Setting the right rent price is the single biggest factor in how quickly your property leases and how long your tenant stays. Price too high and the property sits vacant. Price too low and you leave money on the table every month.
Washington's 2025 rent stabilization law now shapes every increase. Rent cannot go up during the first 12 months of a tenancy, annual increases are capped at 7 percent plus inflation or 10 percent, whichever is less, and owners must give at least 90 days written notice, and more in some cities; Seattle requires 180 days, and Kirkland requires 120 to 180 days depending on the size of the increase.
Sagareus conducts a market rent analysis before every new listing and lease renewal, comparing your property to active and recently leased comparable units in the same area.
A disciplined, documented rent process does three things for you as an owner:
This article covers how Sagareus stays current on market rent, and how to increase rent fairly, ethically, and legally under Washington's current rules.
Establish a standard review schedule first. Sagareus reviews every unit for a potential increase once a year.
Our process starts in a simple spreadsheet with columns for each unit being managed: square footage, current rent, market rent, last increase date, post date, and increase date. This sheet is labelled Rent Schedule.
Within the same file, we have another sheet labelled "Rental Comps" to help us determine market rent for our subject properties. We enter 3 to 5 comparable rentals near our subject properties, average the price per square foot to determine the market rent for our units, which autofills on our Rent Schedule.
Rental comps are part art, because nothing public shows what each unit actually rented for. For example, a landlord may advertise a unit for $1,600 per month but actually lease the unit for $1,450 per month, and we would never know.
The best we can use is the ads. Potential renters are looking at the same ads we are, so as long as we are in the appropriate price range, our pictures and copy are the best on the market, and our lease terms are competitive, we will schedule showings and secure a lease.
Every other month, we go to Zillow and find comparable units. We input the asking rent and the square footage and adjust for parking, water, sewer, garbage, whether there is a balcony and an elevator, and what kind of rental pet policy is in place.
Be realistic about what your rental actually offers. Very often property owners have an over optimistic view of their property features. Only include properties that are within a 10 to 15 year range of your property, if possible. Transportation options including access to freeways, parking, and transit centers are major location factors; layout, flooring, and pet policies are major property factors.
Our spreadsheet allows us to rate the units 0 to 1 to adjust the pricing somewhat, based on these features. For more dated units, we may rate the unit 0.9 to bring down the market rent; or, on a fully remodeled unit being compared to older units, we may use 1.05 to bring the value up.
You may find that some of your units are at or above what you believe to be market rent. If this is the case, upgrade the unit rather than hold the line on price. Upgrade your rental property: install new countertops or upgrade the bathroom for your tenants; install a ceiling fan or garbage disposal if there isn't one there. If you bring the value of the unit up, your tenant will feel they are paying market rent and be encouraged to extend their lease. If they feel they are paying too much, they will move. Wouldn't you?
Washington adopted statewide rent stabilization in May 2025 (RCW 59.18.700 through 59.18.720), and it changed the mechanics of every increase:
Our guide to Washington lease renewal and rent increase notices covers the notice mechanics in detail. This is general information, not legal advice; for an unusual situation, involve a landlord-tenant attorney.
To increase rents ethically, fairly, and legally, set a rent increase policy and document your follow-through. Ours is:
At each review, we update the market rent spreadsheet, save it as a PDF, and upload it to our property management software so it is date stamped. Any comments and observations are noted here as well, such as "Not much change from last review" or "New building .3 miles away, 24 units."
We keep careful records so that if someone wants to know why the rent was raised, we can show them the documentation demonstrating how we came to the rental amount.
Document your rent reviews and increases; this shows they are part of your normal routine procedures. There may come a day when someone accuses you of raising their rent as a form of retaliation, and this documented process proves otherwise. Under the 2025 law, that documentation also proves every increase stayed inside the cap and followed the notice rules.
A regular, consistent, well documented rent schedule keeps your property funded, keeps increases small and predictable for residents, and keeps you compliant with Washington's cap and notice requirements. Falling behind on rent reviews hurts both sides: the property's upkeep suffers, and the eventual correction is harder on the resident than steady annual adjustments would have been. The process above is exactly how we manage it at Sagareus.
A vacant home is won or lost on speed and presentation, so we treat both as disciplines, not hopes. Every day a unit sits empty is income the owner never gets back, and the listing that responds first and looks best is the one that fills. Here is how we run it:
You set the goal, whether that leans toward top rent or fastest occupancy. We bring the market read, run the system, and report the numbers every week until the lease is signed.
Speed and presentation are not luck. They are how we shorten your vacancy.
Setting market rent is one piece of leasing a rental property in Washington, from pricing and marketing through screening and lease signing.
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