Seattle’s rent increase laws limit both how much and how fast a landlord can raise your rent. In most rentals inside city limits, an increase cannot exceed 7% plus the consumer price index in any 12-month period, is capped at 10% no matter what CPI does, and requires 180 days of written notice before it takes effect. Larger increases can also trigger relocation assistance for lower-income tenants who choose to move.
How Much Rent Can Go Up
Washington’s HB 1217, effective May 7, 2025, created the state’s first ceiling on rent increases. Under RCW 59.18.700, a landlord cannot raise rent by more than 7% plus CPI in any 12-month period, with a hard cap of 10% regardless of where CPI lands. The Washington Department of Commerce publishes the exact maximum each year. From January 1 through December 31, 2026, the maximum allowable increase is 9.683%.1Washington State Department of Commerce. HB 1217 Landlord Resource Center
Seattle enforces that same cap locally.2Seattle.gov. RentinginSeattle – Housing Cost Increases Before this law took effect, there was no dollar limit on an increase as long as proper notice was given. That is no longer true. A 15% or 20% jump on a non-exempt property violates both state and city law and is unenforceable.
The same law bars any rent increase during the first 12 months of a tenancy, whether you signed a fixed-term lease or are month-to-month.1Washington State Department of Commerce. HB 1217 Landlord Resource Center If you moved in six months ago, your rent cannot be raised for at least another six.
How Much Notice You Must Receive
Inside Seattle, a landlord must give at least 180 days’ written notice before any rent increase takes effect.2Seattle.gov. RentinginSeattle – Housing Cost Increases Six full months. It applies to every increase regardless of size, so even a $10 monthly bump requires the same lead time.
Washington state’s baseline is 90 days under RCW 59.18.140, and Seattle’s ordinance doubles it.3Washington State Legislature. RCW 59.18.140 – Landlords Duty to Provide Written Notice in Increase of Rent The clock starts on the date the notice is actually delivered to you, not the date the landlord wrote or signed it. A notice giving fewer than 180 days is defective, and you are not obligated to pay the higher amount until a compliant notice has been served and the full period has run.4Seattle.gov. Receiving Notice from Your Landlord A short notice means the landlord has to start over with a new one.
Delivery method matters too. Washington law recognizes personal delivery, leaving a copy with a suitable person at the residence plus mailing by registered or certified mail, or posting on the property plus certified mailing.5Washington State Legislature. RCW 59.12.040 – Service of Notice, Proof of Service If a dispute reaches court, the landlord has to prove proper service and the date the clock started.
What the Notice Must Contain
A Seattle rent increase notice has to state the exact dollar amount of the increase and the date the new rate begins, and it must follow the state-required format under RCW 59.18.140.3Washington State Legislature. RCW 59.18.140 – Landlords Duty to Provide Written Notice in Increase of Rent On top of that, Seattle requires every notice to include language pointing you to the city for information about your rights, and only the current Renter’s Handbook published by the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections satisfies that requirement.6Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections. Rental Agreement Regulation Older pamphlets no longer count.
A notice that skips the required city language or leaves out any of the financial details is unenforceable.4Seattle.gov. Receiving Notice from Your Landlord A single missing element voids the whole notice and resets the 180-day clock. Smaller landlords managing one or two units are the ones who most often trip up here.
When Rent Can Be Raised
After the first-year freeze, only one increase is permitted in any 12-month period.1Washington State Department of Commerce. HB 1217 Landlord Resource Center On a fixed-term lease, rent cannot go up until the lease expires unless the lease itself has a specific provision allowing it, and any mid-lease increase still has to obey the cap and the notice rules.3Washington State Legislature. RCW 59.18.140 – Landlords Duty to Provide Written Notice in Increase of Rent Most standard one-year leases lock your rate for the term.
For month-to-month tenants, the 180-day notice acts as a natural speed bump. Each increase needs its own six-month notice, and only one is allowed per 12 months, so repeated price shocks are effectively blocked.
Relocation Assistance for Large Increases
If your rent goes up by 10% or more within a 12-month period and your income is limited, you may qualify for Seattle’s Economic Displacement Relocation Assistance program under Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 22.212.7Seattle City Council. Ordinance 126451 – Relocation Assistance for Economically Displaced Tenants The 10% threshold is cumulative, so two 6% increases in the same year count.8Seattle.gov. Economic Displacement Relocation Assistance
Eligibility runs to 80% of area median income for the Seattle metro area. The 2025 income limits are:9Seattle Housing Authority. Income Level – Low Income Public Housing
- 1 person: $84,850
- 2 persons: $96,950
- 3 persons: $109,050
- 4 persons: $121,150
- 5 persons: $130,850
HUD adjusts these figures each year, so check the Seattle Housing Authority or HUD for the current number. If you qualify and choose to move rather than absorb the increase, the landlord may be required to pay relocation assistance. SDCI reviews applications and confirms eligibility based on income documentation. You must apply within 180 days of receiving the rent increase notice, or up to 60 days after the increase takes effect.
A landlord who issues an increase that reaches the 10% threshold has to include EDRA information with the notice. Failing to do so can stall the increase and expose the landlord to city enforcement.
Which Rentals Are Exempt
Not every Seattle rental is covered by the cap or the 180-day notice. Several categories fall outside these rules:4Seattle.gov. Receiving Notice from Your Landlord
- Buildings 12 years old or less.
- Units run by public housing authorities or nonprofit providers where rent is already regulated.
- Certain owner-occupied situations, as long as the owner is not a corporation or REIT: rentals where you share a bathroom or kitchen with the owner; single-family homes where the owner rents no more than two units or bedrooms (including ADUs); and duplexes, triplexes, or fourplexes where the owner lives in one unit.
Exempt properties still owe the state’s 90-day notice under RCW 59.18.140, and subsidized tenancies where rent is based on tenant income have a 30-day state notice window.3Washington State Legislature. RCW 59.18.140 – Landlords Duty to Provide Written Notice in Increase of Rent If you are not sure whether your unit is exempt, Seattle’s Renting in Seattle program can help you check.
If You Receive an Improper Notice
A rent increase notice that falls short of 180 days, omits required information, or exceeds the annual cap is unenforceable.4Seattle.gov. Receiving Notice from Your Landlord You are not obligated to pay the higher amount, and Seattle’s Just Cause Eviction Ordinance does not list refusal to pay an improperly noticed increase among its 18 grounds for ending a month-to-month tenancy.10Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections. Just Cause Eviction Ordinance
Keep the notice and the envelope it came in, note the date you received it, and contact the Renting in Seattle program to confirm whether the notice meets local and state rules. Landlords who repeatedly ignore the city’s rental regulations face enforcement through SDCI, which can include fines and required corrective action.