Statewide Rule Changes & Rent Increases

• RCW 59.18.140
• Washington Law Help - Residential Rent Increases
• SMC 7.24.030 - Rental agreement requirements

A landlord cannot change any aspect of a lease during the fixed-term period except by mutual agreement. Therefore, rent is fixed during the lease term. In month-to-month tenancies, however, landlords can change the rules of tenancy by giving tenants a 30 days written notice.

Rent Increases are not the same as rule changes! Washington State residential landlords seeking to increase the rent must abide by the following guidelines from RCW 59.18.140 along with any regional protections:

• Residential landlords cannot increase rent during the first 12 months of a renter's tenancy
• Landlords must give at minimum 90 days written notice for any rent increase .
• During any 12 months of your tenancy, the landlord cannot raise the unit's rent beyond either 10% of the rent or more than 7% of the rent plus the consumer price index, whichever of these amounts is less
• WA Department of Commerce will calculate the maximum rent increase percentage allowed for that year
• Some landlords may qualify for an exemption (click here to view exempt types of landlords) and raise the rent by more than the allowable amount. Any landlord trying to claim they qualify for an exemption, they must include facts and/or documents showing why they qualify for the exemption they included into their written rent increase notice
• There is no limit on how much the rent can be raised after a tenancy ends, before a new tenant moves in.

There are many regions that require additional notice time for a rent increase. For example, the City of Seattle has a law where a tenant is entitled to 180 days notice and must include specific language about how to contact the City for information about your renter rights. Notices that do not include this information or units that do not meet the minimum housing code requirements under the Residential Rental Inspection Ordinance program (See the RRIO Checklist) cannot be enforced in Seattle.

Rent increases go into effect in the first full month following the notice of the increase. For instance, if your rent is due on the first of the month, and your landlord gives 90 days written notice of a rent increase on the 15th of September, the new rent amount will not go into effect until January 1st.

If you have been given less than the required amount of notice, you can contest an improper rent increase. However, a rent increase without proper notice may not be adequate defense against an eviction. Tenants who are not given proper notice may still decide to pay the rent increase (if they are able to) in order to avoid the possibility that the landlord files an eviction against them. If your landlord does not acknowledge their legal obligations to provide proper notice and instead serves you a 14-day pay or vacate notice, a tenant can pay the rent increase by writing “payment under protest” on their check. The tenant can then pursue the difference owed from the improper rent increase in Small Claims Court.

Some tenants will choose not to pay the increase at all and just pay their regular amount. The risk is that the tenant could end up in eviction court for nonpayment of rent after service of the 14-day pay or vacate notice, and may not necessarily win in court. This can be a risky choice, because whenever a landlord files an eviction lawsuit against a tenant, it creates a permanent record of eviction regardless if the tenant wins.