Auburn, Washington requires nearly every rental property owner, including the owner of a single rented house, to hold a City of Auburn rental housing business license under Chapter 5.22 of the Auburn City Code. The license runs on the calendar year, renews through the city each January, and costs $32 to $536 per year depending on how many units you operate, per the city's 2026 fee schedule. Operating without it can be charged as a civil infraction or a misdemeanor, and each day of unlicensed operation counts as a separate offense.
This guide covers the license program itself: who needs it, how to apply and renew, what it costs in 2026, what happens when it lapses, and how the city requirement fits with Washington State law. Everything below was verified against the live Auburn City Code and the city's published materials in July 2026.
Under ACC 5.22.010, the chapter applies to all rental units in the city, and ACC 5.22.020 defines a rental housing business as any person or entity that rents or leases one or more rental units. There is no small-portfolio carve-out: one rented house in Auburn is a rental housing business under the code.
The definition of a rental unit is broad. It includes single-family homes, condos rented to a tenant, apartment units, and manufactured or mobile home park lots, whether the rental agreement is written or oral.
The city's rental housing summary adds a few useful lines around the edges:
This is a stricter net than some neighbors cast. Kent, for example, exempts single-family rentals from its rental business license layer; our guide to Kent landlord rules walks through that contrast. In Auburn, the single-family owner is squarely inside the program.
Auburn moved general business licensing to the Washington State Business Licensing Service in 2022, but rental housing licenses were not part of that transition. Residential rental licenses are still handled directly by the City of Auburn.
The process, per the city's business licensing pages:
If an application is denied, the city must state its reasons in writing, and the applicant has 15 calendar days to appeal to the city's hearing examiner.
One more rule that matters at purchase or sale: the license is not transferable. Under ACC 5.22.080, a new owner cannot assume the seller's license and must apply for their own.
The fee is set by the City of Auburn fee schedule, not by the code itself. The schedule effective January 1, 2026 sets annual rental housing business license fees by unit count:
Under ACC 5.22.030, the license covers the calendar year, January 1 through December 31, and the full year's fee is due regardless of when in the year you license. An owner who starts renting in October pays the same annual fee as one who licensed in January.
Every year. The license expires December 31, and the city expects renewal by January 1. City staff email renewal notices in November or December, with a hard-copy invoice following if the email goes unanswered.
Do not lean on that courtesy notice. ACC 5.22.030 states plainly that failing to receive the forms does not excuse an owner from licensing and paying on time. Put the renewal on your own calendar, every December.
Auburn gives its license program real enforcement teeth:
The heaviest consequences sit at the revocation end. The city can revoke a license under ACC 5.22.090 with 30 days' mailed and posted notice, and a revoked license can mean the property must be vacated. If the city closes a rental business over serious violations, ACC 5.22.110 requires the owner to reimburse the city's tenant relocation costs before the license can be reinstated.
For most rentals, no routine inspection is tied to the license. The city's rental housing summary lists no inspection requirement for a standard single-family rental or an apartment community.
The exceptions and conditions worth knowing:
The license is not a one-time paperwork event; it is a standing obligation to keep the property in good standing.
The rental housing license is a City of Auburn requirement. Auburn sits mostly in King County with a portion in Pierce County, and because ACC 5.22 applies to all rental units in the city, the license requirement is the same on both sides of that county line.
The city license also sits alongside two other layers that govern the tenancy itself:
Yes. Auburn's program reaches any owner renting one or more units, including a single house or condo. The 2026 fee for a single-family rental is $32 per year, the license runs January through December, and you apply directly through the city rather than the state licensing portal.
Not for a standard single-family rental or apartment property. Communal residences, where one home carries multiple lease agreements, require an initial inspection and an annual certificate of inspection at renewal. The city can also require inspections at properties with recurring crime or nuisance problems.
No. The license is nontransferable under ACC 5.22.080. A new owner must apply for their own rental housing business license with the city, and should build that into closing plans so the property is never operating unlicensed.
The license itself is inexpensive; the exposure from ignoring it is not. Treat it like insurance that costs $32 a year for a single house: apply before the first tenant moves in, renew every December, and keep the property in good standing so the license never becomes the city's leverage. If you would rather never think about which city requires what, that is a core part of what full-service Auburn property management handles for you.
Register and license every property with its city, keep it renewed, and pass the required inspections, so you never have to track which city requires what. Across the Puget Sound, the rules change at every city line. What we do for each property we manage:
You pay the city's fees; we handle the tracking, filing, and follow-up, so the registration never lapses on your watch.
This is the invisible compliance work that quietly catches self-managing owners off guard, and exactly where local expertise pays for itself.
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