Latest news with #RentalHousingAssociationofWashington
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
WA now has rent control; What happens now?
The State of Washington officially has rent control. Governor Bob Ferguson signed House Bill 1217 on Wednesday, which limits rent increases for many renters in the state. The law took effect immediately. Rent increases for most renters will be capped at either 7% (plus inflation) or 10%, whichever is the lower number. Washington will calculate the exact cap each year in June. Rent increases for mobile or manufactured homes will be capped at 5%. Landlords will also be barred from raising rents during the first 12 months a new tenant is living at the property. There are a lot of exemptions, including newer buildings (less than 12 years old), some owner-occupied properties and low income housing units. 'It's a godsend,' said Bremerton renter Sara Eubank. 'We are all so grateful. You just cannot even imagine living on fixed incomes, having health issues, all those things.' Landlords and rental housing associations though told KIRO 7 they had questions about compliance, since the law took effect immediately. 'There's more unknowns than knowns at this point,' said Sean Flynn, President & Executive Director of the Rental Housing Association of Washington. One of those unknowns is what the upcoming rental increase cap will be. Beginning June 1, 2025, and each year after, the state's Department of Commerce will calculate the maximum annual rent increase percentage allowed. Until then, Flynn said, landlords have no clue if their current or upcoming rent increases are compliant. Gordon Haggerty owns one six-unit property in Eastlake. He's concerned about the new liability the law creates. 'For a small provider who doesn't have a legal department and things, we're becoming more and more exposed to this,' he said. 'A lot of people, I think, are going to just say it's not worth it to even do this.' KIRO 7 reached out to the Governor's office to get more details on these concerns and is awaiting a response. More details on the law can be found here.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
WA Governor signs rent stabilization bill into law, prompting praise and concern
The Brief Annual rent increases will be capped for most Washington renters after House Bill 1217 was signed into law Wednesday afternoon. The legislation was a hot issue for lawmakers this year, with supporters saying it will protect renters from egregious rent hikes and opponents arguing it will only worsen the state's housing supply issues. SEATTLE - Governor Ferguson signed a slate of bills around housing Wednesday afternoon, including the contentious cap on rent increases that passed on the last day of this year's legislative session. Visiting the Blake House affordable housing development, Ferguson signed ten bills to boost housing supply and accessibility, including ones to expand property tax relief for disabled veterans and relax parking space requirements for new construction. Though the biggest item he signed into law was the rent stabilization bill that was a hot topic for lawmakers this year. Under House Bill 1217, annual rent increases are limited to the lesser of 10%, or 7% plus inflation. For manufactured homes, the cap is at 5%. Some exceptions to the limitations exist – and caps for apartments and homes expire in 15 years. What they're saying Prime sponsor Sen. Emily Alvarado, D-West Seattle, said the legislation is intended to prevent excessive rent increases with "common sense guardrails" as people struggle to keep up with increasing housing costs, including "unchecked" rent increases. "Rent goes up faster than wages, seniors see rent go up faster than Social Security," she said. "A record number of families in this state are paying more than half of their income on rent. That's not okay." Though supporters acknowledged the bill as only a solid first step, as more needs to be done to support new housing and keep people in homes. "10% and 7% plus CPI is still too high for so many folks who are navigating this crisis here in this state," said Seattle renter Rebekah Gardea. "But today it's an important moment to celebrate this first start, right? To keep us going because we have work ahead of us." The bill initially had a 7% cap with no inflation adjustment, but a change to the limit in the Senate prompted negotiations with the House and a compromise in the final days of the legislative session. It also faced strong opposition throughout the process, with a handful of Democrats joining all Republicans in voting against the effort. The other side Opponents representing landlords and builders argue the law ultimately hurts renters, as landlords would not be able to keep up with maintenance costs and may leave the rental business altogether. "The overwhelming response that I'm getting from my membership is once the current tenants that they have move, they're going to sell the unit," said Sean Flynn, Executive Director of the Rental Housing Association of Washington. "What that's going to do is reduce the total supply." Opponents also argue that creating more housing is the best way to lower costs, but development is hindered by strict regulations on land usage and housing density. And with the government controlling rents, developers are going to be even more deterred from building. "That's what has happened in every market that has tried rent control. It's not worth it then for somebody that doesn't pencil out if they can't charge enough rent to cover the cost of building that housing," said Greg Lane, Executive Vice President of the Building Industry Association of Washington. "We're going to put a big neon sign at the gates of the state of Washington saying, 'we don't want your housing dollars, take those housing dollars and build new units in Austin, or build new units in Tennessee, or build units in Florida or Idaho,'" Flynn said. Governor Ferguson told reporters he was confident the legislation would work for "everybody in our state," acknowledging it would need to be part of a "balanced approach." "We need more housing, we need folks to construct that housing, we need folks to rent that housing," he said. "You heard this pretty compelling—not just today, but throughout a lengthy process of conversation about this legislation—that too many folks are getting priced out, and we can't have that. That's not an option." The bill contains an emergency clause, so it takes effect immediately. However, it requires funding from the budget, which the governor has until May 20 to sign. Opponents said there has been some talk about launching a ballot measure to repeal the law, though the idea is still very much up in the air. The Source Information in this story came from Albert James is a television reporter covering state government as part of the Murrow News Fellowship program – a collaborative effort between news outlets statewide and Washington State University. MORE NEWS FROM FOX 13 SEATTLE Dashcam footage shows shocking 'road rage' hit-and-run on motorcyclist Dozens arrested after protests escalate at University of Washington in Seattle Jury selection for Bryan Kohberger trial: What both sides will likely look out for Seattle police arrest suspect in fatal hit-and-run that killed mother Inmate escapes police at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Jamie Tompkins claims Seattle police scandal was a setup. Here's why 2 new trails connect Redmond transit station to King County park To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter. Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.
Axios
07-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Washington is now third U.S. state with a rent cap
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed a measure into law Wednesday limiting annual rent increases to no more than 10% per year for many tenants statewide. Why it matters: With the signing of House Bill 1217, Washington becomes the third state in the nation to enact a state-level rent stabilization law, after Oregon and California, according to advocacy groups who track such measures. What's inside: Washington's rent-capping law, which takes effect immediately, will allow landlords to raise rent prices for most existing tenants by a maximum of 7% a year plus the rate of inflation or 10% — whichever is lower. The rent cap wouldn't apply to buildings that opened in the past 12 years or certain owner-occupied buildings, such as a triplex where the owner lives in one of the units. Landlords can reset rent at any level when a tenant moves out — a feature supporters say distinguishes the policy from stricter types of rent control imposed in some local jurisdictions, including New York City. What they're saying: Under the new state law, "the days of gouging renters with massive rent increases are over," Michele Thomas of the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance told Axios. "However, rents are still too high and there's a lot more work we need to do," Thomas said. The other side: Groups including the Rental Housing Association of Washington — which represents landlords — opposed the new law, arguing it would discourage new housing construction and reduce the number of rental units on the market. "This bill threatens housing availability and affordability, exacerbating the existing crisis," opponents wrote in a letter asking Ferguson to veto the measure. Catch up quick: In 2019, Oregon became the first state to enact statewide limits on rent hikes, capping annual increases at 7% plus the rate of inflation. Oregon lawmakers later amended the policy to allow a maximum annual rent hike of 10%, similar to what Washington just adopted. California's rent stabilization law, which took effect in 2020, caps annual rent increases at 5% plus inflation or 10%, whichever is lower. The fine print: The new Washington law also sets a stricter 5% annual cap on rent hikes for residents of manufactured and mobile homes.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Yahoo
Mill Creek apartment residents struggle with a series of garage break-ins
Apartment residents in Mill Creek are concerned after several of their garages were hit during a break-in over the weekend. One of the residents, Sean Donovan, says the plastic covering on the garage door locks was pried off. By Tuesday, the apartment complex had replaced the locks with steel on Donovan's and his affected neighbors' doors. Sean first noticed it after batting practice with his son on Saturday. 'My first thought was my stuff was missing, then my son noticed the lock was laying on the ground and the wires were hanging out of the garage,' Donovan said. 'My son checked the three locks for the rest of the [garages] and they were already taken out.' The plastic around the lock had been broken, with steel plates replacing it to add some security. The Donovans had all their fishing gear stolen, along with tools and thousands of dollars worth of car parts that Sean was installing as he worked to restore a 1984 Chevy Blazer S10. The project had been a passion and a way to cope with his daughter's death in 2009. 'It frees your mind of everything,' Donovan said. 'After my daughter had passed, I needed to figure something out to do with my time, so I started building that.' Donovan has been working through insurance to try and file claims, and other residents have reported car break-ins at the apartments as well. One Resident, Gabe, is hoping for more cameras around the complex. 'Lots of people have had break-ins. If you have footage, you can actually take it to the police,' Gabe said. Apartment complexes are generally required to have 'reasonable' security measures, according to Sean Flynn, the chair and executive director of the Rental Housing Association of Washington. 'The question really is, what's a reasonable way to secure that piece of property at any given moment? You can think of different ways people can secure it, but you can also think of different ways of thieves breaking into those places, right?' asked Flynn. Flynn says decisions are often made based on locations and trends in different areas. An apartment complex in Belltown in Seattle may have security guards patrolling the halls, but that may not be 'reasonable' in an apartment complex in Redmond. 'This is why it's not a set rule, right? It's what's reasonable in that given situation,' Flynn said. Mill Creek Police offers that residents buy flood lights to act as a deterrent or request more security measures from their apartment management. Security cameras or Ring cameras can be helpful as well. 'Lights are always good, right? Like, it's areas where people are congregating that tend to see lower crime. Cameras are good, but only if the prosecutor's willing to prosecute the crimes,' said Flynn.
