Rent Increases & Lease Renewals are No Longer Simple

It is a necessary industry practice to raise rent regularly in order to cover rising costs and keep properties in the range of market rent. With the passage of EHB 1217 in 2025, rent increases and lease renewals became extremely complicated and fraught with risk if not done correctly. Significant fines and rent increase rollbacks are a very real threat, so it is very important to document your rent increase policies and follow all state and local government regulations on increasing rent. We are hoping our legislators will modify some of these requirements in the 2026 legislative session and will, of course, let you know immediately if and when anything changes. These law summaries, tips, and best practices are provided in our Support Center article on Rent Increases.

PLANNING AHEAD

• Consider emailing tenants in advance, informing them of the increase, potentially offering reasons for the increase, and explaining the new legal requirement for service so they are not alarmed by the new process.
• You may try setting an appointment so that you can serve each tenant by placing the notice in their hand — this removes the requirement to mail.
• This meeting could be an annual routine, including a discussion about any maintenance issues and an inspection.
• If using fixed-term leases, create reminders on your calendar prompting you to serve rent increase notices and lease renewal offers with the necessary notice period (at least 90 days; or up to at least 180 days based on local government restrictions) to align with the end of the current term.
• If no rent increase is needed on a lease renewal and you are enforcing fixed lease terms, you may send a lease renewal offer with more than 90 days' notice. If they sign within 30 days, service is not required. If the tenant does not sign, serve an End of Term Notice with Lease Renewal (RHAWA form). If they do not sign within 30 days, they must vacate at the end of the term. Follow up with additional communications as needed.
• Do not do any rent increases in the first year of tenancy, and only do one increase per 12-month period.

RENT INCREASE STEPS

1. COMPLETE FORM – Determine rent increase, ensuring it is below the current cap (see below). Allow more than 90 days, or greater per any applicable local laws listed below. Fill out the RHAWA Rent Increase Notice form, print, sign, and make the number of copies necessary per service method below. Note: A common best practice is to make an additional copy or copies for any unknown occupants.

2. SERVE NOTICE – Serve the notice using one of the following methods:

Method One: If you can, set an appointment to personally place a separate copy of the notice in the hand of each and every adult tenant. If you are able to accomplish this, mailing the notice is not required. As additional proof of service, you can ask each tenant to sign the second page in the notice packet as documentation of receipt.

Method Two: Prepare 2 copies for each adult tenant, plus an additional 2 for any other occupants (the “other occupants” copies are a best practice, required if there happens to be an extra person living there not listed on the notice).

• • First copy per person is left with a person of reasonable age who answers the door, or all copies are posted on the door.
  • Second copy per person (each in separate envelope for each tenant + envelope addressed to all other occupants) is mailed USPS Certified with no return receipt requested to comply with the law in effect since July 27, 2025.
  • Keep original on file along with proof of service.

If in a fixed-term lease, give/send a Lease Renewal Offer in writing at the same time or after the rent increase notice (see Lease Renewal Laws below).

If you receive regular rental assistance payments for this tenant, send a copy of the notice to the Housing Authority or other provider(s).

3. DOCUMENT SERVICE – Preferably on the day of service, sign and retain the declaration of service for proof of how you served the notice, and get documentation of certified mail. Other optional forms of proof:

• If serving in person, have each tenant sign the receipt included in the RHAWA notice form.
• Photos of all the addressed envelopes.
• Photo of notice posted on the door.
• Selfie of you standing at the door (geo-stamped and time-stamped).
• Email follow-up with tenants recapping your meeting with them.

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS FOR RENT INCREASE NOTICE

For all residential tenancies, under RCW 59.18.140 and EHB 1217 (WA 2025):

• No rent increase can be given in the first 12 months of tenancy.
• Minimum notice for rent increase is 90 days.
• You must use a specific rent increase notice form included in the statute, EHB 1217 (WA 2025). The RHAWA Rent Increase Notice complies with the statute.
• Rent increase notice must be served like an eviction notice per RCW 59.12.040 (see new requirements). See Notice Service Instructions + Declaration of Service.
• Rent increase is limited to 7% + Consumer Price Index (CPI) or 10%, whichever is less, per 12-month period. For each calendar year, the CPI number to be referenced will be selected and announced by the Department of Commerce (DOC).

• • From 5/7/25 through 12/31/25, the rent increase cap was 10%.
  • From 1/1/26 through 12/31/26, the rent increase cap is 9.683%.
  • A new cap for 2027 will be announced by DOC in June of 2026.
• Whether utilities are considered “rent” for purposes of rent control and notices to pay rent or vacate depends on a number of factors, including how they are defined in the lease, how they are billed and paid, how frequently they are billed, how they are calculated, to whom they are paid, and who is ultimately liable to the utility provider if they go unpaid. RHAWA recommends that members seek advice from an attorney who can consider how each of these factors weighs in their particular circumstances to determine whether a particular utility charge is “rent” for either or both of these purposes.
• The law prohibits offering any incentives based on length of term or month-to-month status other than a 5% difference in monthly rent amount. If offering an incentive in an existing tenancy, the higher offer must conform with the rent increase limit, 7% + CPI.
• Tenant must give a “notice to cure” to the landlord who increases rent unlawfully. Even without it, the Attorney General can still bring enforcement action.
• Per the statutory form, but not actually spelled out in law, only one rent increase can be given in any 12-month period after the first 12-month period.

LEASE RENEWAL LAWS

If you have a term lease, you cannot unilaterally raise the rent mid-term. To require a tenant to sign a lease renewal rather than going into a month-to-month tenancy, RCW 59.18.650(1) stipulates that you serve an “End of Term” notice at least 60 days prior to the end of the term. Per the End of Term Notice, the tenant has 30 days to sign, or they must vacate.

Under EHB 1217 in effect on 5/7/2025, if the lease renewal offer includes a rent increase, notice of that increase must be served at least 90 days before the end of the term, using the state-mandated notice form. The housing provider can serve the two notice forms (End of Term Notice with Renewal and Rent and Fee Increase) together in one notice packet if desired.

If an extended rent increase notice is required under a local government law, consider serving the rent increase notice first and then the lease renewal with a copy of the rent increase notice form attached. In Seattle, this is required since a rent increase requires more than 180 days’ notice, and renewal must be offered between 60 and 90 days. Use the appropriate version of the RHAWA form, End of Term Notice with Lease Renewal, following the provided instructions.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS

RCW 35.21.830 still prohibits cities or counties in Washington from implementing their own rent increase caps. However, several local governments have enacted laws that require extended notice periods for rent increases and other measures intended to complicate the process for increasing rent. View the full Support Center article on Rent Increases or the instruction page in the Rent and Fee Increase Notice form for a full list of local law requirements.

DOCUMENTATION OF RENT INCREASE PRACTICES

RCW 59.18.240 prohibits the landlord from retaliation or making reprisals against the tenant in response to the tenant doing anything that was within their rights to do. Retaliatory actions include rent increases. RCW 59.18.250 states that if a landlord takes an adverse action (such as a rent increase) within 90 days of a tenant exercising their rights, such as making a fair housing complaint, there is a rebuttable presumption that the landlord is guilty of retaliation, and the burden of proof is on the landlord. Similarly, a landlord could be accused of “economic eviction” if they raise rent excessively with the intention of forcing people to move out. Therefore, it is very important to only give rent increases using fair and consistent practices based upon nondiscriminatory, nonretaliatory business needs and rental market trends. It is also important to document your rent increase practices in case you need to respond to a retaliation complaint. See Support Center article, Setting Rent Rate, for more information.

Formal legal advice and review is recommended prior to selection and use of this information. RHAWA does not represent your selection or execution of this information as appropriate for your specific circumstance. The material contained and represented herein, although obtained from reliable sources, is not considered legal advice or to be used as a substitution for legal counsel.