homelessness, disrupt schooling, jobs, all aspects of the things that make our lives function,” she said. “So being able to predict and plan for what kind of increases would be coming is such an important part of having stability in all aspects of your life.”

Kelley Rhinehart, a landlord who rents out two duplexes in Kitsap County, said he supports the measure because he believes a stable rent creates stability in tenants. “I don’t think it’s a heavily regulated market. I think it’s a very lightly regulated market and what they’re actually complaining about is the prospect of having any limits set on rent,” he said. “And I think that’s a public policy mistake for the legislature to make. The legislature, at this point, should be willing.”

News Article KOMO TV 4/18/25 Housing advocates rally to lower the cap on WA rent increases

Advocates and renters rallied on Friday to send a message to lawmakers to lower the cap on rent increases. With signs in hand and a message heard from the capitol steps, people dealing with sky-high housing costs are demanding a final bill allowing no more than a 7% yearly increase for renters and no more than 5% for those in manufactured homes.

Claudia Franson worries about eviction or even homelessness if her rent goes up much more.”I do not one day want to be outside of the home with my kids and be just another family, homeless under a tent,” Franson told KOMO News.

Disabled veteran Duana Johnson told KOMO News hundreds of dollars a month in extra housing costs would mean having to sacrifice other essentials, like groceries or medical care.”I’m a single mom, I live on my pension, and I cannot afford to keep moving,” Johnson added. “I’ve had to move five times in the last four years due to rental increases.”

News Article 4/19/25 Tacoma News Tribune, The Olympian, Bellingham Herald, Tri-City Herald  Housing advocates say Senate version of rent-cap bill ‘guts’ tenant protections

“The difference between what the House passed and what the Senate passed is so extreme,” said Michele Thomas, policy and advocacy director for the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance. Thomas said Thursday that the Senate gutted the initial bill, and that the changes would cause evictions and increase homelessness.

…Some 75 to 100 people rallied at the state Capitol Friday afternoon at an event sponsored by Thomas’ organization. Renter Claudia Franson of Vancouver told McClatchy at the rally that she’s lived in a single-family home for five years. The mother of seven said she’s worried it’ll get to the point when she can no longer afford her house. Even a 7% rent hike would be a struggle. Franson said her place is the right home for the size of her family. “If I have to leave one day, that would definitely make us homeless,” she said. “There’s no other place that I believe would be suitable for my children if this keeps going and rising.”

Thomas noted that Washington’s rents are among the highest in the nation. A 10% rent increase alone would be destabilizing to the vast majority of tenants, but the CPI inflation factor on top “adds another wild card.” It strips the predictability component from the bill, she said. Inflation has been quite high in recent years, Thomas said. She fears it could potentially skyrocket amid federal-government uncertainty, tariffs and threats of a looming recession. Thomas cited a recent poll that suggests the vast majority of Washingtonians, 81%, support capping rent hikes. Lawmakers still have a chance to correct course and pass a policy that addresses the state’s growing homelessness and housing-insecurity crisis, she said. “That is the top issue for so many voters across the state,” Thomas said. “Lawmakers only have a week from Sunday to get it done, and it’s coming quick. It’s coming quick.”

News Article The Urbanist  4/15/25 Washington Senate OKs Rent Stabilization Bill After Gutting It

Rachael Myers of the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, which backs the original bill, sharply criticized the amendment in an email to supporters.

“For context, this amendment would have allowed an increase of 13.4% in 2024, 14.6% in 2023, 18.9% in 2022,” Myers wrote. “Rent increases this high would fuel displacement, evictions, homelessness, and gentrification.”

The coalition behind rent stabilization has vowed to fight to claw back the senate amendments. The Washington Low Income Housing Alliance is pushing a form letter asking representatives to do just that. “But this isn’t the end,” Myers wrote. “The bill now heads back to the House, and there is still time to strengthen it and reverse the harmful changes made in the Senate.”

Michele Thomas of the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance has also pointed out that large-scale landlords are spending heavily and apparently breaking lobbying rules as they campaign against rent stabilization, including in a recent Urbanist op-ed.

News Article Axios 4/15/25  Washington lawmakers clash over rent cap proposal

The measure was amended on the Senate floor last week to allow annual rent increases of up to 10% plus the rate of inflation.That goes too far for many House members, who don’t plan to approve the changes made by the Senate, House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon (D-Seattle) told Axios.

A small group of lawmakers will now meet to try to hammer out a compromise between the two chambers, both of which are controlled by Democrats, state Rep. Strom Peterson (D-Edmonds), who chairs the House Housing Committee, told Axios.

What they’re saying: Peterson said in years when inflation is high, the Senate changes would allow landlords to impose “15% or 18% rent increases” — more than double what would be allowed under the House plan.

“Our members generally but not uniformly do not believe 10% plus inflation is a strong enough protection,” Fitzgibbon told Axios.

Editorial The Everett Herald 4/15/25: Lawmakers should seek deal to keep rent cap at 7% Now that rent stabilization has passed both chambers, a deal on a reasonable cap must be struck.

“Voters across the state know that rent increases are happening too often, are too high and are unnecessary, and that they’re destabilizing our communities,” said Michelle Thomas, with the housing alliance during a recent online news conference. “Most people in our state are either personally impacted by a rent increase, or have a friend or loved one who is personally impacted.”….

The stabilization bill — which itself has numerous exemptions — isn’t being adopted in a vacuum, noted Peterson. It joins two previous years of affordable housing legislation, much of which has been aimed at streamlining permitting, easing development regulations and opening up more opportunities for development in order to increase the stock of housing.

Among legislation this year that has either passed or is close to passage are bills promoting transit-oriented developments, lot splitting to increase density in rural areas, converting buildings to residential uses, relaxing residential parking regulations, simplifying condominium construction standards and more.

“This was all legislation driven by developers and realtors to spur construction, and I believe in that, too,” he said. “We’ve been really busy on supply, and this is the one piece of legislation that really protects tenants.”

After three years of the “Year of Housing,” a bill that looks out for tenants — at the lowest reasonable cap — is overdue.

Op-Ed The Spokesman Review  Susan Kane-Ronning: Adjusting Washington state HB 1217 by adding rent caps would help our children thrive

Washington state was poised to deliver increased stability and predictability to hundreds of thousands of families. A rent stabilization bill by the Legislature, SHB 1217, would have prohibited excessive rent increases, a big step toward helping parents maintain housing, cover other basic needs such as food and medicine, and afford goods and services that enrich their children’s development. This policy was intended to protect seniors, workers and families with children by setting a reasonable limit of 7% per year for rent increases. Instead, SB 1217 passed the Senate with a cap that will still enable excessive rent increases. 

…The median rent in Spokane as of April 2025, is approximately $1,340 for all property types and bedroom counts. Single-family homes and mobile homes are not included in SB 1217 and will have no rent caps.

Because SB 1217 passed in the Senate with changes to the original bill, it now returns to the House for a vote. Washington House lawmakers still have a chance to remove one of the most significant threats to children’s ability to thrive by passing a sensible rent stabilization policy and returning the reasonable limit of 7% per year for rent increases. If they do, the positive impacts will not only help families and children today, they will also help protect the well-being of future generations.

Letter to the Editor Kitsap Sun 4/11/25 Legislation to protect Washington renters is important to all | Letters Charles Fairchild, Bremerton

The excessive rent increases we see across our state force the most vulnerable among us – seniors, single parents, working families, and people with disabilities like myself – to face impossible choices.The simple fact is, when more Washingtonians are housed, we are all better off. But time is running out for the legislature to make this bill a priority. Legislators should act quick to pass this bill and bring relief to renters as soon as possible.

News Article The Burner 4/11/25  Washington Senate Pulverizes Rent Stabilization Bill, But House Could Still Save It

Seven hand-wringing, party traitors helped Republican Senators wrestle the Democratic majority into the cuck chair Thursday afternoon when they tacked on ruinous amendments to HB 1217, the long-awaited rent stabilization bill. The amendments raised the proposed 7% cap on rental hikes to 10% plus inflation based on the consumer price index (CPI) and carved a huge exemption for single-family homes, where about 30% of renters live. 

News Article Cascade PBS Washington Senate passes rent cap bill — but with major changes

Letter to the Editor The Columbian 4/11/2025 Legislation to protect Washington renters is important to all | Letters

There are few things more important to the wellbeing of people in Washington than helping them stay in their homes. Until 6 months ago, I had been homeless for 7 years — I barely survived. Take it from me, it’s not easy to get back on your feet again once you don’t have a place to live.While there are many policies that our state lawmakers should consider to help with this crisis, one that is advancing this year is “rent stabilization,” as laid out in SHB 1217.This bill would set a rent cap of 7% so that tenants in Washington can know that their rent won’t suddenly spike above what they can pay. It would also prevent the excessive fees that frequently push tenants out of apartments and into homelessness.

News Article The Columbian 4/11/2025 Sen. Cleveland votes no on rent cap measure; Measure passes in Senate, moves back to the House

Paywalled – Sen. Anette Cleveland of Vancouver was the only Democrat to vote against a bill capping rent increases that passed through the Washington Senate on Thursday evening,.

News Article CoStar News 4/11/2025 Washington State effort to adopt rent control moves forward, but with changes

Washington is one step closer to rolling out a bill that would make the state the third in the country to have a statewide rent control law.

News Article RANGE Media 4/11/2025 It’s rough to be a WA renter. A bill that could help is close to passing.

It was a victory, but short-lived: last year, Hammond was thrust back into financial insecurity when she was hit with a 12% increase in rent for the land beneath her home. Because Hammond is disabled with a fixed income, the extra $66 a month meant she had to make sacrifices.

“I ended up stopping my meds for three months, trying to figure out what I could do to make up that $66,” Hammond said. “After three months, I finally figured it out: I turned my heat off at night.”

In the last year, Hammond has become a vocal advocate for rent stabilization in Washington, pushing for legislators to pass House Bill 1217.

News Article The Center Square 4/11/2025 WA Senate votes to set a 10% limit on annual rent increases

Also in the Everett Post, Longview News-Journal, Ellensburg Daily Record

EHB 1217, one of the most controversial pieces of legislation introduced this session, now heads back to the House for approval of the change made by the Senate.

Assuming the House concurs with the Senate-passed version of the bill, it will then go to Gov. Bob Ferguson’s desk for his signature into law.

News Article MyNorthwest 4/11/2025 Legislation capping rent increases makes its furthest progress yet in WA after passing in Senate

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.”

News Article KOMO 4/11/2025 Washington state Senate amends rent cap bill, raises limit to 10%

The Washington State Senate voted to amend a House bill that initially proposed capping annual rent increases at 7%. The revised bill now sets the annual cap on rent increases at 10% plus the Consumer Price Index.

The inclusion of the Consumer Price Index means in years of higher inflation, landlords can raise rents by more than 10%.

Op-Ed The Urbanist 4/11/2025 Op-Ed: Washington Landlords Spending Big, Playing Dirty to Block Rent Stabilization

But what have all these hundreds of thousands of dollars gotten these landlords? Not much. HB 1217 is progressing through the legislative process and will be up for final votes soon. Their desperate attempts to fool the public aren’t working – the majority of us know that rent stabilization is a long time in coming and will help keep renters in their homes.

News Article Washington State Standard 4/11/2025 WA Senate raises proposed cap on rent increases, sending bill back to House

Also in Yahoo News, Sunnyside Sun

Sen. Emily Alvarado, D-Seattle, an author of the bill, said she was surprised the amendments prevailed. 

“No matter what, this was a really important step,” she said after the vote. “Renters across the state are struggling. We can do something for them and we took one more step to getting this bill across the finish line.”

….

In their campaign to stop the bill, well-funded housing industry groups have targeted moderate Democratic senators in recent weeks. This advertising push has drawn concerns from the proposal’s supporters over what they see as a lack of transparency about who is funding the opposition effort.

News Article KUOW 4/11/2025 Rent caps close to becoming law in Washington state, despite divisions among Democrats

The proposal’s main backer, Sen. Emily Alvarado (D-West Seattle) said the bill is critical to help Washington renters to stay housed, but that she’s disappointed with the version passed out of the Senate.

“It provides fewer protections and less market coverage than I had hoped,” Alvarado said after the vote. “But the fact remains it’s the first time we’ve passed rent stabilization off the Senate floor.”

News Article The Seattle Times 4/11/2025 WA Senate votes to cap rents, but not before making big changes

Before the final vote, prime sponsor Sen. Emily Alvarado, D-West Seattle, said she was “disappointed” in the amendments. Alvarado spoke to reporters afterward and refocused on how the bill, even as amended, is a landmark change in the state’s current law. If enacted, a large group of renters in the state will live in units with restricted rent hikes.

“With the cap increasing and the single-family home exemption it provides fewer protections and less market coverage than I had hoped,” she said. “The fact remains it’s the first time we’ve ever passed rent stabilization off the Senate floor. There are 40% of Washingtonians who before doing this had zero protections with how high the rent can go, now they will have more, and we’ll keep working to perfect the bill.”

News Article KNKX 4/11/2025 WA rent cap bill closer to becoming law, despite lingering divisions among Democrats

The proposal’s main backer, Sen. Emily Alvarado (D-West Seattle) said the bill is critical to help Washington renters to stay housed, but that she’s disappointed with the version passed out of the Senate.

“It provides fewer protections and less market coverage than I had hoped,” Alvarado said after the vote. “But the fact remains it’s the first time we’ve passed rent stabilization off the Senate floor.”

News Article The South Seattle Emerald 4/10/2025 Everything Is Political … in South Seattle

A bill that would place limits on the amount landlords can raise a tenant’s rent made its way one step closer to Gov. Bob Ferguson’s desk, getting past the committee that killed it last year. At an April 8 meeting of the state Senate Ways and Means Committee, Democratic supporters of the bill argued in its favor, voting down 18 proposed amendments meant to hamstring it, and advancing it to the Senate Rules Committee mostly unscathed.

While opponents of the bill refer to it as a “rent control” bill, it would not do anything to cap rent. It would only limit rent increases to 7% during any 12-month period, or 5% for people in mobile homes. It would also preclude any rent increase in the first year of tenancy and require landlords to provide 90 days of advance notice before increasing rent.

News Article MyNorthwest 4/10/2025 Frustration grows as lawmakers feud over Washington’s property tax cap

In a rare moment of bipartisan overlap, Pedersen noted that a few speakers at the Republican press conference had also raised concerns about rising rents. Democrats are pushing a rent stabilization bill that would cap annual rent increases at 7%, a move Republicans are resisting.

News Article The Inlander 4/10/2025 Washington lawmakers are considering rent stabilization again. Would it solve renters’ problems?

“Twenty years ago, my life was really good,” Tina Hammond tells the housing advocates and reporters gathered at the Hive.

Hammond is a 64-year-old Spokanite. She owns her home and has a master’s degree from Gonzaga University. But her life changed a decade ago. She lost the home where she used to live in 2010 and developed debilitating arthritis. She spent years renting a basement or a mother-in-law suite from friends until she could buy a manufactured home with money her father bequeathed to her.

Hammond is now on a fixed income that’s less than $2,000 a month. It used to barely cover her medicine and the lot rent for the land where her mobile home sits. But when her lot rent went up by $66 a month last year — a 12% increase for her — she says it meant that she had to pause her meds for three months to save the extra cash. She turns her heat off at night to save money — over the winter, she says, the temperature inside her home often fell below 45 degrees overnight.

News Article [un]Divided with Brandi Kruse 4/9/2025 Senator behind rent control gets six-figure salary from company lobbying for rent control

“So now we’re potentially days away from rent control being sent to the Governor’s desk, and the lawmaker who is the prime sponsor of that is employed to the tune of around $200,000 a year by an advocacy organization that is in Olympia lobbying for that very bill.” – Brandi Kruse

News Article News Radio 560 KPQ 4/9/2025 Four Controversial Bills To Watch in Washington Legislature

HB1217 is proposing a an annual limit of 7% rent hikes on apartment units and 5% annual increases for houses or manufactured housing rentals.

News Article The Burner 4/8/2025 Washington Is Now Closer Than Ever to Rent Stabilization

The committee approved an amendment from Sen. Lisa Wellman (D–Mercer Island) that slices in deeper carve-outs for new construction, leaving renters in newer buildings at the mercy of their landlords who will retain the power to rent-gouge without a ceiling. 

Still, Rep. Nicole Macri (D–Seattle), the bill’s lead sponsor in the House, is staying upbeat.

“Moving the bill out of Ways and Means is a huge milestone for this policy,” Macri told The Burner via text. “It’s taken many years and thousands of people advocating from across the state to get this far.”

Macri conceded that “[t]he compromises on this bill have been hard to take,” but she’s happy that the bill retains a 7% cap for most residential units and a 5% cap for manufactured housing.

News Article 770 KTTH 4/8/2025 Glen Morgan: WA Rep. ‘isn’t even pretending’ to hide conflict of interest on rent cap bill

Conservative activist and journalist Glen Morgan recently filed a complaint, alleging that Washington State Sen. Emily Alvarado, D-Seattle, violated laws regarding her role with Enterprise Community Partners

News Article The Center Square 4/8/2025 WA bill to cap rent increases passes out of Senate Ways & Means Committee

Also in the Everett Post, The Black Chronicle

Supporters of the bill argue tenants need more protection from skyrocketing rents. Opponents argue rent control is not the solution to Washington’s housing shortage and will only worsen the problem by discouraging new development.

 

News Article The Center Square 4/7/2025 Public Weighs In on Rent Control Legislation in Washington State

Clip from testimony

 

News Article KIRO 7 4/7/2025 Senate committee to discuss Washington bill to cap rent increases

Michele Thomas with the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance tells us they are seeing more of a need for help every year.

 

“Evictions are at an all-time high, the highest they’ve ever been, people can’t pay rent increases, the increases are putting people out of their homes, HB-1217 puts controls on that,” Thomas said.

 

News Article MyNorthwest 4/7/2025 Ethics Complaint filed against State Sen. Emily Alvarado over rent cap bill conflict

The complaint, filed Thursday with the Legislative Ethics Board by conservative Glen Morgan of the government accountability group We The Governed, accuses Alvarado of violating state ethics laws by sponsoring Engrossed House Bill 1217 while also serving as vice president for Enterprise Community Partners, a national nonprofit engaged in housing advocacy.

 

News Article The Center Square 4/5/2025 Ethics complaint filed against WA lawmaker behind rent stabilization bill

Also in the Everett Post

The complaint asserts that “Sen. Alvarado is a Vice President, Pacific Northwest Market for Enterprise Community Partners.  According to its website she ‘oversees Enterprise’s work in Washington and Oregon to create and preserve affordable homes and brings programmatic solutions to scale through policy advocacy.’”

 

News Article KOMO News 4/5/2025 Renters, landlords and developers argue for and against rent control in Washington

Speaking for the rights of marginalized communities, Talauna Reed, with the Tenants Union of Washington Union, asked committee members to protect the state’s Black households, who she said are more than twice as likely to be renters.

 

“Census data shows 50% of Black renters and 50% of Latino renters in our state had rent increases between $100 and $249,” Reed said.

 

News Article The Center Square 4/4/2025 WATCH: Passions run deep on both sides of rent cap bill at Senate public hearing

Also in the Everett Post, Newsbreak, Longview News-Journal, 610 KONA

Tawana Reed with the Tenants Union of Washington testified in support of the bill.

 

“Fifty-seven years ago on this day, Dr. Martin Luther King Junior was assassinated,” she told the committee. “Much has changed since 1968, but severe racial disparities persist. Black households in Washington are more than twice as likely to be renters and are more likely to be rent-burdened than white renters.”

 

News Article Non-stop Local KHQ 4/3/2025 House bill 1217 aims to limit rent hikes in Spokane

Tina Hammond, a senior living on disability, shared her personal struggle with rising rent costs. “I used to take myself to a movie once a month. I can’t even do that anymore,” she said. Hammond explained that a 12% rent increase from her landlord nearly left her without a home. “I ended up going from place to place with friends living in a basement living in a mother-in-law addition to a house,” she added.

 

Spokane City Council Member Paul Dillon also attended the event supporting the bill. He noted the impact of rent increases on his constituents. “We’re all told that if you work hard enough, you can afford a place to live but now if you’re making minimum wage, you’re told, ‘good luck,’” Dillon said.

 

Op-Ed Bainbridge Island Review 4/3/2025 Price gouging for renters in state needs to stop

Also in the Kitsap Daily News

Before moving to Washington, I was a state legislator in Utah. I know how critical affordable housing is to the wellbeing and economy of local communities. That’s why I was glad to see strong support in the Washington legislature for tackling this problem with a common-sense solution. If the Senate fails to pass this bill, rent gouging will continue unabated, padding the profits of landlords and at the expense of some of the most-vulnerable people in our communities. This is not a future problem. It’s a three-alarm fire, and relief is needed today.

 

News Article Columbia Basin Herald 4/4/2025 Rent stabilization bill makes progress in Olympia

Also in Yahoo News

Tina Hammond, a 64-year-old disabled mobile home owner from Spokane, spoke in favor of the bill as well, saying that lot rent for her mobile home had jumped 12% in 2024 which had a serious impact on her quality of life, including her health.

 

“I’m a mobile home owner since 2019 and I was sorely impacted by a 12% increase I experienced in February 2024,” Hammond said. “I had to stop my medication for three months while I adjusted my budget to accommodate the increase. My adjustment was and is to turn off my heat at night … This winter, my average morning is about 45 degrees. Even with these drastic measures, by the 15th of each month, I only have $5 or $10 remaining in my bank account.”

 

News Article CoStar 4/3/2025 Washington rent control bill sparks debate on housing stability and supply issues in Spokane

Also in KHQ

During the conference, local resident, Tina Hammond shared her personal experience with rising rent costs. She faced a 12% rent increase while living on a fixed disability income and struggled to find stable housing.

 

“I ended up going from place to place with friends living in a basement living in a mother-in-law addition to a house,” Hammond said. “It’s kinda like you work so hard and you just don’t get any return on it you know you don’t even get the security a feeling that you’re gonna be in your home.”

 

News Article CoStar 4/3/2025 Washington lawmakers try again to pass rent control law

The housing committee’s changes included lowering the cap on mobile and other manufactured housing to 5% from 7%. The revisions also include a requirement to study the legislation’s effects on residential construction and rents after 10 years and a sunset clause that would require the legislature to re-approve the law after 20 years.

 

“Taken together, these changes continue to move us in the direction of this being a balanced bill with reasonable guardrails,” Alvarado said.

 

Letter to the Editor Spokesman-Review 4/1/2025 People need help now

The rent stabilization bill being considered in the Washington Legislature would set a commonsense guideline that landlords may not raise rent over 7% in a single year. This would bring immediate relief to tenants – especially low -income and fixed -income tenants – who struggle to adapt to sudden rent increases, and it would allow tenants of all income levels to better plan their financial futures.

 

I recently made acquaintance with Suzy, a special needs older gal, standing on the corner of Third and Browne a few months ago on my way to church. She informed me she was priced out of her low -rent apartment and was staying at the House of Charity. I still wave and say hello to her as I pass by, feeling disappointed knowing there is not much I can do but perhaps write a letter and encourage state Reps. Natasha Hill and Timm Ormsby and state Sen. Marcus Riccelli to continue advancing legislation like HB 1217/SB 5222 that will help people like Suzy.

 

Letter to the Editor Spokesman-Review 3/30/2025 Rent stabilization protects renters

I was dismayed to see The Spokesman-Review publish a column by two out of state lobbyists for the real estate and developer industry weighing in to oppose a bill that would protect Washington renters from predatory, excessively large rent increases.

 

It’s important to understand where this opposition is coming from. Developers and property investors with a vested interest in protecting their ability to raise our rent by as much as they want whenever they want are opposing rent stabilization and completely ignoring the facts. Washington state (and Spokane) have and are doing much to reform zoning and invest in new housing supply. But the only policy that will provide immediate relief and long-term predictability and stability for the 40% of Washingtonians who are renter households is a limit on rent increases.

 

Letter to the Editor Spokesman-Review 3/30/2025 Rent control will disincentivize development

Research from EcoNorthwest shows that if rent caps are enacted, Spokane alone could lose hundreds of new housing units. That means fewer homes for working families, young people and seniors already struggling to find affordable options.

 

We’ve seen this play out before. Cities like San Francisco, New York, and Portland tried rent control, only to experience reduced housing supply, disinvestment and rising rents. Spokane shouldn’t follow that failed path.

 

The message to builders and investors is clear: If rent control passes, take your dollars – and your housing projects – elsewhere. At a time when Spokane desperately needs more housing of every kind, this legislation could bring new development to a standstill.

 

Letter to the Editor The Tacoma News Tribune 3/30/2025 Rents are out of control, that’s true. Rent control will make things worse in Tacoma | Opinion

Affordability is a crisis, but the rent cap bill in Olympia is the wrong answer. Washington is already behind by 150,000 homes, yet this legislation would force developers to cancel thousands of planned rental units before they’re even built. Housing providers will be stuck with rising costs while being forced to cap rent increases, making it impossible to maintain buildings or keep up with repairs. In reality, policies like these have backfired in cities nationwide, discouraging construction, worsening housing conditions and leading to even higher costs in the long run. If lawmakers truly want to help renters, they should expand supply, streamline permitting and incentivize homebuilding — not pass policies that shrink the housing market.

 

News Article The Seattle Times 3/30/2025 Seattle used to have affordable housing. What happened to it?

Between 2010 and 2013, Constantino, 49, was living in Ballard and working cash registers at convenience stores and smoke shops. In just three years, rents in his neighborhood increased 30% while minimum wage went from $8.55 per hour to $9.19, a 7% increase.

 

He said he and his girlfriend put all of their earnings and then some toward rent, going without electricity some weeks because they couldn’t pay it. 

 

In 2013, the couple stared down a note saying the rent for their studio apartment was increasing for the third straight year. His girlfriend, through tears, told him she had to move in with her mom. Constantino was out of options. 

 

In the past few years, Seattle was finally building housing at a rate to start returning affordability to some renters. But the construction boom is already slowing down before people most at risk of homelessness benefit.

 

From the mid-2010s, Seattle developers kicked off an apartment building bonanza, reaching a record 14,000 housing units built in 2024.

 

News Article KIRO 7 3/28/2025 VIDEO: Bill to cap annual rent increases

“Ths is something we’ve needed for a long time. In fact 7% is a huge compromise for a lot of renters. I think it’s really reasonable for a lot of landlords.” – Rebekah Gardea

 

Small scale landlords say this is more than fair.

 

“I can’t imagine us raising the rent ever to 7%, but it’s nice to know that we could if we had to.” – small landlord

 

News Article The Center Square 3/28/2025 WA Senate advances landmark bill to cap annual rent hikes statewide

Also in the Everett Post, AOL, The Black Chronicle

“On the striking amendment, I would say that again, we continue to hear from stakeholders on this bill,” Sen. Emily Alvarado, D-West Seattle, said Wednesday, “and we continue to make adjustments and reflections and changes to make this operational and to find compromise.”

 

Alvarado introduced a new version of HB 1217 with a striking amendment, replacing it in full after the title. While much of the intent remained the same, her iteration adjusts rent caps based on unit type and adds a 20-year sunset clause, among other changes.

 

Letter to the Editor Seattle Times 3/28/2025 Rent stabilization: ‘We are the good guys here’

For legislators to tell us that as small-scale landlords, we must limit rent increases to 7%, when property taxes alone went up 14% this year, is an insult. One of us has early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, and we could be facing needed in-home care. Taking away our ability to raise rents to market rate as our health declines is cruelty. We are the good guys here, even if this legislation is treating us like price-gouging criminals. Excluding “mom and pop” landlords like us from this legislation is the right thing to do.

 

News Article Spokane Public Radio 3/28/2025 Today’s Headlines: WA rent stabilization bill moves forward, hospitals sound alarm on funding cuts

“This bill is a simple guardrail for the many, many people in this state who just want to make sure that they can have a little bit of control in that household budget and plan and save and know how high the rent will go,” Sen. Emily Alvarado (D-West Seattle), who sponsors the measure, said.

 

Letter to the Editor The Spokesman-Review 3/27/2025 Rent caps won’t fix Washington’s housing crisis

There is no legislation being considered to cap property tax increases, and new tariffs proposed at the federal level contribute to increased costs for developers. HB1217 puts the burden on housing providers, and they will be stuck with rising costs while being forced to cap rent increases, making it impossible to maintain buildings or keep up with ongoing repairs and lower the quality of existing housing.

 

News Article Washington State Standard 3/25/2025 Washington bill to cap rent increases clears first Senate hurdle

“As everyone knows, housing is the single greatest cost in a household budget,” said Sen. Emily Alvarado, D-Seattle. “This bill is a simple guardrail for the many, many people in this state who just want to make sure that they can have a little bit of control in that household budget and plan and save.”

 

News Article My Edmonds News 3/25/2025 Snohomish County organizations weigh in on rent stabilization bill

Also in Lynnwood Today

Cocoon House CEO Joe Alonzo said landlords can still adjust their rent under the proposed bill. The bill provides a middle ground, he said.

 

“It provides folks that are in rental positions some reassurance that their rents are not going to increase astronomically out of the blue,” Alonzo said about the bill.

 

Cocoon House, also a nonprofit, works with several landlords to get young people into their own apartments. Alonzo said the bill can help with the state’s housing supply-and- demand problem. 

 

Letter to the Editor My Edmonds News 3/25/2025 Letter to the editor: Time for a landlord acknowledgment?

Landlords are part of our community and have been for a long time. They are partners in keeping communities stable and vibrant. Without them, people lose flexibility in their housing choices.

 

Letter to the Editor My Edmonds News 3/25/2025 Letter to the editor: The hidden cost of rent control

Rent control doesn’t just affect landlords — it affects entire communities. As property values drop due to Olympia’s rent cap, local governments will lose millions in tax revenue, cutting into school funding, infrastructure, and public safety budgets. Meanwhile, fewer rental homes will be built, worsening Washington’s housing shortage. This bill may sound good, but it will ultimately cost taxpayers more in lost economic growth and government revenue. If lawmakers want real solutions, they should focus on fixing Washington’s outdated zoning laws and cutting unnecessary permitting delays.

 

News Article West Seattle Blog 3/25/2025 Before budget time, 34th District legislators answer constituents’ questions in ‘telephone town hall”

On a more individual money matter, a “live” questioner then asked about rent stabilization. She said she was really concerned “that there’s no carve-out for small landlords.” If you’re renting out a second home to help pay for retirement, a seven percent rent cap might not even cover property-tax increases, she sai. Alvarado answered the question, saying the rent bill was hers, and the goal of this bill is to stop excessive rent increases, while allowing landlords to set the actual baserent wherever they want: “I believe the math works.” She said there is an exemption for properties up to four units where the landlord lives in one.

 

News Article Washington State Journal 3/25/2025 Rent cap law continues to move despite objections

Also in the Lynnwood Times, Sunnyside Sun, All Point Bulletin, Journal of the San Juan Islands, The Islands’ Weekly

“Washington cannot afford to take steps that risk straining the housing economy any further,” said Carter Nelson, public affairs manager for Washington Multi-Family Housing Association in opposition to the cap.

 

People in favor of the cap, however, said something must be done to rein in the quickly escalating cost of housing. A rent cap will help residents remain safe in their homes instead of adding to a growing homeless population, supporters said.

 

“It is wrong that low-income seniors are forced to prioritize higher rent in lieu of food, doctor appointments and vital medication,” said Tina Hammond, who rents the lot where her mobile home sits and experienced rent increases monthly.

 

Op-Ed The Spokesman-Review 3/222/2025 Marcia L. Fudge and Steve Stivers: Washington’s housing crisis demands real solutions, not rent caps

By fostering a sustainable, market-driven approach, Washington can create a housing system that works for everyone. HB 1217 is not the solution Washington needs. Lawmakers must reject this bill and focus on policies that will actually make housing more available and affordable for Washington families.

 

News Article KUOW 3/21/2025 Is this the year rent limits pass?

Engrossed House Bill 1217 passed out of the House this week. That’s as far as earlier versions of this bill got last year — and there’s buzz this year that the Senate could let this version of the bill safely parachute onto the Governor’s desk.

 

To hear more about the divide around this bill, Sound Politics hosts Libby Denkmann and Scott Greenstone were joined by State Senator Emily Alvarado, the prime sponsor of HB 1217, and Emily Thompson, a partner with GMD Development, which specializes in affordable housing.

 

Op-Ed Seattle Times 3/20/2025 We’re WA landlords and we agree with rent stabilization

The stability and predictability of a 30-year mortgage that property owners have is out of reach for most Washington renters today. Preventing excessive rent increases makes saving for homeownership possible. Washington lawmakers have a rare opportunity to deliver a commonsense solution to our housing crisis that Washington voters overwhelmingly agree on. 

 

News Article Washington State Standard 3/20/2025 Housing bills to watch as the Washington legislative session enters its final weeks

This time around, the hot topic in Olympia has been rent stabilization — Democrats’ idea to cap rent increases at 7% per year, with some exceptions. To curry votes from moderate Democrats in the Senate, the legislation may need softening around the edges.

 

News Article Public News Service 3/20/2025 Advocates say WA rent stabilization bill important for ending hunger

Claire Lane, director of the Anti-Hunger and Nutrition Coalition, stands behind the bill, which would limit yearly rent increases to 7%. Lane said her coalition partners with housing advocates because if someone is housing insecure, they are also likely to be food insecure.

 

“Really, the most important thing to take away from that is, we’re not going to be able to solve hunger in Washington until we can ensure that people have more stable, more affordable housing,” she explained.

 

Op-Ed Spokesman-Review 3/19/2025 Lawmakers must pass rent increase caps, improve legal support for tenants to slow the eviction crisis

As the executive director of the Tenants Union of Washington State, based in Spokane, I hear tenants’ stories every day. I see the pain of families separated because they cannot afford their apartment or rental home. I meet with renters scared to stay in shelters asking for recommendations for a safe place to sleep in their car. I hear from employers who are worried about losing valuable workers because unsustainable rent increases are causing them to lose their housing.

 

Something needs to change.

 

This legislative session, our state can support renters by passing legislation to limit rent increases and fund Right to Counsel programs for low-income tenants.

 

News Article Seattle’s Child 3/16/2025 On Politics: News that impacts Washington families

Rent cap: A proposal to cap rent at 7 percent in a 12-month period is moving forward. House Bill 1217 cleared the House and is now in the Senate. It would also and prohibit any increase during the first year of renting, although there are some exceptions.

 

News Article Everett Herald 3/15/2025 The bills that are dead and still alive in the Washington Legislature

House Bill 1217 cleared the House on Monday with no Republican support. The proposal would cap rent hikes at 7% in any 12-month period for residential tenants, and prohibit increases of any amount in the first year of tenancy, with some exceptions.

 

Op-Ed Everett Herald 7 3/15/2025 Comment: Cap on rent would work against better housing supply

Rent control is a blunt instrument that ignores the complexity of housing markets. Can legislators articulate the principle that requires them to stop at 7 percent? Why not 6 or even or 2 percent? If lawmakers believe they have the third-party omniscience that qualifies them to set caps on price increases, why not set the price of rent entirely? Or better yet, regulate the price of consumer goods, medical procedures, and pineapples? The answer is simple; because it would be absurd, onerous, and disastrous. Yet, housing is somehow seen as an exception too important to be left to market forces.

 

News Article My Edmonds News 7 3/14/2025 The bills that are dead and still alive in the Washington Legislature

House Bill 1217 cleared the House on Monday with no Republican support. The proposal would cap rent hikes at 7% in any 12-month period for residential tenants, and prohibit increases of any amount in the first year of tenancy, with some exceptions.

 

News Article KNKX 7 3/14/2025 Which bills were able to survive the Washington legislative cutoff

A bill to limit rent hikes and a change to the rules around parents’ access to their kids’ school records. Those are among the proposals still standing in the Washington legislature after a major cutoff deadline this week.

News Article KIRO 7 3/14/2025 Hundreds rally at state capitol for rent control bill

Also in MyNorthwest

Tenants who came to the rally Friday said rising rents are crushing them.

“The new owners raised the rent $150,” said Caroline Hardy, an Aberdeen resident who lives at a mobile home park. “The next year, it went up $110.”

Hardy said she and most of her neighbors are senior citizens on fixed incomes.

“It’s looking like a lot of us are going to end up homeless,” she said.

News Article KING 5 3/14/2025 WA Senate leader says with changes, rent stabilization bill could pass

Also in KREM

”I think we will have the votes to pass rent stabilization this year,” said Pedersen, D-Seattle, “But there are a number of dials within that policy that I think we have members interested in adjusting before it’s complete.”

Op-Ed Redmond Reporter 3/14/2025 Eastside residents battle large unexpected rent increases | Opinion

Also in the Bellevue Reporter, Kirkland Reporter, Redmond Reporter, Issaquah Reporter, Bothell-Kenmore Reporter, 

Solving our housing crisis requires the engagement of the private marketplace. A bill (HB 1217) before our state legislature this session would limit rent increases to no more than 7% on existing tenants, while allowing landlords to set rent at whatever they want in-between vacancies. This rent stabilization policy enjoys huge public support according to a recent opinion survey by EMC Research. It’s unfortunate that we need to legislate guardrails like capping rent increases, but we can no longer ignore the harmful practices of too many landlords.

News Article Washington State Standard 3/14/2025 Fate of bill to cap rent increases now rests on fine-tuning in Washington Senate

Also in Yahoo News, MLT News, The Columbian

Amendments in the House to remove restrictions on move-in fees and late fees will help the bill’s prospects in the Senate, Pedersen said, predicting there will ultimately be enough support to pass it.

Pedersen suggested other changes that could help satisfy members who are now skeptical. These could include adjusting the 7% level of the cap or lengthening an exemption period from the cap for new construction that is now set at 12 years.

News Article Real Change 3/14/2025 Washington Legislature advances bill to cap rent increases

Longtime Spokane resident Tina Hammond first purchased her mobile home in 2019. Retired and on disability, Hammond chose mobile homeownership for its affordability.

Initially, Hammond’s rent was bumped  up with a few small hikes. But, according to her, in 2024, she and other residents of her mobile home community were hit with a 12% rent increase, a substantial amount for retired tenants on a limited income.

For Hammond, the increase stretched her income to its limit and, to make up the difference, she was forced to temporarily stop taking her medication. Since resuming her medication, Hammond said she’s been making up for the rent increase by cutting back on utility expenses.

News Article Cascade PBS 3/14/2025 Dead or alive: Which bills have a chance this legislative session?

The biggest win for housing advocates so far this session was the passage of House Bill 1217, which would cap yearly increases at 7% of a tenant’s rent and limit move-in and late fees. The bill passed 53-42 in the House, which passed a similar proposal last year. It could still face challenges passing through the Senate.

News Article KUOW 3/14/2025 Rent cap, parents rights survive key cutoff deadline in WA Legislature

Also in Northwest News Network

Among the housing bills that are still alive is House Bill 1217, which would cap annual rent increases. Though the original version of this year’s bill covered a lot of ground for renters, Democrats scaled the bill back before it passed the House with a 7% cap on annual rent hikes intact.

But the proposal needs additional changes to win over more Democratic senators, who now have the bill in their hands, said Senate Majority Leader Jaime Pedersen (D-Seattle).

News Article Washington State Standard 3/13/2025 The bills that are dead and still alive in the Washington Legislature

House Bill 1217 cleared the House on Monday with no Republican support. The proposal would cap rent hikes at 7% in any 12-month period for residential tenants, and prohibit increases of any amount in the first year of tenancy, with some exceptions.

News Article The Orcasonian 3/13/2025 Rent stabilization passes House; Senate hearing coming up  – from the office of Rep Alex Ramel

The urgency for rent stabilization in Washington State cannot be overstated. Skyrocketing rents continue to inflict a devastating impact on our communities, forcing many to make impossible choices between essential needs like food, healthcare, and maintaining stable housing. You’ve been generous in sharing countless heart-wrenching stories with me about your experiences with rent increases. We were able to share parts of some of these stories during the debate on the House floor this week.  

News Article The Urbanist 3/13/2025 Washington House Approves Bill Capping Annual Rent Hikes at 7%

Many tenants in Washington would be able to breathe a little easier, knowing extreme increases in their monthly rent are off the table, if a bill approved by the state House of Representatives this week is able to make it across the finish line. House Bill 1217 would cap annual rent increases at 7%, and extend the statewide minimum notice requirement for rent increases of any size from 60 to 90 days, giving renters more stability than they’re currently guaranteed under state law.

News Article KIRO 3/13/2025 VIDEO: Rent hike cap bill clears house

HB 1217 would limit landlords from raising rent and fees by more than 7% in any one year. It would also require landlords to give 90 days notice before any changes. There are some exceptions, the bill would not affect new buildings, nonprofits, or if the owner lives in one of the units.

News Article Puget Sound Business Journal 3/12/2025 Washington state House passes rent control bill

All eyes are now on the Senate, where similar legislation died in committee last year.

News Article KXLY 3/12/2025  Rent cap bill moving on

Supporters of this bill say it would help keep families in their homes.

“Right now, tenants are afraid that extreme rent increases can cause them to have to move out of their home and lose that stability.” -Rep Alex Ramel

News Article KREM 3/12/2025  Washington State House passes rent control bill with 54-42 vote

“We know that the astronomic rent increases that we’ve had, particularly in Spokane, have literally priced people out of the homes that they’ve been in for a long time,” said Rep. Natasha Hill, D-Spokane. “This was a really easy yes.”

News Article KOMO News 3/12/2025 Bill capping annual rent increases at 7% passes Washington state House

Video

“It would give people the chance to plan for any rent increases and that in itself would give feeling of stability,” Elizabeth Archambault, a senior citizen who rents a studio apartment in a low income building in Seattle’s Eastlake neighborhood.

Retired and on a fixed income, she said she’s all for rent control, not just for herself, but for everyone.

News Article The Olympian 3/11/2025 Bill capping annual rent increases at 7% clears WA House: ‘We must give people stability’

House Bill 1217, sponsored by Democratic state Rep. Nicole Macri of Seattle, cleared the chamber 53-42, with another three members excused. Five Democrats broke with their caucus colleagues by voting against the bill; no Republican voted in favor of the legislation. The five dissenting Democrats were state Reps. Dan Bronoske of Lakewood, Mari Leavitt of University Place, Adison Richards of Gig Harbor, Sharon Tomiko Santos of Seattle and Amy Walen of Kirkland.

Read more at: https://www.theolympian.com/news/politics-government/article301867269.html#storylink=cpy

News Article MyEdmonds News 3/12/2025 Here is a snapshot of legislation that addresses housing and homelessness in WA state

HB 1217 would place a 7% cap on annual rent and fee increases. It gives tenants different types of protections when it comes to lease terminations, move-in fees, security deposits and late fees. 

HB 1217 would require Commerce to create a virtual landlord resource center and to contract with a third party that can do a social vulnerability assessment on the impacts rent stabilization may have.  

Those supporting HB 1217 say it would prevent “excessive rent increases” and let landlords raise the rent each year to invest in their property and make a profit, according to a bill report.

News Article Washington Observer 3/11/2025 House passes renter protections (again)

The House GOP was ready and waiting with a barrage of amendments intended to kill the bill on the floor. The chamber’s Democratic leadership deemed the vast majority of those tweaks out of order and debated just a smattering of them before the final vote amid the rush of mid-week cutoff.

If this all seems like a major case of déjà vu, that’s because it is. The House passed a bill along the same idea last session with flying colors. We went deep into the weeds last session on how the idea died in the Senate—in short, the moderate Democrats weren’t in favor of rent stabilization. This time around, the chamber looks like a stacked deck of progressives in rent control’s favor.

News Article The Seattle Times 3/10/2025 House approves 7% cap on yearly rent increases, with key exceptions

Also in the Wenatchee World

During the floor debate, Rep. Julia Reed, D-Seattle, spoke in favor of the proposal. Even though she is a landlord herself, she believes the legislation will work to help renters facing rising rent. She said she thinks the legislation is a balanced approach to managing affordability in the state. 

Although the state has done a lot to increase housing supply, Reed said, she doesn’t believe enough has been done to “help the thousands upon thousands of renters in our state who are just asking for a little regulation and predictability.”

“As a landlord, I’m also asking for that,” Reed added.

News Article The Spokesman-Review 3/10/2025 Washington House of Representatives passes 7% cap on rent increases

“This policy is a lifeline, but it’s also a balanced approach,” Rep. Nicole Macri, D-Seattle, said on the House floor. “It gives our landlords predictability.”

Macri said while there wasn’t a single proposal that would solve Washington’s housing shortage, the bill would provide renters stability.

News Article Washington State Standard 3/10/2025 Rent increase cap approved by Washington House

Also in Yahoo News, Everett Post, OPB. Planetizen, OregonLive

Supporters argue that stabilizing rents will provide people with predictability in their expenses to help them stay in their housing and avoid homelessness. They called it a modest and balanced approach to help renters as the supply of affordable housing grows.

“It is a really strong policy,” said Rep. Nicole Macri, D-Seattle, who led negotiations with Republicans on the version that reached the floor. “Keeping the rent increase limit at seven percent will be a huge impact for renters across the state.”

News Article Cascade PBS 3/10/2025 Washington House passes ‘rent stabilization’ bill, moves to Senate

Democrats argued that the state has made strides in increasing the housing supply in recent years with policies to allow for more density and historic funding for new housing construction. 

“We’re doing some great work, but we have to make sure that our renters have protections,” Rep. Strom Peterson, D-Edmonds, said. “The housing crisis they are facing is trying to get rent payments in every single month.”

Op-Ed The Spokesman-Review 3/9/2025 Latrice Williams: Rapidly rising rents increase housing instability for all

The harm done when landlords levy excessive rent hikes on their tenants is preventable and unnecessary. I hope our legislators don’t let another year go by without acting on rent stabilization to provide the stability and predictability all renters and manufactured homeowners deserve. Failing to stop rent gouging will reverse any progress we are making toward racial equity in housing.

Letter to the Editor The Spokesman-Review 3/7/2025 Rent stabilization

I am supportive of policies to increase Washington state’s housing supply, but supply it is a separate issue from rent stabilization, as suggested in the article. Voters should be looking at encouraging new construction and remodels, as well as stabilizing rents, which caps how much a rent can be increased annually but still allows a landlord to increase rent by how much they want between renters. Some legislators use rent control and rent stabilization interchangeably, but control would freeze rents, even for a new move-in tenant, like many people experienced during COVID.

Op-Ed The Urbanist 3/6/2025 Op-Ed: Why Housing Supply Advocates Should Support Rent Stabilization

In recent years, the legislature has made nationally celebrated strides on the supply front. The legislature has also been prioritizing funding for the State Housing Trust Fund to subsidize affordable homes, with a record $400 million contribution in 2023. 

Now it’s time for the legislature to catch up on the third leg of the tool, stability, by passing House Bill 1217 for rent stabilization. If you, like me, are someone who mostly focuses on the need to build more homes, this is an important moment to also show up in support of more stability for tenants.

News Article The Stranger 3/6/2025 After Prop 1A’s Victory, Seattle Leaders Should Think Twice Before Doing Landlords’ Dirty Work

And unlike many U.S. cities and several states, Washington doesn’t (yet) have rent stabilization or control – and it prohibits local jurisdictions from regulating rents. Therefore, renters and their advocates have focused on passing other laws to provide stability and prevent landlords from taking advantage of vulnerable tenants. And they’ve had many successes – until now.

News Article The Center Square 3/6/2025 WATCH: Dems may not have the votes to pass bill capping rent in Washington state

Also in the Everett Post, AOL, Brushwood Media Network

Republicans are united in opposition to the bill, and despite majority party Democrats securing its passage out of the House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 10, overall support for the bill may be waning.

“I hear that there are a number of Democratic senators that realize this is bad policy, and they realize this will have a negative effect on the housing and rental market in our state,” Sen. Chris Gildon, R-Puyallup, told The Center Square in a Tuesday interview.

Op-Ed Steelhead Alliance 3/4/2025 Washington lawmakers push statewide rent control—because making the housing crisis worse is their specialty

If lawmakers actually cared about affordable housing, they’d focus on cutting regulations, reducing permitting delays, and encouraging more construction instead of punishing landlords for the state’s failures.

 

News Article KOMO News 3/4/2025 Will rent control bill help or hurt housing costs in Washington State?

HB 1217 also seeks to limit move-in fees, security deposits, and late fees. It has 35 sponsors in the House, including Rep. Strom Peterson, (D) Snohomish County.

“We’re seeing rent increases around the state, still happening, and significant rent increases for people that are really struggling,” said Peterson, who chairs the House Housing Committee. “We felt that it was a fair number for landlords. If you increase your rent by 7% every year, you double your rent within 10 years.”

Letter to the Editor The Spokesman-Review 3/2/2025 Column misses reason for rent control

HB 1217 would establish a rent cap, making it so landlords cannot raise rent more than 7% in a year. This simple change would protect tenants from rent gouging, which can destabilize communities, displace families and workers, make it impossible for renter households to save to purchase a home, and contribute to homelessness.

Washingtonians work hard to contribute to our state’s economy and strengthen our communities. We deserve predictable housing. Which is why I support HB 1217 and SB 5222 and why I hope legislators will pass it this year.

 

Op-Ed The Chronicle 2/28/2025 Peter Abbarno: Rising costs — How Olympia is shifting its responsibility

Also published in Nisqually Valley News

Meanwhile, House Bill 1217, promoted as “rent stabilization,” is just another name for rent control. Rent control has failed everywhere it’s been tried because it discourages new construction, shrinks the supply of rental housing, and ultimately makes rents even higher. The real solution is to increase the housing supply, not implement policies proven to worsen the problem.

Letter to the Editor The Spokesman-Review 2/28/2025 HB 1217 will help housing crisis

I’m a single parent of four children, one with a disability. I’m trying hard to do the right thing, but each rent hike makes it harder for me to stay in my home and makes tight finances trickier to manage.

HB 1217, a “rent stabilization” bill, is about establishing stability and predictability in the tenant-landlord relationship. For many tenants, especially those on low or fixed incomes, sudden rent hikes are a leading reason that they could face housing insecurity.

– KIRO 7 2/27/2025 WA bill putting limits on rent increases advances in state Senate

“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.

– Op-Ed The Olympian 2/26/2025 How excessive rent increases harm the physical and mental health of Washingtonians

Unfortunately, it has become common practice for some landlords to levy unpredictable, excessive rent increases on tenants. According to a recent survey of Washingtonians, nearly half say they have had to move out of a rental home because the rent got too high.

– Op-Ed Clark County Today 2/25/2025 Council for the Homeless CEO Sesany Fennie Jones shares her thoughts on the role rent stabilization can have on homelessness

Each one of us is facing rising costs and economic uncertainties. Renters will have one less uncertainty if they have stability and predictability with their rent and our entire community will benefit. Employers will not lose workers who moved because of excessive rent increases. Students will stay in their schools with friends. Neighbors can build lasting relationships. Fewer households will experience homelessness. Enacting rent stabilization will help ensure everyone has a stable place to call home and our community thrives.

– The Seattle Times 2/24/2025 WA lawmakers clash on parental rights, make progress on housing

Also in The Columbian

Lawmakers are hoping to make progress on some of Washington’s housing affordability woes. Democrats are once again pushing for statewide rent stabilization in the form of a House bill but Republicans are resistant and it’s not clear if there’s a path forward.

– 97.3 FM 2/21/2025 Video: Rent Control, Tenant Protections, and Potential Market Impact

Also covered in MyNorthwest

“Renters out there who are opposing this bill, come at me. Because right now it seems a lot like the haves, the have-nots. The us, the them.”

– Cascade PBS 2/20/2025 20+ WA state bills to keep an eye on

This could be a slam dunk for legislators — a Cascade PBS poll showed 68% of Washington voters want rent stabilization. The House Bill has passed its first committee and been referred to the Rules Committee for review. The Senate Bill was just discussed in executive session in the Senate Committee on Housing. 

– Cascade PBS 2/20/2025 Poll: Majority of WA voters support bill limiting rent increases

When asked generally about a bill to limit “excessive rent increases or excessive move-in and late fees,” 52% of poll respondents said they strongly support the idea and 20% said they somewhat support it. That’s compared to 18% who strongly oppose the idea and 9% who somewhat oppose it.  

According to EMC, the idea drew bipartisan support with majority favor by Republican and Independent respondents and 87% support from Democratic respondents. 

– Letter to the Editor The Columbian 2/20/2025 Letter: Support rent stabilization

Washington renters need relief. That’s why our Legislature should swiftly pass HB 1217 and SB 5222.

These bills are “rent stabilization” bills that would set guidelines for how rapidly a landlord can raise rent on a tenant. If passed, they would erect a safeguard for tenants against unpredictable rent hikes, allowing us to better plan our finances and maintain stability.

My partner and father to our two young children, Ryan Tabor, passed away unexpectedly last year. Shortly after, my 10-year-old, 2-year-old and I had to move because I could no longer afford our rent. I know firsthand how instability and high rents put families in difficult situations.

Keeping tenants in homes is vital for community cohesion and safety. By prioritizing rent stabilization, we can provide low-income families with the security they deserve and produce a healthier and more stable society.

Let’s advocate for policies that protect our most vulnerable residents and promote a more just housing market. I hope Sen. Annette Cleveland, Rep. Monica Stonier and Rep. Sharon Wylie will help HB 1217 and SB 5222 continue to move through the Legislature.

– The Spokesman-Review 2/20/2025 Republican legislators propose collection of bills to build more housing amid ‘urgent affordability crisis’

Republicans also offered an alternative to a Democratic proposal to cap annual rent increases at 7% and require six months’ notice for rent increases of 3% or more. The proposal, Democratic leaders have said, would be coupled with other legislation to increase the housing supply.

That proposal, though, has failed to gain support among Republican lawmakers.

“As we heard in committee testimony, areas that implemented rent control policies end up with fewer available rental properties, which is the opposite of what we need to solve the housing crisis in Washington,” Goehner said in a statement. “It discourages developers from building new rental units and it motivates landlords to convert rental units into condominiums or other types of housing that are not subject to rent control.”

– MyNorthwest 2/19/2025 Washington senate moves rent cap bill forward, but not without a fight

Just before Senate Housing Committee took its vote, Senator Yasmin Trudeau (D-Tacoma) , who introduced the bill, made it personal, explaining, “I mentioned why I brought the bill in the first place based on my own personal experiences and the experiences of members of my family that are in a much more vulnerable situation than me.”

She emphasized the need to strike a balance, saying, “We just want to find a balanced approach, where we can bring housing online, but we can ensure that people stay in their homes and are stabilized so they don’t drop off as we continue to address our housing crisis.”

– The Center Square 2/19/2025 Op-Ed: Rent control’s record of ruin

Also in AOL, TNOnline, MyHerald/Review, The Spokesman-Review, The Black Chronicle, NewsBreak, Tacoma News Tribune

While rent control may be new for Washington, price controls are an ancient mechanism used by brutal, totalitarian empires leading to the same patterns of failure. Producers respond to artificial suppression of prices by slowing, stopping, or shifting production to non-regulated activities or goods, or resorting to black market activity.  Instead of solving shortages, price controls exacerbate them, dragging entire economies into decline.

– The Center Square 2/19/2025 Bill to cap rent increases passes out of WA Senate Housing Committee

Also in AOL, Brushwood Media Network, Everett Post

The Senate Housing Committee on Wednesday gave Senate Bill 5222 a do-pass recommendation during executive session. SB 5222 would cap annual rent and fee increases at 7%, enhance talent protections, and establish new notice requirements for landlords under Washington’s landlord-tenant laws.

Companion legislation, Second Substitute House Bill 1217, successfully moved out of the House Appropriations Committee with a do pass recommendation on Feb. 10.

– Washington State Standard 2/19/2025 Rent cap bill moves ahead in WA Senate

Also in The Spokesman-Review, The Columbian, The Chronicle

“We can both build more housing and stabilize tenants today,” Sen. Emily Alvarado, D-Seattle, said. “This bill simply provides some common sense guardrails that say landlords can’t raise the rent to an excessive level.”

– KOZI Newsroom 2/19/2025 Housing, Public Safety ideas proposed by 12th District State Legislators

Democrats have offered rent control again this year as a means of keeping rents and the rate of evictions down. Republicans do not support rent control as it’s shown to create unintended consequences. “As we heard in committee testimony, areas that implemented rent control policies end up with fewer available rental properties, which is the opposite of what we need to solve the housing crisis in Washington” said Goehner. “It discourages developers from building new rental units and it motivates landlords to convert rental units into condominiums or other types of housing that are not subject to rent control.”

– Op-Ed Tacoma News Tribune 2/19/2025 Tacoma’s housing crisis demands solutions: Exploring social housing as a key strategy

Last week, Seattle voters overwhelmingly voted to fund their social housing developer with an “excessive income payroll tax” on companies paying employees over $1 million. This will significantly expand Seattle’s affordable housing supply and adds to the rising wave of long-overdue, popular policies confronting the root causes of the housing crisis. Tacoma’s groundbreaking Landlord Fairness Code, municipal wins throughout the West Coast, and the push for statewide rent stabilization in Washington all underscore growing appetites for bold solutions.

– Washington State Standard 2/18/2025 How Republicans want to fix WA’s affordable housing shortage

Also published in the Sequim Gazette

Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, said Democrats’ push to pass a “very harmful” rent cap bill without doing anything to increase the supply of homes is a “bad sign for the future of housing in Washington.” He and other critics of the plan say it will drive real estate developers out of the state, worsening the shortage of homes. 

– KXL 101 2/18/2025 Senate Republicans Introduce 18 Bills To Address WA Housing Shortage

Also in Freedom970

Washington Democrats are attempting to revive a rent control bill again this year as a means of keeping rents and the rate of evictions down.  However, Goehner insisted Republicans do not support rent control due to what he believes are unintended consequences. “As we heard in committee testimony, areas that implemented rent control policies end up with fewer available rental properties, which is the opposite of what we need to solve the housing crisis in Washington.” said Goehner. “It discourages developers from building new rental units and it motivates landlords to convert rental units into condominiums or other types of housing that are not subject to rent control.”

That view is rejected by the policy and advocacy director for the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, Michele Thomas.  Her group recently polled Washington residents about the rent control law.  That poll showed overwhelming support for rent control and other tenant protections.

– The Sightline Institute 2/14/2025 Washington Housing Bills to Watch in 2025

Companion bills HB 1217 and SB 5222 would cap annual rent increases at seven percent. 

– KXL 101 2/12/2025 New Poll Bolsters Washington Rent Control Legislative Effort

The poll found there is strong initial support for a rent stabilization bill, including super-majority support among non-renters and Republicans. “Support for rent stabilization cuts across traditional partisan, homeownership, and generational divides, and is strong in all regions of the state,” said Michele Thomas with the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance.

– The Chronicle 2/9/2025 Washington state bill to protect seniors’ roommate options considered in Olympia

Also in MSN

Washington has no limit to how much rent can be increased, according to WashingtonLawHelp.org, which means that a manufactured home park owner can charge pretty much whatever it wants to, as long as it gives notice to the tenants. That may be difficult enough for, say, apartment dwellers, but owners of manufactured homes don’t have the option of just packing their furniture and moving elsewhere. According to moving.com, it can cost as much as $14,000 to move a manufactured home from one property to another, assuming the home is even in movable condition.

– Letter to the Editor The Everett Herald 2/10/2025 Rent stabilization can keep more from losing homes

I’m a University of Washington graduate with an established career, and I’ve been working full time in housing services since I graduated in 2019. In 2023, when my landlord hiked my rent near the end of my lease, I became homeless for 45 days.

At that time, I was running a rapid rehousing program, literally housing people off the street. I housed the homeless by day and returned to my own homelessness at night.

– The Columbia 2/8/2025 ‘It never seems to be enough’: Clark County residents earning a bit over minimum wage struggle to pay bills, stave off homelessness

With the rising cost of living, even those working jobs that pay $20 an hour have trouble covering their bills, more so if they have children. Yet, they make too much to receive government assistance. For example, two parents working full time at $20 an hour would most likely not be eligible for food stamps to help feed their child, according to Washington’s income restrictions.

– KNKX 2/8/2025 WA lawmakers are considering a law that would cap rent cost

When it comes to housing, just about everyone in Washington state agrees: the rent is too high. That’s about where the agreement ends.

An effort to limit rent increases died last legislative session. But the debate is now roaring back to life at the capitol.

– OPB 2/8/2025 Oregon and Washington are preparing for fights over rent increases in manufactured home parks

A similar fight is brewing in Olympia, where lawmakers recently introduced House Bill 1217. Termed a rent stabilization bill, the proposal would cap rent increases for all types of housing at 7% per year to provide “Washington renters with predictability, transparency, and the same protections afforded to other consumers.” It, too, specifically mentions manufactured homes.

– KUOW 2/8/2025 ‘We can afford a tent’: Tenants pray for relief as housing industry pushes back on rent limits

Also in KNKX

Debate in the Legislature about how to tackle the problem has been ongoing for years. In 2024, a bill stalled that would have put limits on how much landlords can raise rent. This year, that debate is roaring back to life at the capitol in Olympia, as lawmakers once again consider restricting rent increases.

A bill in the House of Representatives, HB 1217, would put an annual cap of 7% on rent hikes. The most a landlord could raise rent for a tenant living in a unit priced at $2,000 a month, would be about $140 more per month.

– Lynnwood Times 2/6/2025 Letter-to-Editor: WA Legislature please pass Rent Stabilization

“I think you’re penalizing sellers and not allowing sellers to sell for as much as possible,” he explained. “This bill and a rent-control bill moving ahead this session will make things worse than they are right now.”

The rent-control bill Eyman referred to is House Bill 1217, also sponsored by Alvarado, which received a public hearing in the House Appropriations Committee on Monday after passing out of the House Housing Committee. HB 1217 would cap rent increases at 7% of tenants’ current rent.

– The Chronicle 2/6/2025 Backers, critics debate Washington state bill to stop major investors from buying up single-family homes

“I think you’re penalizing sellers and not allowing sellers to sell for as much as possible,” he explained. “This bill and a rent-control bill moving ahead this session will make things worse than they are right now.”

The rent-control bill Eyman referred to is House Bill 1217, also sponsored by Alvarado, which received a public hearing in the House Appropriations Committee on Monday after passing out of the House Housing Committee. HB 1217 would cap rent increases at 7% of tenants’ current rent.

– The Columbia Basin Herald 2/6/2025 Rental affordability debate ramps up in Olympia

“No bill is a silver bullet,” Sen. Emily Alverado [sic], D-West Seattle said. “But this bill is the single most cost-effective way that we can immediately stop the devastating impacts of excessive rent increases on renters and manufactured homeowners in Washington. The legislation is a compromise.”  

If enacted, HB 1217 would prohibit any rent and fee increases at 7% within the first 12 months of residency and during any 12-month period thereafter. It would provide additional protections by requiring landlords to notify tenants annually of any price increase and limit move-in, security deposit and late fees. Furthermore, it would allow the attorney general to enforce violations if they occurred.  

– Public News Service 2/6/2025 WA rent stabilization bills have huge public support

HB 1217/SB 5222 is a “rent stabilization” bill. This bill sets standards for the amount that a landlord can raise rent on a tenant, protecting tenants from predatory fees and rent gouging. If passed, this bill will help millions of renter households stay in their homes and provide stability and predictability for renters and landlords alike.

This bill won’t solve all the problems with our housing crisis, but it’s a crucial step in the right direction that will bring relief to renters all across the state.

– Shoreline Area News 2/5/2025 Letter to the Editor: Rent Stabilization bill will help renters stay in their homes

HB 1217/SB 5222 is a “rent stabilization” bill. This bill sets standards for the amount that a landlord can raise rent on a tenant, protecting tenants from predatory fees and rent gouging. If passed, this bill will help millions of renter households stay in their homes and provide stability and predictability for renters and landlords alike.

This bill won’t solve all the problems with our housing crisis, but it’s a crucial step in the right direction that will bring relief to renters all across the state.

– Op-Ed The Seattle Times 2/3/2025 Sensible WA tenancy laws will help housing stability

More than half of Seattle residents are renters, and the growing dysfunction in Seattle’s affordable housing market offers cautionary insights into the meaning of housing stability. Last summer, the city distributed $14 million in emergency funding to affordable housing providers on the brink of collapse. If there is any picture painted by the applications for funding, it is one of housing instability.

– Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce 2/3/2025 Rent Control Moves Forward Quickly + What’s Happening with the State Budget | Legislative Report

Senate Bill 5222 seeks to cap annual rent and fee increases at 7%, enhance tenant protections, and establish new notice requirements for landlords under Washington’s landlord-tenant laws. House Bill 1217, which mirrors these objectives, was scheduled for a public hearing in the House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 3. Both bills aim to address housing affordability and stability through rent stabilization measures.

– The Urbanist 1/31/2025 Rolling Out The Urbanist 2025’s Advocacy Agenda and Early Events

House Bill 1217 would cap annual rent increases at 7% and prohibit landlords from raising rent by any amount in the first year of tenancy. “The bill exempts newly constructed apartments for their first 10 years, existing buildings that are less than 11 years old, public housing, and small rental arrangements, such as a homeowner who only rents out their accessory dwelling unit,” Packer wrote of the proposal. “The proposal also caps all move-in fees and/or security deposits at the equivalent of one month’s rent, and limits fees on late rent to 1.5% of monthly rent, and requires six month’s notice on all rent increases over 3%.” Read Packer’s full article for more.

– TVW 1/30/2025 The Impact – The Rent Increase Regulation Debate

A look at the debate over rent stabilization and an overview of legislation that would limit rent increases to 7% per year. Segment includes a panel discussion with bill supporter and rental property investor Kraig Peck and bill opponent Chester Baldwin representing the Rental Housing Association of Washington.

– KOMO News 1/30/2025 Downtown Seattle rents increase as Amazon workers return to office

The uptick in rent prices happened before Amazon’s January mandate to return to work five days a week. Redfin said it’s too early to tell if Amazon’s policy is affecting rents and rental demand, especially because most employees already live within commuting distance of their office.

– The Daily Evergreen 1/30/2025 Housing stability laws introduced in Washington House

While more recent forms of rent stabilization have not come in the form of concrete price ceilings, these kinds of legislation can still hurt competitive markets like housing due to the distortion of prices, Clarke said.

“[If] the market clearing rent is $1,500, but you’re only allowed to increase it so much, so you can only bring it up to $1,100. You can’t bring it up to the full [amount], but your landlord will,” he said. “Landlords want profits [and] want to maximize their return. Instead of offering it for rent, you can sell it at the market price, so they do that….the supply of rentals declines even when you institute these softer kinds of rent control policies. If you have fewer rentals available, the price of rent is going to go up.”

– Kitsap Sun 1/30/2025 Rent stabilization promotes a health community

Also in Yahoo News

“I have witnessed firsthand how these financial pressures affect people’s lives. Each rent increase poses a direct threat to their housing security, pushing many to homelessness. Rent stabilization is the only policy solution that will work quickly enough to help renters remain housed and secure today. I urge Sen. Drew Hansen, Rep. Greg Nance, and Rep. Tarra Simmons to support this crucial bill and advocate for its passage through the legislature. We can, and should, create a more equitable housing landscape that prioritizes the health and stability of our communities.”

– The Center Square 1/30/2025 Proposed bill could put WAs valet trash collection companies out of business

Also in the Everett Post

Michelle Thomas with the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance testified in support of the bill.

“It’s almost impossible for a renter to negotiate their own lease terms,” she said. “These non-disclosure agreements are prohibiting them from finding out if their rent increases are on par with other tenants.”

She said no tenant should be forced to pay for a service that wasn’t in their original lease agreement.

– The Columbian 1/30/2025 Letter: Support rent stabilization bills

Housing policy experts and recent studies have shown little evidence that limiting rent increases leads to less housing construction. And both of these bills would only apply to rental properties that are more than 10 years old. If rent control discourages new housing construction, as critics claim, then why are developers continuing to build so many new units when so many renters can barely afford the ones they have?

We cannot expect to reduce homelessness in our community if renters like me continue to face unaffordable annual rent increases.

– King 5 1/25/2025 In Session: Guns, police and rent cap bills highlight week two in Olympia

Bills to limit rent increases to 7% per year both had public hearings in the session’s opening weeks. The House version passed out of committee. Senators heard testimony from renters, landlords and developers Wednesday.

Supporters said rising housing costs are contributing to an increase in the homeless population. Critics say the cap will discourage developers from building new homes and apartments in Washington state.

– Everett Herald 1/25/2025 Editorial: Rental cap balances needs of tenants, landlords

If you are among the more than 1 million renters in Washington state you’re potentially as few as 60 days from a rent increase — of any amount the landlord determines — under state law.

There currently is no cap on rent increases; the only requirement is that renters be provided at least 60 days notice.

– KUOW 1/24/2025 WA lawmakers again consider cap on rent increases

Washington lawmakers are once again considering legislation to cap rent increases across the state. This year’s iteration would limit rent hikes to 7 percent over a 12 month period – with exemptions like new construction. 

A similar bill was introduced last year, it died in committee in the senate. Since then, a couple of those “no” votes have left office. And supporters say that this year is the time to finally pass a rent increase cap into law. But Republicans and trade groups argue that this legislation would deter construction and make the housing shortage worse.

– The Spokesman-Review 1/22/2025 Rent stabilization bill moves through first committee as Senate begins consideration

“I think we’re very much looking forward to seeing the rent stabilization bill and to working with the house on a whole series of measures to increase housing supply,” Senate Majority Leader Jaime Pedersen, D-Seattle, said Tuesday.

The Senate Housing Committee held its first hearing on the legislation Wednesday, when sponsor Sen. Yasmin Trudeau, D-Tacoma, said the bill “will make a difference for the countless Washingtonians grappling with the harsh realities of our housing crisis.”

“And I don’t believe they deserve to wait 20, 30 years, for the solutions to reach them,” Trudeau said, referring to prior legislation to increase the housing supply in the state.

– My Bellingham Now 1/23/2025 Bill to cap rent increases for Washington tenants moves past first stage

HB 1217 passed out of the House Housing Committee on Monday. The bill would limit rent and fee increases to 7% during any 12-month period.

It would also prohibit rent and fee increases during the first 12 months of a tenancy.

The Bellingham City Council passed an ordinance in 2023 requiring landlords to give at least fourth months’ notice before increasing rent.

But state law currently prohibits the city from regulating rent levels itself.

The bill now heads to the House Appropriations Committee, while its companion bill in the Senate had a public hearing on Wednesday afternoon.

– KING 5 1/22/2025 New bill seeks to protect Washington renters from steep hikes

Also in MSN

Under the bill, if a landlord increases rent more than 7%, the tenant could terminate the lease at any time with 20-30 days written notice, depending on the property. Tenants would be responsible for pro rated rent until they vacate, but landlords couldn’t charge fines or fees for ending the lease.

Landlords who violate the law would also be liable for tenant damages, such as excess rent, fees and other costs, under the Consumer Protection Act.

– The Columbian 1/21/2025 In Our View: Rent control won’t solve state’s housing crisis

Also in Union-Bulletin

It did not take long for this year’s Legislature to once again embrace ideology at the expense of common sense.

Multiple studies indicate that rent control would reduce construction and tighten the housing market, offsetting the desired goal of making housing more affordable. That, however, did not prevent the House Housing Committee this week from approving a bill that would limit the rent and fee increases that landlords may impose.

– KREM 1/22/2025 Washington legislators push to control rent raises

We’re only in the first few days of Washington’s legislative session,but already lawmakers are showing that housing is going to be a priority quickly pushing a rent stabilization bill through a housing committee reported out of committee.

– Washington State Journal 1/21/2025 Rent stabilization met with push back by property owners

Also in the Wenatchee World, Ellensburg Daily Record, NCW LIfe, Longview News Journal, Sequim Gazette, Goldendale Sentinel, Newsbreak

“We’ve seen an increase in homelessness,” Alvarado said. “More people are being pushed out of their homes, so inaction is not an option. We have to make sure that people have some protections on the single greatest cost in their household budget, which is housing.”

Duana Ricks-Johnson, a Colville tribal member, said she was forced to move again for the fifth time in four years due to a rent increase.

“The discrimination in housing stability like ours will continue without rent stabilization to keep landlords and property management from raising rents to evict people of color, like my already victimized family, “Ricks-Johnson said. “Please help stop taking my ability as a parent to provide a basic need – housing stability.”

– The Seattle Times 1/20/2025 Bill to cap WA rent increases passes first House hurdle

Also in The Columbian

In closing statements before the final vote Monday, Rep. Andrew Barkis, R-Olympia, told committee members that while lawmakers have seen people suffering from excessive rent increases, he does not believe rent caps will solve the housing crisis. The proposal, he said, would make it worse. Critics have argued rent caps would discourage people from being landlords and hurt their ability to recoup costs.

“Throughout this we keep hearing about fairness, but in the entirety of this bill, in order to have fairness, you have to have parity,” Barkis said. “In order to do that, you have to recognize both sides of the equation. I’ve said it before, and you cannot have tenants without housing providers. This bill is one-sided, to say the least.”

– Washington State Standard 1/20/2025 Rent cap proposal clears first hurdle in WA House

Also in Big Country News

He called the proposal “a giant step in the wrong direction.”  

Rep. Andrew Barkis, R-Olympia, said lawmakers need to focus on increasing the supply of housing and not on controlling the price of rent. 

“This will make the problem worse,” Barkis said. “This is not the answer to solve this problem.”

Housing Committee Chair Strom Peterson, D-Edmonds, rejected the idea that this bill would hurt housing supply in Washington. He said the Legislature has passed significant legislation to increase the amount of housing in recent years, and more will be done this year. 

“We know that building this supply will take time,” Peterson said. “Right now, people are suffering. This is something we can do today.”

– KXLY 1/20/2025 Rent stabilization bill passes WA House Committee

It was a very close vote in fact it was 9-8. A house committee moved HB 1217 forward with a “do pass” recommendation. This specific piece of legislation has been referred to as a “hot button issue.”

– Peninsula Daily News 1/18/2025 LETTER: Stabilize rent

I’m a resident of Sequim, living in a manufactured home community with approximately 210 homes for seniors 55 and older. We all own our homes, but we pay rent on the land underneath our homes.

Most of us live on fixed incomes, and as rents increase every year, many of us cannot or will not be able to afford to live in our homes.

The stress of managing a tight budget without knowing how much our rent will increase in the future is enormous.

– Op-Ed The Chronicle 1/17/2025 John Braun: Rent control isn’t a real answer to the shortage of affordable rentals

For all their talk about the need for affordable housing in our state, our Legislature’s majority Democrats don’t seem to know how to effectively address that need.

The latest example is the renewed push for what Democrats insist on calling “rent stabilization,” which is simply a different name for rent control.

In 2024, the Democrat-controlled House moved a rent-control bill through on a partisan vote, only to see it die in the Senate budget committee near the end of the session. But with the Senate Democrats leaning more to the left following the outcome of the November election, rent-control advocates seem to think 2025 is their year.

– The Spokesman-Review 1/17/2025 Washington state House lawmakers again push cap on rent increases

Also in The Chronicle, Yahoo News

During the hearing, Spokane resident Tina Hammond told the committee that she temporarily stopped taking medicines after she struggled to afford a rent increase of $66 per month, a 12% increase from her prior rent.

Hammond, 64, told legislators that it took three months “to come up with a workable plan” to afford her medications and the increase, and it included turning off her heat at night to conserve energy.

According to Hammond, her struggles to afford a rent increase are not uncommon in her mobile home community for residents 55 or older, Sans Souci West in northwest Spokane, where residents pay monthly rent for a plot to park their unit.

– Axios Seattle 1/17/2025 Washington Legislature weighs limiting rent increases

Also in MSN

What they’re saying: “We need common sense guardrails that are in place to make sure that landlords don’t price gouge, and Washingtonians don’t get hurt,” state Rep. Emily Alvarado (D-Seattle), the lead sponsor of the bill, said during a public hearing on the measure earlier this week.

Alvarado said waiting for more housing units to come online to help curb rent increases doesn’t provide the protection that tenants across Washington need now.

The other side: Groups including the Association of Washington Business and the Washington Realtors testified against the bill, predicting it would discourage investment in new housing and potentially worsen the state’s housing shortage.

“We need supply,” Morgan Irwin, a former GOP state lawmaker who is now a lobbyist for the Association of Washington Business, told members of the House Housing Committee this week.

– 570 KVI 1/16/2025 First major showdown of WA Legislative session: “rent stabilization”

Housing affordability has surged to become as important of an issue to Washington voters in recent years as homelessness. Carlson concludes about Washington’s housing affordability problems and HB 1217, “Olympia (Legislative Democrats) says ‘we know how to do that–simply make housing more affordable by limiting what people can charge for rent’.”

– KIMA 1/14/2025 Washington lawmakers push for rent stabilization to combat housing crisis

A recent survey revealed that 46% of LGBTQ renters experienced a rent increase of over $100 in the past year, with more than 10% facing increases exceeding $500 a month, significantly outpacing rent hikes for renters overall.

“We know that high rent increases destabilize families and communities. We have 105 days this session and the challenges that our neighbors are facing are happening now. We need to help them now, and I’m very excited to be working with reps Alvarado and Senator Trudeau to get this bill passed this session,” said Macri.

– The Post Millennial 1/14/2025 Washington state Dems seek to pass rent control laws in new legislative session

Democrats are likely to try and push the legislation through early in the session so that Alvarado, a fierce proponent of rent control, can vote on it twice. She will begin the session in the state house but may finish the session in the state senate, because she is a top candidate to fill the seat of State Senator Joe Nguyen, who is moving over to head the state’s Commerce Department under incoming Governor Bob Ferguson.

Sen. Yasmin Trudeau (D-Tacoma) is sponsoring companion legislation, Senate Bill 5222, in the state senate and said at the presser, “What I’ve heard at every coffee chat, in every email from constituents across the district, is people cannot keep up with their rent. Housing is a fundamental basic need.”

– KXLY 1/13/2025 How the proposed rent control bill could affect Washington renters

“What this bill does, and this is what we’re worried about, is it takes the excitement around that building and it just pushes it to other states where there’s more economic advantage for builders,” said former state representative, Morgan Irwin. 

A similar bill was introduced last year, but died in the Senate. Supporters of 1217 are hopeful the bill will pass this year and lead to more affordable living options for Washingtonians. 

“Keeping fees reasonable and capped upon leasing the one month’s rent also makes the transition smoother, and the best case scenario is it gives renters stability and protections to create opportunity toward home ownership one day too,” said landlord Tonya Hennen. 

– Washington State Standard 1/13/2025 2025 Washington state legislative session begins

But for many, the day didn’t end until the dinner hour as they went from taking their oath of office to listening to residents and lobbyists testify about the looming budget shortfall and a range of policy issues, like limiting rent increases and the environmental effects of fashion.

– Oregon Public Broadcasting 1/13/2025 3 things to watch as Washington’s 2025 legislative session kicks off

The rent stabilization bill of last year has made its return. The bill, which would cap the annual amount that a landlord can raise their tenants’ rent each year, met its demise in 2024 after passing through the House only to meet a Democratically reinforced wall of opposition in the Senate.

But some Democrats have changed their tune, and combined with election-induced turnover in the Legislature, supporters of the proposal have renewed optimism about its prospects this year. The bill gets its first hearing on Monday afternoon in the House housing committee.

– The Center Square 1/13/2025 Rent control takes center stage on first day of 2025 WA legislative session

Also published in The Columbia Basin Herald, The Washington Examiner, and in The Everett Post

“It caps rent increases at 7% annually, but it lets landlords set the rent however they like at the start of the tenancy,” Alvarado explained at a Friday morning press conference announcing the legislation.

The bill was scheduled for a hearing in the House Housing Committee just hours after lawmakers were sworn in. Hundreds of people opposed to the measure gathered in the capitol rotunda wearing bright red shirts that read, “No CAP, say no to rent control.”

– KIRO 1/13/2025 Capping the chaos: State lawmakers start session by re-introducing rent stabilization bill

However, proponents argue rent stabilization is essential to protect tenants from exorbitant rent hikes and housing instability. Conversely, opponents contend that rent control can deter investment in housing, reduce the quality and quantity of available rental units and exacerbate housing shortages.

Historically, Washington has grappled with rent control legislation. In 1981, the state enacted banned rent control statewide. Despite this prohibition, there have been multiple attempts to introduce rent stabilization measures.

– KING 5 1/13/2025 BAC limit, property taxes and school panic buttons among issues lawmakers will weigh this year

Some Washington lawmakers are taking aim at skyrocketing rents throughout the region – and hoping to limit increases to 7% per year. 

HB 1217, sponsored by Rep. Yasmine Trudeau (D-Tacoma) and Rep Emily Alvarado (D-Seattle) would make it illegal to increase rent in the first year of a tenant’s stay, regardless of the length of the lease term. After the first 12 months, rent increases would be capped at 7% each year unless a landlord can prove they qualify for an exemption. 

– The Urbanist 1/13/2025 Rent Stabilization Tops Washington Democrats’ Housing Agenda for 2025 Session

While real estate industry advocates will almost certainly argue that the proposal will ultimately hurt tenants and discourage the construction of new housing, the supporters of this year’s rent stabilization bill believe they’ve struck the right balance between keeping people in their homes and encouraging development. Strict rent control regimes do not have a great track record and are maligned by most economists, but advocates say criticisms fall flat for rent stabilization, which is more measured and surgical.

– The Seattle Times 1/13/2025 WA lawmakers to consider rent hike caps, housing density

Also published in The Chronicle

One of the most hotly debated ideas from the last legislative session will return to the forefront: statewide limits on rent increases.

Tenants of both traditional rental housing and mobile home parks have called for limits on how much their landlords can raise rent each year, seeking predictability and financial stability.

Among them is 64-year-old Tina Hammond. Her mobile home community in Spokane saw small rent hikes every year before the pandemic. She and her neighbors, who own their homes but rent the land beneath them, regularly received increases of $15 to $20 to their monthly lot rent, Hammond said.

– The Olympian 1/13/2025 Rent increases in WA could get capped at 7% under latest push by Democratic lawmakers

Also in The Tacoma News-Tribune, The Yakima Herald

State Sen. Yasmin Trudeau of Tacoma and state Rep. Emily Alvarado of Seattle are sponsoring legislation that would do just that. A similar push failed last session, but the lawmakers hope that 2025 will be their year. “It is my job and my responsibility to make sure that people have their basic needs, and housing is a fundamental, basic need,” Trudeau told reporters during a Friday press conference. “You cannot expect people to think about opportunity — to have hope — with the ground shaking underneath them.”

– Washington State Standard 1/13/2025 Everything you need to know about Washington’s 2025 legislative session

Also published in AOL and The Spokesman-Review

The biggest topic of conversation so far is how to fill a $12 billion budget hole over the next four years, and what new taxes Democrats might propose as part of the fix. A bill to cap rent increases, debates over school funding, and Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson’s push to hire more police are among a range of other issues that will draw attention in the weeks and months ahead.

– AXIOS Seattle 1/12/2025 5 bills we’re watching in Washington’s Legislature this year

Democratic lawmakers are once again proposing legislation to limit annual rent increases.

This year’s proposal would ban landlords from raising rent prices on existing tenants by more than 7% per year.

Housing built in the last 10 years wouldn’t be subject to those limits.

– FOX 13 Seattle 1/10/2025 Preventing Rent Gouging

According to the WLIHA there is a clear distinction between rent stabilization and rent control. The organization says unlike rent control which freezes rental rates on a unit, rent stabilizations can regulate the relationship between the landlord and the tenant, it can also provide predictability to rent increases that a tenant can expect.

– Yahoo News 1/10/2025 WA democrats try to address rent gouging

As rent skyrockets across Washington, state leaders met in Olympia to discuss a solution.

– The Seattle Times 1/10/2025 Homelessness: ‘We cannot wait for new housing’

We urgently need more shelter space. But we must also address homelessness’ root causes: soaring rent prices, wage stagnation and eroded social safety nets, to name a few. Policies like rent stabilization would protect renters who may face housing instability.

– The Center Square 1/10/2025 Washington Democrats resurrect rent control proposal

Also published in The Columbia Basin Herald

Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, who is also chair of the Washington State Republican Party, texted The Center Square that rent control is a false promise.

“Artificially restricting how much or under what terms houses or apartments can be rented creates scarcity in housing inventory,” Walsh said. “That scarcity drives rents up even higher, and benefits people who already have housing, which is where we are now in Washington.”

– Cascade PBS 1/9/2025 Progressive WA lawmakers reintroduce bill to cap rent increases

On Thursday, state Rep. Emily Alvarado, a Seattle Democrat, prefiled House Bill 1217 — a “rent stabilization” proposal that would prevent landlords from raising rent by more than 7% annually for existing tenants. It would also limit various types of rental fees and require landlords to provide at least 180 days’ notice for rent increases over 3%.

– West Seattle Blog 1/10/2025 With days until State Legislature reconvenes, Rep. – possibly future Sen. – Emily Alvarado talks priorities

Key priorities for the upcoming session, Alvarado said, include addressing the economy, cost of living, affordability, public safety and education. “My personal priority is making housing more affordable,” she said.

Alvarado introduced HB 1217, a bill designed to enhance housing stability by limiting rent and fee increases, requiring advance notice of changes, capping fees and deposits, creating a landlord resource center, authorizing tenant-lease terminations, ensuring parity between lease types, and enabling attorney general enforcement.

– The Seattle Times 1/10/2025 4 things to expect from WA’s 2025 legislative session

Also published in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News

Nearly 70% of voters in the latest Cascade PBS/Elway poll said they favor limiting the amount landlords can raise rent, but Democrats and Republicans strongly disagree about the approach. 

House Democrats remain interested in some form of rent stabilization. Last year’s attempts, which would have limited annual rent increases to 7%, died in the Senate after failing to meet an important cutoff deadline. A similar measure introduced in the Senate also failed to clear legislative hurdles. 

A new rent stabilization bill will likely originate from the House and move quickly, according to leadership. 

– Washington State Standard 1/10/2025  Washington lawmakers revive plan for state cap on rent increases

Also published in Cascadia Daily News, The Lewiston Tribune

“People are suffering, and I don’t know how anyone comes back to the legislative session and doesn’t want to support relief,” said Sen. Yasmin Trudeau, D-Tacoma, who will sponsor the legislation in the Senate.

Supporters say the proposal would help tenants and alleviate homelessness, but opponents say a rent cap could only worsen Washington’s housing shortage by disincentivizing new development.

Democratic leaders said Thursday that the proposal will likely be heard quickly in the House after the session kicks off next week but could move slowly in the Senate where it died last year. 

 

The Columbian: Rents have skyrocketed at Woodland East Mobile Home Park; now residents want to buy their park but are running out of time

Senate Bill 5198, which took effect in July, was supposed to change things for tenants like them. It aims to give mobile home park residents a chance to buy their parks and have a say in their future.

So when Woodland East was listed for sale, residents thought that law was their savior — a chance to slow the seemingly endless rent hikes. Instead, their effort to buy the park has exposed cracks in the new law.

The Seattle Times: WA needs more housing. Should it limit rent hikes, too?

Shannon Corrick, a grocery store worker from Cheney, Spokane County, had to borrow money from a family member to move in mid-2021 after her landlord said he was raising her rent by $300 a month.

The landlord told her $300 was “what the market will bear,” she said. If she chose a month-to-month option instead of a lease, her rent was going to rise $500 a month.

“Renters aren’t just being squeezed,” Corrick said. “They’re being crushed.”

MYNorthwest: Legislature considers rent increase cap, but don’t call it ‘rent control’

State lawmakers in Olympia heard emotional testimony Thursday, delivered in front of a packed committee hearing room regarding capping rent increases to 5% annually.

House Bill 2114 would also put limits on late fee increases and provide other tenant safeguards.

KUOW: WA lawmakers weigh proposal to slow rising rental costs amid ongoing housing crisis

The battle over rising rent is back in Olympia.

People flocked to a House committee hearing Thursday, as Washington lawmakers weighed a bill to limit how much landlords can increase rent prices.

The hearing was at capacity, with staff opening an overflow room after dozens of people showed up to speak on House Bill 2114.

Washington State Standard: Washington lawmakers look to cap rent increases

Democrats in the Washington Legislature are restarting conversations around rent stabilization with a proposal that would cap rent increases at 5% a year for residential tenants and also place limits on fees charged by landlords.

Their bill would also require a six-month notice for large jumps in rent and offer more protections for tenants who’ve signed month-to-month leases. 

KING5 TV: Proposal would limit rent increases in Washington

Washington State Standard: The outlook for new statewide renter protections in Washington

After failed attempts this year, the debate over how to best shield tenants from unaffordable price hikes will likely return in the next legislative session.

Tacoma News Tribune: I’m a renter in Puyallup. But without help, I won’t be able to afford it for long | Opinion

I am a state employee with nearly 44 years of service working in Pierce County for the Washington Department of Social and Health Services. In July 2000, I moved into my apartment in Puyallup. The rent was $650 a month. But when our building was sold to the owner of a neighboring complex, we started being hit with big rent hikes each year and other changes, including charges for previously free amenities.

Everett Herald: Editorial: Cap on rent increases can keep more in homes

That statewide impact has prompted two pieces of legislation in the House that seek to stabilize rents, not by freezing rent costs, but by setting some limits on increases… But other landlords spoke in support, saying the limits sought were reasonable and would not create a hardship for landlords or the rental market… Placing a cap on the extent of rental cost increases, while offering fair exceptions to landlords, can keep people in their homes and support a healthy housing market.

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Columbian: Rent increases hit residents of mobile home park

In 2019, the Criteses purchased their manufactured home with cash in a community park designated for senior living in Woodland. The space rent was $685, which the couple considered reasonable. She said that when they signed the paperwork for the home, the property manager said their space rent would stay the same within the first year. But the Criteses received their first of three rent increases eight months later. They now pay $1,000 for the land their bought home sits on — a 45 percent increase.

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Everett Herald: Letter: Renters need limits placed to prevent gouging by landlords

I own a manufactured home in the Twin Creeks manufactured housing Park. When I moved here in 2019 the monthly rent for space in the park was $650, including water, garbage and sewer. A few months after I moved in, the park was sold. This is where all my pains started. The new park owners have raised our monthly rent five times from $650 to $775 to $860 to $925 and now to $970. That is $320 more per month, a rent hike of over 49 percent in four years.

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NW Public Radio: New Washington legislation aims to stabilize rent as housing crisis worsens

Mei Shah is a renter in Lacey, Washington. Shah said she used to be a landlord before she became a single mom. While she would love to own a townhouse or a duplex, she said, that dream has faded since she is now on a fixed income due to a disability. “Corporate landlords have proven they will not operate their businesses in good faith without the restraint of reasonable legislation,” Shah said.