A year into Washington’s new rental control law, the state has issued $800,000 in penalties to landlords but they have not had to pay so far.
The state attorney general’s office has settled roughly four dozen cases of alleged breaches of the rent control law, which caps rent increases in traditional units at 7% plus inflation up to a maximum of 10%. The limit for manufactured homes is 5%. The fines imposed in these cases total over $800,000. But landlords haven’t had to pay the penalties as they’ve taken steps to comply with the law, like canceling planned increases or issuing refunds.
“Anecdotally, just talking to folks in the community, they’re really happy that it’s there,” Rep. Strom Peterson, D-Edmonds, one of the law’s lead backers told the Washington Standard. “They’re feeling a little bit of a sense of security.”
It’s unclear exactly how many tenants have been affected by these wrongful rent hikes, but Attorney General Nick Brown this month said the settlement agreements have provided rent relief for over 1,000 households.
Meanwhile, owners of parks for residents living in recreational vehicles have been surprised to be considered manufactured home communities under the law, leading to the biggest fines. The state also faces an ongoing lawsuit from manufactured home parks.
The Rental Housing Association of Washington, a trade group that represents landlords, argues that its warnings that the law would hurt the state’s housing supply and result in higher rents are proving true.
“As property taxes, insurance and operational costs rise while there is a restricted ability to recoup these costs, the state will continue to see small rental housing providers invest outside of Washington state,” Sean Flynn, the group’s executive director, said in a statement.
“While it is starting as a trickle of providers leaving the state, the outflow will continue to accelerate and those who passed this policy will have no one to blame but themselves,” Flynn added.
Landlords have not had to pay, yet
In most cases, landlords accused of violations have agreed to rescind the unlawful rent increase notices, often issued before the policy became law last May but set to take effect later. If they’d already collected rent based on the new rates, they agreed to refund tenants. In these instances, the state hasn’t fined them, instead seeking $2,000 in attorney fees each time.
The landmark law was one of the most contentious during the 2025 legislative session. This year, it caps residential rent increases at 9.683%. Rent hikes of any degree aren’t allowed in the first year of a tenancy, though landlords can set rent however they please when a new tenant moves in.
Rent control doesn’t apply to all homes. For example, new construction is not covered for its first 12 years. Public housing authorities, low-income developments, and duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes in which the owner lives in one of the units are also exempt.
