Washington Rent Increase Cap Explained: 2026 and 2027
Washington's rent increase cap is 9.683% for 2026 and 10% for 2027. The formula behind the numbers, the exemptions, and the notice rules owners miss.
Ask five Washington State rental owners what the rent cap is and you will hear four different answers: 9.68 percent, 9.9 percent, 10 percent, and "7 percent plus inflation, if higher." One of those has never been true, and the other three are true only in a specific context. Here is what the law actually says.
Under RCW 59.18.700, most Washington State landlords may not raise rent during any 12-month period by more than 7 percent plus the consumer price index or 10 percent, whichever is less, and may not raise it at all during the first 12 months of a tenancy. The Washington State Department of Commerce calculates and publishes the resulting number each year: 9.683 percent for calendar year 2026 and 10 percent for calendar year 2027. The formula comes from Engrossed House Bill 1217, signed May 7, 2025, and codified at RCW 59.18.700.
Updated for the published 2026 and 2027 caps. The Department of Commerce publishes the next calendar year's number each summer, and this post is refreshed when it does.
Is There Rent Control in Washington State?
Since May 7, 2025, Washington State has statewide rent stabilization. State lawmakers passed EHB 1217 in the 2025 session (Chapter 209, 2025 Laws), and the core rules live in RCW 59.18.700 through 59.18.720, inside the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act.
It is not rent control in the classic sense. There is no registry and no board approving increases, and when a tenant vacates, RCW 59.18.700(1)(b) expressly allows the rent for the next tenancy to be set at any amount.
What the law caps is how fast rent can rise for a tenant who stays.
What Is the Formula Behind Washington's Rent Cap?
RCW 59.18.700(1)(a) sets two limits for covered tenancies, whether month-to-month or fixed-term:
- No increase during the first 12 months after the tenancy begins.
- After that, no more than 7 percent plus CPI or 10 percent, whichever is less, during any 12-month period of the tenancy.
The statute defines CPI precisely: the June 12-month percent change in the consumer price index for all urban consumers, all items, for the Seattle area, as published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. Every year, the Department of Commerce runs that calculation and publishes the maximum for the following calendar year on its website, typically in early July.
That is why "7 percent or inflation, if higher" is wrong on both ends: the formula takes the lesser of the two numbers, and it starts from 7 percent plus inflation.
Why Is the Cap 9.683% for 2026 but 10% for 2027?
Because the formula is recalculated from fresh inflation data every year. The published figures so far:
- Remainder of 2025: 10 percent, announced by the Department of Commerce when the law took effect.
- Calendar year 2026: 9.683 percent, announced July 18, 2025. The June 2025 Seattle-area CPI reading was 2.683 percent, so 7 plus 2.683 came to 9.683, under the 10 percent ceiling.
- Calendar year 2027: 10 percent, per the Commerce HB 1217 Landlord Resource Center. Seattle-area inflation through June 2026 pushed 7 plus CPI above 10, so the 10 percent ceiling governs.
This also explains the folklore numbers. "9.68" is the 2026 figure rounded. "10" is correct for 2025 and 2027 but not 2026. And 9.9 percent has never been a published Washington State cap; anyone quoting it is misremembering.
The number that applies is the published cap for the calendar year in which the increase takes effect, so check the Commerce page before setting any renewal increase.
Which Rentals Are Exempt From the Cap?
RCW 59.18.710 lists the exemptions. An increase above the cap is lawful only if the tenancy fits one of them:
- Newer construction: a dwelling unit whose first certificate of occupancy was issued 12 or fewer years before the date of the rent increase notice.
- Regulated affordable housing: units owned by a public housing authority, public development authority, or qualifying nonprofit where rents are already regulated by other laws or affordable housing programs, plus qualified low-income housing tax credit developments under a Washington State Housing Finance Commission regulatory agreement.
- Owner-shared housing: a unit where the tenant shares a bathroom or kitchen with an owner who lives at the property.
- Owner-occupied small properties: a single-family owner-occupied residence renting out no more than two units or bedrooms, including an accessory dwelling unit, and an owner-occupied duplex, triplex, or fourplex where the owner lived in one unit when the tenancy began and still does.
Two catches owners miss. First, the owner-occupied and owner-shared exemptions do not apply if the owner is a real estate investment trust, a corporation, or an LLC with a corporate member. Second, under RCW 59.18.700(2), a landlord claiming an exemption must state the supporting facts in the written rent increase notice itself.
Does the Cap Mean Every Increase Will Land at the Cap?
No. The cap is a ceiling, not a target, and the law says so directly. The notice form required by RCW 59.18.720 tells tenants in its own text that the landlord "is not required to raise the rent" by any amount.
Some commentators predicted every renewal would now default to the maximum. In practice the right increase is still a market decision: a home already at the top of its market does not hold a good resident by adding the full cap on principle, while a below-market home may warrant the full allowed amount.
Treat the published cap as the legal boundary and the market as the guide within it.
Do You Still Need to Give Notice of a Rent Increase?
Yes, and this is a separate law from the cap. Under RCW 59.18.140(3)(a), Washington State requires a minimum of 90 days' prior written notice for a rent increase, and the increase cannot take effect before the current lease term ends. Income-based subsidized tenancies use a 30-day minimum. The notice must use the form set out in RCW 59.18.720 and be served in accordance with RCW 59.12.040.
Several Puget Sound cities go further. Seattle requires 180 days' written notice for any housing cost increase under SMC 7.24, and Kirkland and Redmond each require 120 days' notice for increases over 3 percent and 180 days over 10 percent under their municipal codes. Our guides to Seattle's rent increase rules and Washington's renewal and rent increase notices cover the timing in detail.
A lawful increase amount served with a late or defective notice is still unenforceable, so the calendar matters as much as the percentage.
What Happens if an Increase Exceeds the Cap?
RCW 59.18.700 spells out the consequences, stated here as information, not advice:
- A demand to cure. The tenant must first give the landlord a written demand to reduce the increase to a compliant amount.
- A tenant walk-away right. The tenant may also terminate the rental agreement with at least 20 days' written notice before the increase takes effect, owing rent for the full move-out month, and cannot be charged fines or fees for leaving.
- Damages in court. A tenant or the state attorney general can sue. A court that finds a violation awards the excess amounts paid, up to three months of the unlawful rent or fees charged, and attorneys' fees and costs. The attorney general can also seek civil penalties of up to $7,500 per violation.
- No screening retaliation. A landlord may not report a tenant to a screening service for not paying the unlawfully increased portion.
Does Washington's Rent Cap Expire?
Yes. Both RCW 59.18.700 and the exemption section, RCW 59.18.710, expire on July 1, 2040 by their own terms. Unless state lawmakers act before then, the cap sunsets after roughly 15 years. Until that date, expect a new published number every summer. For the rest of the current legal landscape, see our roundup of Washington's new rental laws for 2026.
How Should Owners Plan Around the Cap?
The owners who handle this law well treat it as a scheduling problem, not a crisis. Check the Commerce number each July, decide each renewal against the market, and build the 90-day state notice, or the longer city timeline, into the renewal calendar. Owners who work with a manager should expect exactly that discipline; it is baked into how Sagareus Property Management runs renewals across 800+ units.
Common Questions About Washington's Rent Cap
Is the Cap 9.68% or 10%?
Both are real published numbers for different years. The Washington State Department of Commerce set the maximum at 9.683 percent for calendar year 2026 and 10 percent for calendar year 2027, applying the RCW 59.18.700 formula of 7 percent plus the June Seattle-area CPI or 10 percent, whichever is less. The cap that applies is the one published for the year the increase takes effect.
Does the Cap Mean Rent Cannot Go Up?
No. After the first 12 months of a tenancy, rent can rise up to the published cap during any 12-month period, and when a tenant moves out the rent for the next tenancy can be set at any amount under RCW 59.18.700(1)(b). The cap is a ceiling on increases for a sitting tenant, and the statute is equally clear that no landlord is required to raise rent at all.
Does the Cap Apply to New Construction?
Generally not for the first 12 years. RCW 59.18.710 exempts a dwelling unit whose first certificate of occupancy was issued 12 or fewer years before the rent increase notice. A landlord relying on that exemption must include the supporting facts in the written notice under RCW 59.18.700(2).
Do I Still Need to Give Notice?
Yes. The cap and the notice requirement are separate rules. Washington State requires at least 90 days' written notice under RCW 59.18.140, using the statutory form in RCW 59.18.720, and some cities require more: Seattle requires 180 days for any increase, and Kirkland and Redmond require 120 to 180 days depending on the size of the increase.
This article is general information for Washington State rental property owners, not legal advice. For decisions about a specific tenancy, exemption, or notice, consult a landlord-tenant attorney.
How Sagareus Handles Lease Renewals
We treat every renewal as a deliberate decision, not a deadline we react to. A signed lease is binding, and once it lapses to month-to-month your options narrow, so we renew or end each lease on purpose, well before it expires:
- Review the rent every cycle. Taxes, insurance, and upkeep rise every year, so frozen rent quietly falls behind. We set an increase at each renewal rather than let the rent drift below what the home is worth.
- Size the increase to the market, within the law. A home that has fallen below comparable rents gets a larger correction; one already at or above the market gets a gentler one. Every increase stays inside Washington's legal caps and any stricter city limit.
- Keep the process predictable for good residents. Renewal is a real decision for the people in the home, so we open it early, communicate clearly, and follow up so no one is left guessing.
Then the required notices go out on time and delivered properly. Washington sets a minimum, but several Puget Sound cities require much longer, so we serve to the strictest rule that applies. A late or botched notice resets the clock and can cost you a month.
Rent should keep pace with the market every cycle, and the renewal should be planned, not scrambled.
Renewal-time increase discipline, the published cap, the exemption paperwork, and the right notice window in the right city, is exactly the kind of moving-parts compliance a manager exists to carry. Curious what full-service management would cost for your rental? Our instant calculator gives you a real range in under a minute, no email required. Request your instant estimate.