Do we have rent control in Washington state?

Short answer, no.

You may have heard the saying “the rent is too damn high”. That is certainly true in Washington state, where the cost of rental housing has increased at an unprecedented rate, even compared to other states, like New York, for instance. 

Now, the Washington State Legislature is dealing with a bill that may add rent control. Is this a good thing? 

According to komonews.com,
‘A bill to cap rental rates at 7% a year could go to a vote on the floor of the state House this week, according to a pair of Olympia lawmakers.
HB 1217 also seeks to limit move-in fees, security deposits, and late fees. It has 35 sponsors in the House, including Rep. Strom Peterson, (D) Snohomish County.’ 

When you first examine it, a 7% increase per year seems pretty modest but let's put this into context last year 2024 rent increased on average by 5.57%. If you're on a fixed income and renting a 1-bedroom basement apartment for over $1000 a month. That 5.4% increase represents the decision between buying gas for your car, having a telephone or paying your electricity bill. Let's not even talk about groceries. 

On the other side of this conversation is investors. They are very upset. They don't want this bill to pass. They believe that if this bill passes, it will stifle any kind of investment coming into Washington state to build housing. They claim that there are several studies indicating that rent control will actually diminish investment and cause housing to be scarcer over the long run. 

Others say they're not opposed to the bill. They just want it to also impact some of the roadblocks to investors to make it easier to build homes in Washington state. 

If the bill does pass the House vote, then it moves on to the state Senate for debate.
Will rent control bill help or hurt housing costs in Washington State?
Washington State Legislature
More than 20% of Americans spending entire paychecks on rent