Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson last week signed into law a bill that sets limits on rent increases, making the state among the first in the nation to provide such protection for tenants.

With the rent stabilization measure, House Bill 1217, Washington joins states like Oregon and California that have sought new ways to curb homelessness.

Bill sponsor Sen. Emily Alvarado, a West Seattle Democrat, said the measure sets common-sense guardrails on the state’s rental-housing market “so that hardworking families and older adults don’t get unchecked excessive rent increases.”

“Housing is not a luxury; it’s a basic human need,” Alvarado said at the bill signing. “And everyone in this state deserves a stable and affordable home.”

The measure caps rent increases at 7 percent plus inflation or 10 percent — whichever is lower. The restrictions include single-family homes. The rent-increase cap for manufactured homes is 5 percent. Lawmakers approved the plan on a 54-44 vote, with five Democrats joining the Republican opposition.

Ferguson praised Alvarado and the many advocates across the state who worked hard to get the bill passed. It almost didn’t happen.

The bill successfully moved through both houses, but two amendments added on the Senate floor sent it into a conference committee. Those amendments increased the cap from 7 percent to 10 percent plus inflation and exempted single-family homes. Opponents of the bill argued that developers would leave the state if it became law and said similar policies in Oregon and California added to those states’ financial burdens instead of slowing the homeless crisis.

Oregon’s rent-control bill was passed in 2019 and later updated to cap rent increases at either 7 percent plus the annual 12-month average change in the consumer price index for the U.S. West, or 10 percent — whichever is lower.

The conference committee got the cap down to 7 percent plus inflation or 10 percent — whichever is lower, and restored protection for the 38 percent of renters who live in single-family homes.

“This law is a good beginning,” Alvarado said. “It’s long overdue and it’s urgently needed. Forty percent of the people in the state of Washington are renters or manufactured homeowners and before today they had no protections over how high the rent can go, leading to pain and to devastating destabilization of families and communities.”

Ferguson also signed nine other bills to help homeowners and renters. He said when he campaigned for governor, affordable housing was the top issue voters raised, so he supports bills to help make it easier to secure housing.

“Let’s make this the session of affordable housing,” he said before signing the first measure.

The other measures included limits on certain provisions in rental agreements, notices for mobile home communities, and property tax relief for disabled veterans.

The post Washington caps rent hikes in bid to curb homelessness appeared first on Daily Journal of Commerce.