Democratic leaders, Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, and House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, speak at a press conference on Jan. 9, 2025. (Bill Lucia/Washington State Standard)
Democratic state lawmakers are again pushing a proposal to restrict rent hikes across Washington.
Despite the rent cap bill’s dramatic failure last session, backers say its prospects this year are better given new lawmakers, revamped legislative committees and growing public support. The road to final passage, however, could still be tough.
Rep. Emily Alvarado, D-Seattle, prefiled a “rent stabilization” bill in the House on Thursday. It is similar to where the plan left off last year.
The bill includes a 7% cap on yearly rent increases for existing tenants, with some exceptions, including buildings operated by nonprofits and residential construction that is 10 years old or less. It also requires landlords to give 180 days notice before an increase of 3% or more and limits some move-in and deposit fees.
“People are suffering, and I don’t know how anyone comes back to the legislative session and doesn’t want to support relief,” said Sen. Yasmin Trudeau, D-Tacoma, who will sponsor the legislation in the Senate.
Supporters say the proposal would help tenants and alleviate homelessness, but opponents say a rent cap could only worsen Washington’s housing shortage by disincentivizing new development.
Democratic leaders said Thursday that the proposal will likely be heard quickly in the House after the session kicks off next week but could move slowly in the Senate where it died last year.
Trudeau said the new makeup of the chamber and the membership of key committees could be in the bill’s favor. Last year, supporters blamed moderate Democrats on committees like Ways and Means and Housing for killing the bill. Two of those moderates — Sens. Mark Mullet and Kevin Van De Wege — did not run for reelection last year and will no longer be in the Senate.
Trudeau also said that because the policy is being named early as a priority for their caucus, it will give lawmakers more time to consider it.
“We’re still going to have conflict, just hopefully not as dramatic as last year,” she said.
Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, told reporters Thursday that he believes his caucus is ready to support the bill, but that it would take passing other legislation to increase housing supply and improve affordability.
In the House, the outlook is more certain. “We passed it off the floor in the House last year, and we will pass it off the floor this year,” House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, said.
The bill is sure to cause some heavy debate.
Last year, it had support from affordable housing advocates, tenants and labor unions.
Michele Thomas, at the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, said stabilizing rents is essential to help prevent evictions and homelessness.
“I think lawmakers understand how much rising rents are contributing to housing instability, to homelessness, and to our state’s eviction crisis,” Thomas said.
Among those against the proposal are business groups, landlords and developers.
Sean Flynn, board president and executive director at the Rental Housing Association of Washington, an industry group, criticized the idea, saying it would drive developers out of the state and lead to less home construction.
“The fundamental problem that we have in our housing market is a lack of supply,” Flynn said. “This chokes off supply.”
Instead of a cap on all rents, Flynn said the Legislature should try to target tenants who need assistance most and specific landlords who use predatory rent increases without cause.
One idea that has support from Republicans is creating a tenant assistance program that would give rental assistance vouchers to low-income tenants who may need help paying rent during a given month. Rep. Sam Low, R-Lake Stevens, is sponsoring that bill.
House Minority Leader Drew Stokesbary, R-Auburn, told reporters Thursday his caucus is working on similar proposals with a more targeted approach to helping tenants.
Stokesbary and Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, said their members likely will not support a rent cap policy this session. Stokesbary said he understands the short-term relief of the proposal but that the state ultimately needs more housing.
“In the long-run, this is a much worse deal for renters,” he said.
Braun said lawmakers should find ways to make permitting easier and increase available land for home construction. He said there is “no quick solution” to the state’s housing and homelessness crisis.
But supporters of the rent cap bill push back on the idea that solely building more housing will solve the state’s problems.
Thomas said lawmakers have put a lot of emphasis in recent years on increasing the supply of homes and alleviating homelessness, but they have not passed legislation to help tenants struggling to keep their homes. Failing to do so will only result in higher levels of eviction and homelessness, Thomas said.
“Rent stabilization stands alone,” she said. “Each of these issues are important, and the Legislature needs to address the entire housing ecosystem.”