Washington Rent Increase Rules: Caps, Exemptions & Notice
The short answer. Washington caps rent increases at 9.683% for 2026 and 10% for 2027 (Washington Department of Commerce). Manufactured and mobile home lot rent has a flat 5% cap. No increase is allowed during the first 12 months of tenancy, 90 days' written notice is required on the statutory form in RCW 59.18.720, and the law expires July 1, 2040.
This tool is for information only. It is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Verify current law with the official sources cited before acting.
Washington's rent cap comes from HB 1217 / EHB 1217 (Chapter 209, Laws of 2025), signed May 7, 2025 and codified at RCW 59.18.700–.720. It expires July 1, 2040. Check a specific increase with the rent increase checker, and build the statutory-form notice with the rent increase notice letter generator.
Current caps
| Case | Cap | Period |
|---|---|---|
| General cap | 10% | Rest of 2025 |
| General cap | 9.683% | 2026 |
| General cap | 10% | 2027 |
| Manufactured / mobile home lot rent | 5% flat | Current (RCW 59.20.370) |
How the cap is computed
The cap is 7% plus the June 12-month percentage change in CPI-U, all items, for Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue (Bureau of Labor Statistics series CUURS49DSA0), or 10%, whichever is less, in any 12-month period.
2026: June 2024 index 354.824 to June 2025 index 364.344 gives ((364.344 − 354.824) / 354.824) + 0.07 = 9.683%. 2027: June 2025 index 364.344 to June 2026 index 380.849 gives a formula result of 11.53%, so the 10% ceiling applies. Both calculations are published by Washington Commerce.
Worked example — why three decimals matter. A unit renting for $2,400 a month, with a tenancy older than 12 months, faces a proposed 10% increase effective in 2026. The 9.683% cap allows a maximum increase of $232.39, for a maximum lawful rent of $2,632.39. The proposed increase ($240, to $2,640) exceeds the cap by $7.61 a month. A 9% increase ($216, to $2,616) would be within the cap, with 90 days' notice (180 days in Seattle). In 2027, with a 10% cap, a 10% increase would be within the cap.
Manufactured and mobile home lot rent
Lot rent for manufactured and mobile homes has a flat 5% cap under RCW 59.20.370(1)(b), with the same first-12-months ban as other rentals. The Washington Attorney General page states 3 months' prior written notice for park owners.
Exemptions
Exemptions under RCW 59.18.710 include:
- Housing whose first certificate of occupancy was issued 12 or fewer years before the notice date.
- Public, nonprofit, and tax-credit affordable housing: housing owned by a public housing authority, a public development authority, or a nonprofit where maximum rents are regulated or where the nonprofit is an entity under RCW 84.36.560 with majority decision-making power; qualified low-income housing developments under RCW 82.45.010 owned by those organizations; and low-income housing tax credit developments with an enforceable regulatory agreement with the Washington State Housing Finance Commission.
- Owner-occupied situations: a tenancy where the tenant shares a bathroom or kitchen with the owner, who maintains a principal residence there; a single-family residence where the owner lives and rents no more than 2 units or bedrooms including an ADU; and a duplex, triplex, or fourplex where the owner occupied one unit as a principal place of residence at the beginning of the tenancy and continues to occupy it.
The owner-occupied exemptions in the third item do not apply if the owner is a corporation, REIT, or LLC with a corporate member. A non-owner-occupied rental house is covered by the cap. The full text of RCW 59.18.710 was verified at app.leg.wa.gov on November 12, 2026; the section expires July 1, 2040.
Frequency limits
No increase is allowed during the first 12 months of tenancy, and an increase cannot take effect before the current lease term ends.
Notice rules and the statutory form
Washington requires 90 days' written notice under RCW 59.18.140(3)(a) (raised from 60 days by HB 1217), with the increase not taking effect before the current term ends, or 30 days where rent is based on subsidized household income or circumstances (RCW 59.18.140(3)(b)). A narrow transitional 60-day clause for specified-time leases predating May 7, 2025 (RCW 59.18.140(3)(c)) has expired. The current text of RCW 59.18.140, verified at app.leg.wa.gov on November 12, 2026, contains no subsection (4).
The notice must be in a form substantially the same as the form in RCW 59.18.720(3): addressed "TO TENANT(S): (names) AT ADDRESS: (address)", titled "RENT AND FEE INCREASE NOTICE TO TENANTS", with the statutory rights statement, the landlord's intent, the effective date, the percentage increase, the additional dollars per month, and the new total monthly amount including all recurring and periodic charges. The form includes a checkbox for whether the increase is lower than the state maximum, the maximum allowed, or authorized by an exemption under RCW 59.18.710 — and where an exemption is claimed, the landlord must fill out the exemptions section with facts or attached supporting documents and certify. Exemption facts in the notice are also required by RCW 59.18.700(2). The form requirement does not apply to subsidized tenancies where rent is based in whole or in part on a percentage of income or household circumstances (RCW 59.18.720(2)) — but that exception does not include tenancies where some or all rent comes from a portable tenant-based voucher or similar portable assistance, or affordable housing where maximum rents are limited by area median income levels and the tenant's base rent does not change with income; for those, the statutory form is still required. The full statutory form text in RCW 59.18.720(3) was verified at app.leg.wa.gov on November 12, 2026. Washington Commerce publishes the official form (HB 1217 Landlord Resource Center); the Box-hosted form file's contents were not fetched on November 12, 2026 (the preview did not load), so confirm every element against the official form before serving.
Delivery follows RCW 59.12.040 (current text, 2026 c 144, verified November 12, 2026): personal delivery; if the tenant is absent from the premises, leaving a copy with a person of suitable age and discretion plus sending a copy through the mail addressed to the person at the person's place of residence; or, if the residence is unknown or no suitable person is found, affixing a copy conspicuously on the premises, delivering to a resident if one can be found, and mailing a copy. The certified-mail requirement was removed by HB 2664 effective June 11, 2026 — mailed copies are now deposited in the United States mail from within Washington state, properly addressed with postage prepaid. Service by mail is complete on deposit, but 5 additional days are allowed before the commencement of an action based on the notice; the statute speaks to actions, not to an addition to the notice period. There is no rent-increase-specific mail-cushion rule in the current RCW 59.18.140: HB 2452 as enacted (Chapter 118, Laws of 2026, effective June 11, 2026) amended only the manufactured/mobile home sections RCW 59.20.390 and 59.20.370.
Seattle: no local cap, plus 180-day notice and EDRA
Seattle has no local percentage cap — state preemption (RCW 35.21.830) bars local rent control, and the City states that its housing cost increase rules are not rent control. The Washington state cap applies. Seattle adds two layers that apply to all Seattle rentals:
- 180 days' written notice for any housing cost increase (SMC 7.24.030 / 22.206.180).
- Economic Displacement Relocation Assistance (EDRA): an EDRA notice must be attached for increases of 10% or more in 12 months (SMC 22.212). EDRA notice service is by hand-delivery or by mailing with both certified mail with return receipt requested and regular US mail, with copies to each adult household member. Rent-increase notice service is by personal delivery or, failing that, posting on the property and first-class mail, per the official Seattle HB 1217 summary.
The state RCW 59.18.720 form is still required on top of the city rules. Seattle requires this language on housing cost increase notices (City of Seattle, Renting in Seattle, Issuing Notices, verified November 12, 2026): "If you need help understanding this notice or information about your renter rights, call the Renting in Seattle Helpline at (206) 684-5700 or visit the web site at www.seattle.gov/rentinginseattle." The same City page advises attempting personal service for housing-cost-increase notices, otherwise posting conspicuously plus first-class mail, and allowing an additional 5 days for mail before the notice period expires as per RCW 59.12.040 — that is City guidance; the statute itself allows the 5 additional days before the commencement of an action based on the notice. The MFTE Program 7 has separate rules outside the scope of this page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum rent increase in Washington for 2026 and 2027?
Washington Commerce announced a 9.683% cap for 2026 and a 10% cap for 2027. For the rest of 2025, the cap was 10%.
How is the Washington rent increase cap calculated?
The cap is 7% plus the June 12-month percentage change in CPI-U, all items, for Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, or 10%, whichever is less, in any 12-month period. For 2026, the June 2024 index of 354.824 and June 2025 index of 364.344 produce 9.683%. For 2027, the formula yields 11.53%, so the 10% ceiling applies.
What is the rent increase cap for manufactured and mobile home lots in Washington?
Manufactured and mobile home lot rent has a flat 5% cap under RCW 59.20.370, with the same first-12-months ban as other rentals. The Washington Attorney General page states 3 months' prior written notice for park owners.
Which rentals are exempt from the Washington rent increase cap?
Exemptions under RCW 59.18.710 include housing whose first certificate of occupancy was issued 12 or fewer years before the notice date, public, nonprofit, and tax-credit affordable housing, and owner-occupied situations such as an owner-occupied single-family residence renting no more than 2 units or bedrooms including an ADU, and an owner-occupied duplex, triplex, or fourplex. The owner-occupied exemptions do not apply if the owner is a corporation, REIT, or LLC with a corporate member. The full text of RCW 59.18.710 was verified at app.leg.wa.gov on November 12, 2026.
How much notice is required for a rent increase in Washington, and is a specific form required?
Washington requires 90 days' written notice, or 30 days where rent is based on subsidized household income or circumstances. The notice must be in a form substantially the same as the statutory form in RCW 59.18.720, titled Rent and Fee Increase Notice to Tenants, except for subsidized tenancies where rent is based on income or household circumstances — except that portable voucher tenancies and AMI-limited affordable housing where base rent does not change with income are not excepted from the form requirement.
Does Seattle have its own rent increase cap?
No. Seattle has no local percentage cap, so the Washington state cap applies. Seattle requires 180 days' written notice for any housing cost increase, and an Economic Displacement Relocation Assistance (EDRA) notice must be attached for increases of 10% or more in 12 months. The state RCW 59.18.720 notice form is still required on top of the city rules.
Related pages
- Rent increase checker — check a specific increase against the Washington cap.
- Rent increase notice letter generator — builds the RCW 59.18.720 statutory-form notice.
- California rent increase rules
- Oregon rent increase rules
- Security deposit interest calculator
- Probate fee calculator
Sources
- Washington Department of Commerce, HB 1217 Landlord Resource Center — commerce.wa.gov — accessed November 12, 2026.
- Washington Department of Commerce, Commerce announces 9.683% rent cap for 2026 — commerce.wa.gov — accessed November 12, 2026.
- Washington Department of Commerce bulletin, 2027 cap 10% — content.govdelivery.com — accessed November 12, 2026.
- RCW 59.20.370, manufactured/mobile home lot rent cap — app.leg.wa.gov — accessed November 12, 2026.
- Washington Attorney General, Manufactured/Mobile Home Landlord-Tenant Act — atg.wa.gov — accessed November 12, 2026.
- RCW 59.18.140, notice of rent increase (current text; no subsection (4)) — apps.leg.wa.gov — accessed November 12, 2026.
- RCW 59.18.710, exemptions — app.leg.wa.gov — accessed November 12, 2026.
- RCW 59.18.720, statutory rent increase notice form — app.leg.wa.gov — accessed November 12, 2026.
- Substitute House Bill 2452, passed Legislature (amends RCW 59.20.390 and 59.20.370 only) — lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov (PDF) — accessed November 12, 2026.
- RCW 59.12.040, service of notices — app.leg.wa.gov — accessed November 12, 2026.
- City of Seattle, Housing cost increases — seattle.gov — accessed November 12, 2026.
- City of Seattle, Issuing Notices (required language on housing cost increases) — seattle.gov — accessed November 12, 2026.
- City of Seattle, Renting in Seattle — seattle.gov — accessed November 12, 2026.
Rates and rules verified November 12, 2026 from official sources.