90-Day Rent Increase Notice: Washington and Seattle Rules

A Washington rent increase notice must give you at least 90 days of written warning before the higher rent takes effect, and for most tenancies the increase itself is capped at 7% plus the Consumer Price Index or 10%, whichever is lower.¹² If the notice you received gave you only 60 days, skipped required information, or was slipped under your door without proper service, it likely has no legal effect. The rules below tell you what a valid notice looks like and what to do if yours falls short.

The 90-Day Rule

Under RCW 59.18.140, written notice of a rent increase must reach you at least 90 days before the new rent starts, and the increase cannot take effect before your current lease term or rental period ends.¹ For a March 1 increase, the notice must be delivered no later than December 1 of the prior year.

The old 60-day standard was replaced in 2025. A short transitional provision let some pre-May 2025 tenancies keep the 60-day notice, but that window has closed. Any rent increase taking effect in 2026 or later runs on the full 90 days.¹

Two situations sit outside the 90-day baseline. If your rent is set by an income-based subsidy program, the notice period is 30 days.¹ And if you signed a fixed-term lease, your rent is locked for the length of that term unless the lease itself allows a mid-term increase; the 90-day clock only starts as the lease approaches its end.

How Much Your Rent Can Go Up

Washington now caps annual rent increases for most rentals. Under RCW 59.18.700, enacted through HB 1217, a landlord may raise rent during any 12-month period by up to 7% plus CPI or 10%, whichever is less. The cap kicks in after the first 12 months of a tenancy.²

For calendar year 2026, the Department of Commerce has set the maximum allowable rent increase at 9.683% for properties covered by the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act. The figure comes from the June 12-month change in the Seattle-area CPI for all urban consumers.² Certain properties are exempt under RCW 59.18.710, and a landlord relying on an exemption must say so on the notice.

What the Notice Must Contain

A rent increase notice has to follow the form set out in RCW 59.18.720. A casual letter or a text conversation does not qualify. The notice must state:

The new total rent amount, in exact dollars per month, including any recurring charges.
The dollar amount of the increase compared to your current rent.
The percentage of the increase.
The specific effective date.
The legal basis for the increase, meaning whether it is below the state maximum, at the state maximum, or authorized by an exemption under RCW 59.18.710.³

If the landlord claims an exemption from the rent cap, the notice must identify which exemption applies and certify the basis for it. A notice that leaves out a required element, or that uses a non-compliant format, is not enforceable. You can keep paying your current rent until a proper notice is served, and that service restarts the 90-day clock.

Email, text, and portal notifications are not valid written notice unless your rental agreement specifically authorizes electronic delivery, and even then the content requirements still apply.

How the Notice Must Be Delivered

RCW 59.12.040 recognizes three ways to serve a rent increase notice.⁴

Personal delivery, where the landlord or their agent hands the notice to you directly.
Substitute service, where the landlord leaves a copy at the property with someone of suitable age and discretion and also sends a copy by certified mail, posted from within Washington, to your last known address. Both steps are required.
Posting and mailing, where the landlord attaches the notice to a conspicuous spot such as the front door and mails a copy. This is a last resort, used only when personal or substitute service is not possible.

The trap here is the difference between substitute service and posting-and-mailing. Substitute service requires certified mail. If your landlord taped a notice to the door and dropped a copy in a regular mailbox without first attempting personal delivery, the service may be defective.

Seattle’s 180-Day Rule

Seattle tenants have stricter protections. Landlords in the city must give at least 180 days’ written notice before a rent increase, twice the state minimum. Seattle also bars any rent increase during the first 12 months of a tenancy and limits the gap between month-to-month rent and lease rent to 5%.⁵

Seattle notices must use the state-required format and include language explaining how to contact the city for information about renter rights. A notice missing that language cannot be enforced inside city limits. Increases of 10% or more within a 12-month period may also trigger economic displacement relocation assistance for income-qualified tenant households.⁵ Other Washington cities may have their own layered rules, so check with your local housing authority if you rent outside Seattle.

Rent Increases After You Complained

A landlord cannot raise your rent to punish you for using your legal rights. RCW 59.18.240 makes it illegal to increase rent in retaliation against a tenant who has reported health, safety, or code violations to a government authority, or who has asserted rights under the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act.⁶ If you reported a broken heater in January and received a rent increase notice in February, the timing itself may support a retaliation claim. The statute also covers retaliatory eviction, reduced services, and new lease obligations, as long as you are otherwise complying with the lease.

If the Notice Is Defective

A notice that misses a legal requirement has no effect. Common defects include:

Fewer than 90 days of notice, or fewer than 180 in Seattle.
Missing information such as the new rent amount, percentage, effective date, or legal basis.
Failure to use the form required by RCW 59.18.720.
Improper service, including electronic delivery when the lease does not allow it.
An increase over the annual cap without a valid, disclosed exemption.

When any of these apply, you are not obligated to pay the higher amount. Keep paying your current rent on time. The landlord has to start over with a compliant notice, and the full 90-day period runs again from the date of proper service. Do not withhold rent entirely. Stopping payment can expose you to eviction whether or not the increase was valid, so pay what you owe under the existing terms while the dispute is worked out.⁷

Your Options If the Notice Is Valid

Once you have a properly served notice, three practical paths are open.

Pay the New Rent

If the increase is within the cap and you want to stay, pay the new amount starting on the effective date. Your tenancy continues on the updated terms.

Negotiate

Nothing stops you from asking the landlord to reduce the increase. Vacancy, cleaning, advertising, and screening are real costs, and a solid payment history is real leverage. If your proposed new rent exceeds what comparable units are asking in your area, say so. Even if the landlord will not withdraw the increase, you may get it lowered or pick up a concession such as an appliance upgrade.

Move Out

If the new rent is too high, you can end a month-to-month tenancy with at least 20 days’ written notice before the end of a rental period.⁷ The 90-day cushion gives you time to look. For an increase effective March 1, your written notice to vacate must reach the landlord by February 8 to avoid owing March rent.

1
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code Title 59 Chapter 59.18 – 59.18.140
2
Washington Department of Commerce. HB 1217 Landlord Resource Center
3
Washington State Legislature. RCW 59.18.720 – Landlord Notice of Rent Increases
4
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code Title 59 Chapter 59.12 – 59.12.040 – Service of Notice Proof of Service
5
City of Seattle. Receiving Notice from Your Landlord – RentinginSeattle
6
Washington State Legislature. RCW 59.18.240 – Reprisals or Retaliatory Actions by Landlord
7
Washington State Legislature. RCW 59.18.200 – Tenancy from Month to Month or for Rental Period