Washington rewrote the economics of its rental market on May 7, 2025, the day Governor Ferguson signed HB 1217 and statewide rent stabilization took effect immediately. Alongside Oregon and California, Washington is now one of the few states where the maximum lawful rent increase is a published number, not a market call. Everything else in RCW 59.18 still applies underneath it. Here is the whole stack, cap first, with the short version on our Washington quick-reference page.

The rent cap: 7% plus CPI, never more than 10%

For most tenancies, rent can rise during any 12-month period by no more than 7% plus the Seattle-area consumer price index, or 10%, whichever is less. The Department of Commerce does the math and publishes the binding figure each year: 10% through December 31, 2025, and 9.683% for increases taking effect January 1 through December 31, 2026. Two harder lines sit under the percentage: no rent increase of any size during the first 12 months of a tenancy (RCW 59.18.700), and if a tenant owns a manufactured or mobile home and rents the lot, the annual cap is a flat 5%.

HB 1217 also polices lease structure. You cannot price a month-to-month tenancy more than 5% above what you would charge for a comparable fixed term, which closed the obvious workaround of pushing tenants onto premium-priced periodic leases. The residential cap is scheduled to sunset on July 1, 2040; the manufactured-housing provisions are not.

The 90-day notice and the state's required form

Rent increase notices statewide now require at least 90 days (RCW 59.18.140, up from 60), and they must use the form prescribed in RCW 59.18.720: the percentage, the dollar amount, the new total rent, and a checkbox declaring the increase below the cap, at the cap, or justified by a claimed exemption you certify with supporting facts. Service follows RCW 59.12.040. A tenant who gets an increase notice may walk instead: written notice at least 20 days before the increase takes effect ends the tenancy lawfully.

Who is exempt from the cap

Four main carve-outs: buildings within 12 years of their certificate of occupancy, owner-occupied duplexes through fourplexes held by natural persons rather than entities, nonprofit-owned affordable housing, and properties bound by low-income housing tax credit agreements. Exempt owners still owe the 90-day notice on the state form; they just check the exemption box and certify why it applies.

What a violation costs

The Attorney General enforces HB 1217 under the Consumer Protection Act, and tenants have a private claim for the excess rent paid, damages up to three months of that unlawful rent, attorney fees, and civil penalties that can reach $7,500 per violation. An over-cap increase is not a paperwork error; it is a liability event.

Seattle and Tacoma stack local rules on top

The state cap did not preempt the strictest cities. Seattle requires 180 days' notice for any housing cost increase, caps late fees at $10 per month (SMC 7.24.034), limits deposits plus move-in fees to one month's rent with installment rights, registers rentals through RRIO, and triggers Economic Displacement Relocation Assistance (three times monthly housing costs, city-advanced and landlord-reimbursed) when an increase of 10% or more displaces an income-eligible tenant. Under the state cap that 10% trigger mostly matters for exempt buildings. Tacoma's Landlord Fairness Code goes further still, with a two-notice rent increase regime (roughly 180 to 210 days out, then again 90 to 120 days out) and relocation assistance for increases of 5% or more. If you operate in either city, the municipal code is your first read, not your last.

Deposits: a 30-day clock and a checklist that makes or breaks it

Washington sets no statewide dollar cap on deposits ( Hawaii, by contrast, caps them at one month ), but it regulates everything around them. No deposit is collectible at all unless the lease is written and you complete a move-in condition checklist signed by both parties, with a copy to the tenant (RCW 59.18.260). The money must sit in a trust account, with a written receipt naming the institution (RCW 59.18.270).

Since July 23, 2023, HB 1074 gives you 30 days from move-out (up from 21) to deliver the refund and a full and specific statement, and it raised the proof bar: damage charges need substantiation with invoices, receipts, or estimates, nothing can be withheld for "wear resulting from ordinary use," and carpet cleaning cannot be deducted without documented damage beyond that standard. Miss the deadline or skip the documentation and you forfeit the right to withhold; a court can award the tenant up to twice the deposit for an intentional refusal (RCW 59.18.280). Tenants can also demand to pay deposits, nonrefundable fees, and last month's rent in installments (RCW 59.18.610). Rentari's compliance calendar tracks the 30-day disposition deadline and the checklist requirement per unit.

Entry, late fees, and the everyday rules

Entry takes two days' written notice, or one day to show the unit to prospective tenants or buyers, always at reasonable times (RCW 59.18.150). Tenants may not unreasonably withhold consent, and emergencies need no notice.

Late fees cannot begin until rent is at least five days past due (RCW 59.18.170), and payments must be applied to rent before fees or other charges (RCW 59.18.283), which means a tenant current on rent but behind on fees cannot be evicted for nonpayment. State law sets no dollar cap outside Seattle's $10, but a fee a court reads as a penalty rather than a reasonable charge invites trouble. Disclosures ride along at move-in: the Department of Health mold pamphlet, fire safety and evacuation information, the owner or agent's name and address, and the federal lead-based paint packet for pre-1978 housing (RCW 59.18.060). Washington-specific lease and notice templates live in our forms library.

Eviction: cause required, 14 days for nonpayment

Since 2021's HB 1236, Washington landlords need one of the enumerated causes in RCW 59.18.650 to terminate or refuse to renew most tenancies; the old 20-day no-cause notice is gone. Nonpayment runs on a 14-day pay-or-vacate notice using the statutory form, which the Attorney General publishes in multiple languages (RCW 59.18.057). Lease violations get a 10-day comply-or-vacate notice, and waste, nuisance, or unlawful activity gets 3 days with no cure (RCW 59.12.030). No-fault paths carry longer runways: 90 days for an owner move-in or a sale of a single-family home, 60 days at the end of an initial fixed term, and longer where demolition or conversion is the reason. Compare Alaska's 7-day nonpayment notice and the philosophical gap is obvious.

Self-help remains flatly illegal: no lockouts, no utility shutoffs, no removing doors or belongings (RCW 59.18.290). The unlawful detainer goes through superior court, indigent tenants have a statewide right to appointed counsel, and judges hold real discretion to order payment plans in nonpayment cases. Budget months, not weeks, for a contested case in King County.

What changed, 2023 through 2026

  • 2023 (HB 1074): deposit returns moved to 30 days with mandatory documentation and the "wear resulting from ordinary use" standard.
  • 2024: the first statewide cap attempt, HB 2114, died in the Senate. It returned a session later with a new number.
  • May 7, 2025 (HB 1217): statewide rent stabilization took effect on signing: the 7% plus CPI cap (10% ceiling), first-year freeze, 5% manufactured-home cap, 90-day notices on the RCW 59.18.720 form, the 5% lease-type parity rule, tenant termination rights, and AG enforcement.
  • 2026: Commerce set the year's maximum increase at 9.683% (January 1 to December 31, 2026). Expect a fresh number each year following the mid-July federal CPI release.

Washington landlord FAQ

How much can I raise rent in 2026?

At most 9.683% for increases taking effect in calendar 2026, unless the unit qualifies for an exemption you certify on the notice form. Zero during a tenant's first 12 months, and never on less than 90 days' notice (180 in Seattle, plus Tacoma's two-notice schedule).

Is there a cap on security deposits?

Not statewide. Seattle caps deposits plus nonrefundable move-in fees at one month's rent, and state law lets tenants elect installments (RCW 59.18.610). Wherever the unit is, no checklist means no deposit (RCW 59.18.260).

Can I still non-renew a lease without giving a reason?

Rarely. RCW 59.18.650 requires an enumerated cause for most terminations and nonrenewals. The realistic no-fault paths are the end of an initial fixed term (60 days), owner occupancy or sale of a single-family home (90 days), and redevelopment-type causes with longer notice.

What if my tenant will not let me in for repairs?

Serve the two-day entry notice for reasonable times; a tenant who unreasonably refuses access after proper notice violates RCW 59.18.150, and continued refusal is itself grounds under the cause statute. Do not enter anyway outside a genuine emergency.

Do the new rent rules apply to my brand-new fourplex?

If the building's certificate of occupancy is less than 12 years old, the cap does not bind you, and if you live in one of the four units and own it personally, a second exemption applies. You still owe the 90-day notice on the state form, with the exemption box checked and the facts certified.

General information for Washington landlords, not legal advice. The cap percentage changes annually and cities keep layering on their own rules, so verify against the current text of RCW chapter 59.18 and the Commerce HB 1217 landlord resource center, or ask a Washington landlord-tenant attorney, before relying on any number here.