Legislation sponsored by Sen. Yasmin Trudeau (D-Tacoma) to pass rent stabilization and other tenant protections will be heard 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, in the Senate Housing Committee. The hearing can be streamed live or watched on replay at TVW here.
The bill, Senate Bill 5222, is a companion to House Bill 1217, the House companion bill introduced by Rep. Emily Alvarado (D-Seattle).
Trudeau offered the following quote on the bill:
“The housing crisis is only getting worse. We need more housing supply and we need new tenant protections – these aren’t a tradeoff, we can and must do both. We know that unnecessary and large rent increases are disproportionately hurting seniors, low and middle-income workers, families with children, and people of color. This policy eliminates a preventable driver of homelessness and will help make housing more affordable for folks across Washington.”
The bill includes the following policies:
- Protections for both residential rents and manufactured homeowners.
- Caps annual rent increases at 7% following the first 12 months of a tenancy. Landlords can reset rents to market-rate upon the end of a tenancy. Fees count as rent for the purposes of this cap.
- Requires at least six months’ notice for all rent increases of 3% or more to provide tenants with more opportunity to plan for the increase.
- Caps all move-in fees to equivalent of one month’s rent in order to make moving more affordable. Caps late fees to 1.5% of the tenant’s total monthly rent.
- Prevents landlords from treating month-to-month leases differently than fixed-term leases in terms of rent levels and fees.
- Creates a landlord resource center and a model lease for landlords.
- Creates enforcement with a private right of action and by the state attorney general’s office.
- Exempts certain properties, including new construction for the first 10 years.
