Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson (D) signed a bill Wednesday that will limit annual rent hikes, a victory for progressives and community groups who pushed for years for a statewide cap.
Ferguson praised the bill as the result of years of grassroots advocacy.
“Your voice matters in the legislative process,” he said during the Seattle bill signing event. “It does.”
The rent hike cap was one of 10 housing bills Ferguson signed Wednesday. Among them are laws that will reduce permitting timelines, allow more veterans to qualify for property tax relief, and limit the minimum number of parking spaces localities can require for housing projects.
“I’m confident that when folks look back at this legislative session they will call it the session of affordable housing,” he said.
Washington now becomes the third state, after California and Oregon, to limit rent hikes statewide.
Advocates for low-income renters say such caps reduce price-gouging and make it easier for people to afford to stay in their homes long-term. But many business groups say capping rent increases discourages new housing construction, thus depressing the overall housing supply and keeping prices high.
“Price control and rent control in particular don’t work as they’re expected,” Senate Minority Leader John Braun (R) said during floor debate on the bill last month.
Washington’s new rent control law prohibits landlords from raising rents by more than 10% or 7% plus inflation, whichever is less, from year to year. It will be in effect through 2040.
The law does not apply to rents on newly constructed buildings for their first 12 years of use and exempts some other types of housing, such as affordable housing managed by nonprofits. It sets a 5% limit on annual rent increases for manufactured and mobile homes.
It’s similar to California and Oregon’s rent increases. A 2019 California law prohibits landlords from raising rents by more than 10% or 5% plus inflation from year to year, whichever is less; a 2019 Oregon law, modified in 2023, prohibits landlords from raising rents by more than 10% or 7% plus inflation, whichever is less.
California lawmakers are now considering lowering the state’s cap to 5% a year or 2% plus inflation, whichever is less, and making the cap permanent.
Sen. Emily Alvarado (D), sponsor of Washington’s new law, said Wednesday that it was one of many steps lawmakers must take to lower housing costs. Others include rolling back restrictive zoning and permitting rules, funding deeply affordable housing, and strengthening tenant protections.
“We can do all things,” she said. “We can do it together.”