Washington Legislature weighs limiting rent increases
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Washington state lawmakers are again considering legislation that would limit many tenants' rent increases to no more than 7% per year.
Why it matters: The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that nearly 280,000 people in Washington state — about 15% of the state's renters — saw their monthly rent rise by $250 or more in the past 12 months, per a survey taken last August and September.
- Over the course of a year, that means those renters would be paying at least $3,000 more.
- An October report from the Washington Center for Real Estate Research, based at the University of Washington, said that nearly half of Washington's renter households spend more than 30% of their income on housing, making them highly cost-burdened.
The fine print: House Bill 1217 would ban landlords from raising an existing tenant's rent by more than 7% over a 12-month period.
- Landlords could raise rent by a larger percentage when one tenant moves out and another moves in, a feature that the bill's supporters say distinguishes it from rent control.
- Newly constructed dwellings — those built in the past 10 years — would be exempt from the annual rent cap, as would public affordable housing developments and some owner-occupied units, such as duplexes where the owner lives on one half of the property.
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.
- "We think this bill won't do that — we think it will have the opposite effect."
Flashback: A similar bill cleared the state House last year, then stalled in the state Senate.
State of play: Last week, Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen (D-Seattle) told reporters that he thinks many Senate Democrats will support the rent stabilization bill this year, particularly if it's passed alongside measures that aim to boost housing production.
- In a recent Cascade PBS/Elway Poll of 403 registered voters in Washington, 68% of those surveyed said they favor legislation to limit how much landlords can raise rents each year.
What's next: House Speaker Laurie Jinkins said House leaders plan to pass the rent cap bill again this year, sending it to the Senate for consideration.
- Should that happen, Pedersen said the Senate likely wouldn't take action on the measure until the last half of the 105-day session, which is when each chamber typically considers measures passed by the other body.