How Much Can a Landlord Raise Rent in Washington State
Graph from Seattle Times depicting hire growth in the Seattle-area since 1995, with a 6% increase since terminal twelvemonth.
Accept you received a notice of a rent increase in the last twelvemonth? If y'all are renting in Washington country, especially in a major urban surface area such as Seattle, it's likely that you lot've seen an increment in your housing costs over the by year.
We've heard from many people on the Tenant Services Hotline that rent is increasing significantly, and even doubling in some parts of the state. Imagine paying $700 for a one-bedroom apartment in August, and then being asked to pay $ane,400 for that same apartment in September!
A recent Seattle Times article states that rents in Seattle increased nearly 6% in the past year– more than any other major U.Southward. city included in the written report. Now the average charge per unit for a i-chamber apartment is near $1,200 a calendar month.
The soaring toll of housing is also cartoon attending to the shortage of affordable housing for families, individuals and students, who are forced to spend the majority of their paychecks on housing costs lone.
With the tendency in major rent increases, we idea it would exist a practiced time to review the laws and requirements for rent increases and rule changes.
When tin the landlord increase my rent? What kind of observe is required?
The Residential Landlord-Tenant Act in Washington State has specific laws that address how much discover landlords must requite tenants earlier increasing the hire or making changes to the policies or rules included in a rental agreement. The section of the landlord-tenant laws that address rule changes or rent increases is RCW 59.18.140.
Tenants who have a term charter for a stock-still amount of time– for example, Jan 1, 2022 through Dec 31, 2022 – tin only be issued a rent increase or change to the rental agreement at the stop of the lease period, in our example, later on December 31.
Tenants who have a month-to-month agreement take the right to at to the lowest degree 30 days' written notice before the rent increment goes into effect. To increase the rent effective on February 1, landlords should give tenants written notice on or before January 1. The idea is that tenants could still give at least 20 days' notice– by January 11 – in order to cease the rental agreement and motion out if they are unable to pay the increased corporeality.
Inside Seattle city limits, there are additional protections through the Rental Agreement Regulation, which requires Seattle landlords to provide lx days' written find if the rent increase is more than ten% over a 12-month period. All of the land laws about discover requirements withal apply in Seattle as well. This is just an additional protection.
Is there a limit or maximum amount a landlord tin can raise the rent?
There is NO hire control in Washington country, therefore there is not a cap or limit to the number of times a landlord tin can raise the rent in a yr (RCW 35.21.830). Similarly, there is no maximum dollar corporeality or percentage increase limit for a rent increase.
What tin I do if the landlord does non provide me the right amount of notice to increment my hire?
If landlords do not provide at to the lowest degree 30 days' notice before the increase is to take upshot, or if they increment your rent in the heart of a rental menstruation, you may desire to address the result in writing so you are not held responsible for paying the increased amount until you've received the right notice required by constabulary. We accept a Sample Letter that may be helpful in starting that chat with landlords.
Keeping a paper trail of documentation is a good idea during this process. If you pay the rent increase to avoid having the landlord illegally evict you for unpaid rent, then you still accept options for later recovering that calendar month's increase where correct find was not provided. Some tenants have used Small Claims Court to sue for the money paid for a rent increase where the landlord did not provide the correct xxx days' notice or tried to increase the rent in the middle of a lease menstruum.
If you retrieve the hire increase was given out of retaliation– for case, you asserted your rights by asking that the landlord make a repair, and the landlord responded by giving you a rent increase – and so you may want to speak to an attorney to see what your options are. See our Legal Assistance Guide webpage for more information.
Where can I find other resource virtually rent increases and rule changes?
Yous tin can check out our Rental Agreements webpage for more than information and FAQs. The Urban center of Seattle also has data about the Rental Agreement Regulation for Seattle residents. And if you would like to read more than about the tendency in rapidly ascension rent costs, here are a few of the recent articles to get you started:
- Seattle Times: Rent increases hither lead the nation, report finds
- KOMO News: Ballard flat residents form union to fight rising rents
- KUOW: Rents Rising In Seattle And Portland Every bit Wages Stay Flat
- Capitol Loma Seattle Weblog: Rent control argue surfaces equally rents in Capitol Hill go along to ascension
The tenant information independent in this article or linked to the Solid Ground Tenant Services website is for advisory purposes only. Solid Ground makes no claims, promises or guarantees most the accurateness, abyss or capability of the information independent in or linked to its website. Solid Ground cannot act as your attorney. Solid Basis makes no representations, expressed or implied, that the information independent in or linked to its website tin can or will be used or interpreted in whatever particular way by any governmental agency or court. As legal communication must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each instance, and laws are constantly irresolute, zippo provided here should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel. Solid Ground Tenant Counselors offering these tenant tips equally generalized information for renters. People with specific questions should call our Tenant Services hotline at 206.694.6767 Mondays, Wednesdays & Thursdays betwixt 10:30am and iv:30pm.
Source: https://www.solid-ground.org/tenant-tip-rent-increases-on-the-rise-in-washington-state/