Many renters in Washington now know the maximum amount their rent could increase for the rest of the year: 10%.
The Washington State Department of Commerce on Friday announced the 10% cap, part of a recently passed law that will limit annual rent increases for tenants of many types of rental housing. The law allows increases of 7% plus inflation, up to a maximum of 10% per year, and directs the department to set the exact rate each year.
The 10% limit will apply through the end of 2025, and the department will release an updated limit for 2026 later this summer.
After decades of banning rent control, state lawmakers this year approved a cap on annual rent increases as tenants across the state struggle with high housing costs. With a limit that goes well beyond inflation and a suite of exemptions, supporters hoped to offer tenants predictability while not discouraging new rental housing construction. Landlords and developers vehemently opposed the bill.
The inflation calculation relies on Consumer Price Index measurements for the Seattle area.
State law directs the Department of Commerce to use June CPI data, but that data will not be released until July 15, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. So, to calculate the cap for the rest of 2025, the department relied on last year’s June data, which showed that Seattle-area prices had climbed 3.8% from the prior year. Added to 7%, that would reach 10.8%. But the law limits the inflation-adjusted increase to a 10% maximum.
Inflation has been lower so far this year: Prices climbed less than 2% during the year ending in April.
Once updated data is released in July, the department will use those figures to calculate the rent increase cap for 2026.
The new cap does not apply to rentals 12 years old or newer, most subsidized affordable housing, or certain homes where the owner lives on-site. If a landlord issues a rent increase higher than the allowed 10%, they must explain the exemption that applies to the home. The state defines rent as including most utilities and other recurring charges.
For mobile homes, where residents typically own their homes but rent the land underneath, the new law sets the rent increase cap permanently at 5% per year with no inflation adjustment.
A tenant who believes their landlord has delivered a rent hike higher than what the law allows must send their landlord a written request to correct the increase. Tenants can also file complaints with the state attorney general’s office.
When a renter moves out, there is no limit on how much the landlord can raise the rent before the next tenant moves in.
The new law also bars landlords statewide from increasing rent during the first year of a tenancy and increases the notice requirement for a rent hike from 60 to 90 days. Some cities have longer notice periods, including Seattle, where landlords must offer six months’ notice.
The 10% cap offers a mixed picture for tenants, especially those with limited incomes.
Predictability can be key for renters to plan their budgets and save for potential cost increases. But even those who support the new rules say a 10% increase is too much for some tenants to bear.
“It’s not going to help the most vulnerable tenants,” Terri Anderson, interim director of the Tenants Union of Washington State, told The Seattle Times earlier this month.
Ongoing affordability struggles could lead housing advocates to push for a lower cap in the future, though winning that would be a significant political fight. Developers and landlords say they fear a lower cap would discourage investors from directing money to housing construction just as the state faces a housing shortage and a drop-off in new development.
Overall, rent increases have moderated in Washington state in recent years, even as some tenants continue to report receiving eye-watering increases. Lower overall rent increases come after bigger price spikes in suburban and outlying areas early in the pandemic.
Statewide, rents for apartments advertised for lease increased 1% in the last year and 24% since 2017, according to the data firm Apartment List.
Washington residents’ median gross rent and utilities costs climbed 6% between 2022 and 2023, according to the latest census data, and 42% from 2017 to 2023. In a state where 36% of residents rent their homes, Washington rents remain among the highest in the nation.
