How much notice does a landlord have to give to raise rent in Washington?

Ninety days in writing, under section 59.18.140 as amended by House Bill 1217 in May 2025. Many pages still say 60 days, which was the rule before that date. Subsidised tenancies where your share of the rent changes with income or household size need 30 days. Cities can require more than the state: Seattle requires 180 days. A notice short of the required period delays the increase rather than cancelling it.

How much can a landlord raise rent in Washington?

The lower of seven per cent plus Seattle-area inflation, or ten per cent, in any 12-month period. The Department of Commerce set the 2026 maximum at 9.683%. The limit applies to rent and fees together rather than rent alone. New construction is outside the cap for 12 years, non-profit and public housing affordable units are exempt, and manufactured home lot rent has a separate and stricter 5% limit.

Can my landlord raise the rent in my first year in Washington?

No. Rent cannot be increased during the first 12 months of a tenancy. This is separate from the cap and catches more tenants than the percentage does: an increase arriving eight months into a new tenancy is not permitted at all, whatever the amount. If you have received one, the date your tenancy began is the first thing to check and the first thing to put in writing.

Washington Rent Increase Cap and the 90-Day Notice Rule

Q: I was given 60 days' notice. Is that enough in Washington?

Not since May 2025. The period is now 90 days, and a 60-day notice is the pre-HB 1217 rule. The usual effect is that the increase takes effect once a full 90 days have run from when you received the notice, rather than being cancelled outright. If you live in Seattle the local requirement is 180 days, so a 90-day notice would be short there as well.

Washington caps your rent increase at the lower of 7% plus Seattle-area inflation, or 10%, in any 12 months, and forbids any increase during your first 12 months in the home. The Department of Commerce set the 2026 maximum at 9.683%. You are entitled to 90 days’ written notice — not 60.

That last point is worth stating plainly, because a great many pages still say 60 days. They are describing the law as it stood before 7 May 2025.

Why so much of what you will read is out of date

House Bill 1217 was signed on 7 May 2025 and changed the notice period from 60 days to 90 under Rev. Code Wash. § 59.18.140. It is the newest statewide rent cap in the country, and guidance written before that date — including pages carrying a 2026 copyright — still gives the old figure.

If you have been given 60 days’ notice, the increase does not simply become valid when the 60 days are up. It takes effect once a full 90 days have run from when you received the notice. Saying so in writing, early, is usually the end of it.

No increase in your first year

Rent cannot be raised during the first 12 months of a tenancy. This catches more people than the cap does: a tenant eight months into a new place who receives an increase is looking at something the statute does not permit at all, regardless of the percentage.

The cap covers fees, not just rent

Washington’s limit applies to rent and fees together, which is unusual and worth checking. An increase that stays inside the cap on the rent line, while adding or raising charges alongside it, may still exceed the limit once both are counted. Add up what you paid in total 12 months ago and what you are being asked to pay now.

What is outside the cap

New construction, for 12 years from the building’s completion.
Non-profit and public housing authority affordable units.
Manufactured and mobile home lot rent, which has its own, stricter limit of 5% — and unlike the rest of the scheme that 5% cap is permanent, while the general cap is written to sunset after 15 years.

Subsidised tenancies where your share of the rent moves with your income or household size are treated differently on notice too: 30 days rather than 90.

Your city may require much more notice

The cap is statewide and local governments cannot set their own, but they can and do require longer notice. Seattle requires 180 days — double the state period. If you are in Seattle, 90 days is not your answer.

If the increase looks wrong

Check three things. Count 90 days from when the notice reached you, not from its date. Check whether you have been in the home a full 12 months. Then compare your total monthly cost, rent and fees together, against the same figure a year ago, and against the published maximum for the year. HB 1217 provides for enforcement by the Attorney General, whose landlord-tenant pages carry the current figures.

When this needs a lawyer

Get advice if the increase arrived inside your first 12 months, if it followed a repair request or complaint, or if you were served a notice ending your tenancy rather than raising the rent. Washington has tenant legal aid statewide and most of it is free.

Sources

Rev. Code Wash. § 59.18.140 as amended by House Bill 1217 (2025), signed 7 May 2025. The 2026 maximum of 9.683% was announced by the Washington State Department of Commerce and matches the Attorney General’s landlord-tenant page, which also records the 10% cap that applied through 2025. Commerce lists 10% for 2027; that figure appears on its resource centre only, so check it before relying on it. Verified November 2026. This is general information, not legal advice about your tenancy.

Washington is one of only four places that cap the amount rather than just the notice — how all 51 jurisdictions compare. Oregon’s cap is the older neighbour and works differently. For the deposit at the end of the tenancy, see the Washington deposit rule.

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