AG Brown begins enforcing Washington’s new housing law, yielding refunds for impacted Washingtonians

SEATTLE – In the first enforcement action under Washington’s new rent stabilization law, Attorney General Nick Brown announced today that his office has entered into eight resolutions with landlords across the state concerning their obligations under the law.

The landlords — with properties in Bothell, Edmonds, Issaquah, Kennewick, Lakewood, Montesano, Port Angeles, Puyallup, Ridgefield, Royal City, University Place, Vancouver, and Yakima — agreed to withdraw rent increase notices they had sent and refund any excess rent amounts that tenants paid. The resolutions were filed in Superior Court in Clark, Grays Harbor, King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties.

“Our office will do all it can to address the housing challenges impacting Washingtonians across the state,” Brown said. “Protecting tenants under this new law is one piece of the work we’re doing to ensure more people have safe, affordable places to live.”

The new law (HB 1217) caps the amount landlords can raise a tenant’s rent under both the Residential Landlord Tenant Act (RLTA) and the Manufactured/Mobile Home Landlord Tenant Act (MHLTA). The law was signed on May 7 of this year and went into effect immediately. The Attorney General’s Office has created a “Know Your Rights” flyer to help tenants understand the rent stabilization law.

“This important new law is already working to limit excessive rent hikes and bring relief to working families and seniors across the state,” said Sen. Emily Alvarado, D-West Seattle. “Enforcement by the Attorney General’s Office is crucial in protecting the rights of renters and owners of manufactured homes and ensuring landlords understand and follow the law.”

“I am glad that the Attorney General’s Office has been able to use the rent stabilization law to protect Washington tenants with reasonable resolutions. This is how the law was supposed to work,” said Rep. Strom Peterson, D-Edmonds. “The landlords made mistakes but were able to work with the Attorney General’s Office to make it right. This is one way we can start to turn the tide on the housing affordability crisis.”

More than 250 households are covered by the resolutions. Several tenants expressed gratitude for the rent enforcement initiative.

“Thought you might be interested in the letter we received today with the good news our space rent is capped at 5%,” one tenant wrote. “Thank you, State of Washington!”

The rent stabilization law applies to both residential and manufactured/mobile home communities. For manufactured or mobile home tenancies covered by the MHLTA, the maximum annual increase is 5%. For residential tenancies covered by the RLTA, the maximum annual increase is 10% or 7% plus the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is higher. The Washington state Department of Commerce determines the CPI and publishes the maximum annual rent increase percentage for residential tenancies on its website. The maximum annual increase allowed through December 31, 2025, is 10%. The maximum annual increase allowed between January 1, 2026, and December 31, 2026, is 9.683%.

For the first wave of enforcements, Brown prioritized rent increase notices issued by landlords before the law was signed but that were slated to take effect for tenants after May 7. Because HB 1217 prohibits any increase higher than the rent cap that takes place on or after May 7, these increases run counter to the law.

Tenants who believe they may have been subjected to a rent increase that violates the law may file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office. Tenants may also take steps to protect their own rights, including by bringing a legal action to enforce the law.

In addition to placing a limit on the amount landlords may increase a tenant’s rent, the rent stabilization law contains additional tenant protections, including specifying the amount and type of prior written notice a landlord must provide before raising a tenant’s rent. More information concerning HB 1217 is available on the AGO’s website.

Assistant Attorney General Lauren Holzer is leading a team from the AGO's Consumer Protection Division in this enforcement effort for Washington.

The resolutions can be found here.

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