Rent Control in Washington State: Caps, Notice, and Exemptions

Rent control in Washington State took a new form in May 2025: a statewide cap limits annual rent increases on most residential rentals to 7% plus the Consumer Price Index, or 10%, whichever is lower. For the 2026 calendar year, the Department of Commerce has set the ceiling at 9.683%.¹ Cities and counties still cannot write their own rent control ordinances, but the state law now sets hard limits on how much and how often rent can go up, with real penalties when a landlord ignores them.

How the Cap Works

Under RCW 59.18.700, a landlord cannot raise rent at all during the first 12 months of a tenancy. After that, rent can go up once in any 12-month period, and the increase cannot exceed 7% plus the annual change in CPI or 10%, whichever is lower.¹ The cap covers any recurring fees named in the rental agreement, not just base rent.

The CPI piece uses the June-over-June change in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area. The Department of Commerce publishes an updated maximum each year, so check the current figure before accepting or disputing any increase. The 9.683% ceiling applies from January 1 through December 31, 2026.¹

The law passed as HB 1217 and took effect May 7, 2025. Before that date, Washington had no limit on how much a landlord could raise rent as long as proper notice was given.

Which Rentals Are Exempt

Not every property falls under the cap. A landlord claiming an exemption has to include the supporting facts in the rent increase notice. The exempt categories under RCW 59.18.710 are:²

New construction, meaning units where the first certificate of occupancy was issued 12 or fewer years before the increase notice.
Public or nonprofit affordable housing where rents are already regulated under another program.
Units in a qualified low-income housing development with federal tax credits allocated by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission and an enforceable regulatory agreement.
Units where the tenant shares a bathroom or kitchen with the owner and the owner lives at the property as a principal residence.
Single-family homes where the owner-occupant rents no more than two units or bedrooms, including accessory dwelling units.
Owner-occupied duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes, where the owner lived in one unit at the start of the tenancy and still does.

The new-construction exemption is the broadest. For 12 years from the first certificate of occupancy, a building can charge market rent without the percentage cap. After that, the cap applies like any other covered property.

Notice Before a Rent Increase

Landlords must give at least 90 days’ prior written notice before a rent increase takes effect. That replaced the earlier 60-day minimum.³ The increase also cannot start before the current lease term expires, so both conditions have to be satisfied.

Subsidized tenancies where rent is based on the tenant’s income require only 30 days’ notice. A tenant cannot waive the right to proper notice. If a landlord raises rent without meeting the notice requirement, the tenant is not liable for the increase and owes only the original amount.³

Longer Notice in Seattle and Tacoma

Some cities require more lead time than the state floor. Seattle requires at least 180 days’ written notice before any housing cost increase.⁴ Tacoma’s Rental Housing Code requires at least 120 days’ written notice, and the Landlord Fairness Code Initiative adds a two-notice structure: the first served between 210 and 180 days before the increase, and a reminder between 120 and 90 days before.⁵ Missing either Tacoma window can invalidate the increase.

When Rent Can Change

During a fixed-term lease, rent is locked. Neither party can change the financial terms unless both agree in writing.⁴ Once the lease converts to month-to-month, an increase becomes possible with proper notice, and it takes effect on the first day of the next full rental period after the notice window closes.

Rent can only go up once in any 12-month period. A landlord who raises rent in March 2026 cannot raise it again until March 2027, even if proper notice is given earlier.¹ A tenant who receives an increase notice can choose to end the tenancy before the new rate begins, following standard termination procedures and giving written notice in the time required by the rental agreement or state law.

Local Governments Still Cannot Set Rent Caps

The state law filled a vacuum, but it also kept the old preemption rule in place. Under RCW 35.21.830, cities and counties cannot pass ordinances regulating how much rent a landlord can charge for private residential property, and the statute declares rent regulation a matter of statewide significance.⁶

The Attorney General’s office has reached the same conclusion: counties, cities, and towns are prohibited from enacting ordinances that regulate or control residential rents, including indirect approaches like banning rent increases as a method to terminate a tenancy.⁷ Local ordinances that go to procedure, like longer notice periods, remain valid. Local ordinances that try to cap the dollar amount do not.

What Happens if a Landlord Breaks the Rules

A tenant (or the Attorney General) can sue a landlord who violates the cap or the notice rules. A successful claim entitles the tenant to:⁸

A refund of any rent paid above the lawful amount.
Additional damages of up to three months’ worth of the unlawful rent charged.
Attorney’s fees and costs.

The Attorney General can pursue civil penalties of up to $7,500 per violation on top of the tenant’s damages. A landlord who charges an illegal increase also cannot report the tenant to a screening service for refusing to pay the unlawful portion, which blocks a common pressure tactic.⁸

Retaliatory Rent Increases

If a landlord raises rent within 90 days after a tenant files a legitimate complaint, reports a code violation, or takes other protected action, RCW 59.18.250 presumes the increase is retaliatory and shifts the burden to the landlord to justify it. A landlord can rebut the presumption by stating reasonable grounds in the notice, such as a substantial rise in market value after completed repairs or improvements. If the tenant is behind on rent or otherwise in breach when the notice goes out, the presumption flips in the landlord’s favor.⁹ The window cuts the other way too: a complaint filed within 90 days after a good-faith rent increase notice is presumed not to be in good faith.

Mobile Home Park Lot Rents

Mobile home park lots are governed by a separate statute, chapter 59.20 RCW, not the general Residential Landlord-Tenant Act. A park landlord must give at least three months’ written notice before raising lot rent.¹⁰ RCW 59.20.390 requires every rental agreement to include a provision for at least 90 days’ written notice of a rent increase.¹¹ An increase can only take effect at the start of a new rental term, not mid-lease. A tenant who disagrees with the proposed change must give written notice of rejection at least 30 days before the current agreement expires; silence counts as acceptance.

The percentage cap in RCW 59.18.700 sits inside chapter 59.18, and whether it reaches mobile home lot rents under chapter 59.20 is not explicitly addressed in the available sources. Park residents should check with the Department of Commerce or a housing attorney before assuming the cap applies to a lot rent increase.

1
Washington State Department of Commerce. HB 1217 Landlord Resource Center
2
Washington State Legislature. RCW 59.18.720 – Rent Increase Notice
3
Washington State Legislature. RCW 59.18.140 – Reasonable Obligations or Restrictions, Tenants Duty to Conform, Landlords Duty to Provide Written Notice in Increase of Rent
4
Seattle.gov. Receiving Notice from Your Landlord
5
City of Tacoma. Information Sheet for Notice to Increase Rent
6
Washington State Legislature. RCW 35.21.830 – Controls on Rent
7
Washington State Office of the Attorney General. Authority of Local Governments to Impose Rent Control
8
Washington State Legislature. RCW 59.18.700 – Rent Increases, Limitations
9
Washington State Legislature. RCW 59.18.250 – Reprisals or Retaliatory Actions by Landlord
10
Washington State Legislature. RCW 59.20.090 – Term of Rental Agreements, Renewal, Nonrenewal, Termination, Armed Forces Exception, Notices
11
Washington State Legislature. RCW 59.20.390 – Rent Increases, Notice