OLYMPIA – Sen. Yasmin Trudeau (D-Tacoma) and other House and Senate legislators, representing landlords, renters, and homeowners, held a press conference Friday emphasizing the critical need to advance legislation aimed at stabilizing excessive rent increases and other important protections to help families plan for increased housing costs.
House Bill 2114, sponsored by Rep. Emily Alvarado (D-White Center), aims to limit rent and fee increases to 7% annually, with exemptions, and prevents increases during the first year of a tenancy. It also includes other protections for tenants, such as notice requirements for increases, termination provisions, and fee limits.
Legislators highlighted the importance of this legislation, particularly the responsibility of listening those communities disproportionally impacted by excessive and unpredictable rental increases, including historically excluded and marginalized communities and communities of color. They also aimed to clarify misconceptions about the bill.
“The reason we’re here to speak to the issue is there is a lot of misinformation about what exactly we’re talking about. It’s really important to understand that what we’re talking about is rent increases. We’re talking about stability. We’re talking about opportunity, and we’re talking about predictability. We are saying give people relief. Let them plan. Without stable housing, you don’t give people the opportunity to dream, and if you’re not giving people and families the opportunity to dream, you can’t expect successful outcomes because the ground is shaking underneath their feet at every moment,” Trudeau said during the news conference.
Although Trudeau’s Senate version of the bill failed to receive enough votes to make it out of the Senate Housing Committee, she remains hopeful Alvarado’s House bill will advance.
You can watch the full press conference here.
