(The Center Square) – It was all cheers and applause on Wednesday afternoon as Washington state lawmakers and others who championed a bill capping rent increases gathered to witness Gov. Bob Ferguson sign it into law. It goes into effect immediately.
Engrossed House Bill 1217 caps rent increases at 7% plus inflation or 10% – whichever is lower. The restrictions include single-family homes. The cap for manufactured homes is 5%. Lawmakers approved the plan on a 54-44 vote, with five Democrats joining the Republican opposition.
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.”
“Housing is not a luxury, it is a basic human need,” Alvarado said. “Everyone in this state deserves a stable and affordable home, and we all do better when everyone has a stable and affordable home.”
Rebecca Gardea with Q Law Foundation, which offers free legal representation to the queer community, spoke in support of the bill but said it did not go far enough.
“It’s a start to addressing the rental crisis that so many of us are experiencing; 10% and 7% plus CPI is still too high for many folks who are navigating this crisis here in this state,” Gardea said.
As reported by The Center Square, the bill’s hearings during the legislative session included passionate testimony from those against the bill.
During an April 7 hearing, Longview Mayor Spencer Boudreau told members of the Senate Ways & Means Committee he was very concerned about the bill’s potential impact on housing supply.
“I personally now know of over one thousand rental units in Longview that will be sold … if this passes,” he said. “That is one-eighth of the market in my jurisdiction. You’re taking local control away … I urge you to kill this bill.”
Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, told The Center Square that rent control is not the solution to the housing shortage but will worsen the situation.
“It addresses the cost issue for the renter, but that cost issue now becomes a limitation on the income of the property owner and does nothing to control the back end, which is the cost,” he explained. “These property owners are required by law to keep these in a certain condition, and if they don’t have the revenue to do it, they’re going to have a very difficult time living up to the intent of the laws with regard to the condition they have to keep their facilities in.”
Washington’s new rent cap law exempts new construction from the rent increase limits for the first 12 years. Public housing authorities and certain low-income developments are also exempt from the law.
Under the new law, property owners must give 90 days’ notice of any rental increase, up from 60 days.
