Landlords Fined for First Time Under WA’s New Law Capping Rent Increases

This story by Jake Goldstein-Street was originally published in Washington State Standard. It has been shortened.

House Bill 1217 took effect in early May. The landlords told tenants before that time about rent increases that would exceed the new maximums. But these increases were tied to leases that renewed after the law took effect, according to the attorney general’s office. For example, one rent increase for a tenant in Lakewood would have begun June 22.

In each case, the attorney general notified the landlords that their rent hikes were illegal. All the landlords rescinded them and refunded any payments tenants made under the unlawful increases, according to court filings.

Six of the landlords did not immediately reply to requests for comment Wednesday afternoon. One declined to comment.

The enforcement actions by the attorney general’s office cover over 250 renters.

The maximum increase for most rentals for the rest of this year is 10% under Washington’s new law, while manufactured homes are capped at 5%. Each year, the limit for residential tenancies is set at 7% plus inflation, or 10%, whichever is lower.

Next year, the limit will be 9.683%, the state Department of Commerce determined last month.

The cap doesn’t apply to all homes. For example, new construction is not covered for its first 12 years. Public housing authorities, low-income developments, and duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes in which the owner lives in one of the units are also exempt.

If a landlord raises rent above the caps without an exemption, the renter must give the landlord a chance to fix the error or can terminate their lease with 20 days’ notice. The attorney general can recover up to $7,500 per violation.