Essentials of King County Rent Laws
The laws governing rent increases in King County are primarily laid out in King County Code 26.08.010 through 30, Rent Stabilization. These laws establish regulations for rent increases, the notice requirements landlords must follow, and the responsibilities both landlords and tenants have in the rent increase process. In the unincorporated areas of King County—those areas located outside of the city limits of Seattle, Bellevue, Renton, and most other cities within the county—the Rent Stabilization laws apply to residential rental properties unless the rental property is: A single-family residence . . . A unit in a duplex . . . A mobile home or trailer space . . . [or] An assisted living facility, nursing home, nonprofit retiring facility, hotel, motel, transiet facility, dormitory, fraternity house, sorority house, rooming house, lodging house, and any similar facility or facilities designed for and used for transient conduct of individuals or for vacationing, recreational, seasonal, or other transitory purposes . . . . In short, the Rent Stabilization laws apply to apartments, condominiums, townhouses, single-family homes that are not owner-occupied, and other residential rental units located in unincorporated King County, so long as the rental unit does not fall into one of the categories listed above. Importantly, the Rent Stabilization laws do not apply to spaces in mobile home or trailer parks, although they apply to the space in which the mobile home or trailer is located.
Constraints on Rent Hikes
A landlord in King County is restricted in how much they can increase the rent per lease term or per month to month. The law states a rental increase cannot exceed the lesser of:
• 14% plus the consumer price index (CPI) change, if any, over the prior 12 months, or
• 14% plus five percent (5%).
The annual amount listed above may only be increased once every twelve-month period regardless of whether the rental agreement has a one-year term, is renewed, or the rental is on a month-to-month basis.
However, a landlord may, give notice later than 60 days of the increase if they have replaced or removed the housing cost with utility costs during the prior 12 months.
If the landlord rents a new unit within the one-year time frame to those tenant(s) who paid the previously established lower rent and then raises it beyond the limitations of the law, the new market rate may be viewed as retaliatory, giving the tenant a cause of action against the landlord under the landlord-tenant act.
If a tenant suffers retaliation from a landlord in response to a good faith complaint about maintenance or repair issues, the tenant may seek an award of damages up to three months rent and reasonable attorney fees.
Notification Obligations for Rent Increases
Tenants in King County must be given at a minimum a written 180-day notice prior to a rent increase. The notice must include the new rental amount, the date on which the increase will take effect, and the fact that the law prohibits retaliation.
If the tenant must move because of the rent increase, the notice must also contain the date upon which they must vacate, allow a reasonable time for the tenant to vacate their premises and failure to provide the proper notice allows the tenant to treat the notice as if it was never given.
Landlords with less than 10 rental units must give a 60-day written notice prior to a rent increase. Landowners with four or more rental units, and who hold a license or permit for their facilities, must give a 30-day written notice before a rent increase.
Exceptions and Unique Cases
In the expansive realm of rent regulations, few things are certain, and what the city of Seattle provides other Washington municipalities often follow. Not all rental properties are created equal when it comes to rent increase laws. Some are entirely exempt from the laws, and others might be only partially exempt. Here are the most common cases exempted from rent increase limitations in King County:
State or Federal Government-Subsidized Housing
Rent increase limitations typically do not apply to rentals in government-subsidized housing. Because many of these rentals are subsidized by government funds, the landlords may have other restrictions as a condition of accepting the funding .
Homeownership and Lease-to-Own Agreements
Rent increase restrictions do not apply to any agreement for the sale of a single family home for a term of up to 10 years when the buyer is occupying the home as their principal dwelling or for the sale of other residential real property under a lease-to-own type agreement.
Some rentals that offer lease-to-own agreements may also be considered exempt from rent restrictions due to the nature of the transaction.
Devoted Religious Facilities
Spaces designated as religious facilities are exempt from rent increase restrictions.
Vacant Dwelling Units
Vacant commercial properties are not subject to the standard rent requirements.
Tenant Rights Regarding Excessive Rent Increases
The Legal recourse provided under King County Rent Increase Laws
If you suspect that your rent has been raised without the proper notification, there are a few things that you can do regarding this. If your landlord failed to file a notice of rent increase with the King County Department of Assessments (the Assessor) or failed to provide you with the required advance notice of the increase, you can file an appeal with King County’s Superior Court.
With any appeal, however, there are a statute of limitations. The statute of limitations is the amount of time you have to file your appeal with the Court, as provided by statute law.
For appeals of King County rental increase penalties, no later than one year after the increase is implemented, you must file an appeal with the Court. According to RCW 36.01.070(4):
An action to obtain judgments relating to any taxes imposed under the authority of this chapter (RCW 36) must be commenced within three years after the tax becomes due and payable, except that in the case of personal property taxes the claims bureau must be notified as provided in RCW 84.36.080 within three years after the assessment list is available in the county assessor’s office.
For purposes this entry, we assume that the increase was implemented all at once.
If you file the appeal before the 3-year deadline, and if the Court finds that the penalty was assessed improperly, then the Court will grant the relief requested.
Another potential violation that could subject the landlord to penalties is if the landlord failed to maintain the property in compliance with all applicable state, county, and city codes materially affecting health and safety.
The right of a tenant to bring an action against a landlord for codes violations is provided by RCW 59.18.100:
If a landlord fails or refuses to maintain the premises as required by RCW 7.13.160 or is otherwise in violation of law materially affecting the health or safety of the tenant and the tenant notifies or causes to be notified the landlord of such alleged violation, the court may enter an order against the landlord.
Once issues such a petition for violation of law, the tenant may be awarded either an award of costs and expenses related to the actions taken to obtain an order for landlord’s compliance, or a reduction in rent, based upon the severity of the violations.
Landlord Regulations and Consequences
In addition to the schedule of permissible rent increases, King County ordinances also impose specific requirements on landlords to comply with those regulations. Ordinance 19296 requires that landlords give 60 days’ written notice to tenants of any increase in rent for leases or rentals that are month-to-month. The ordinance also requires that property owners post a notice of the increase in rent in a conspicuous place on the property at least 60 days prior to the increase taking effect.
King County ordinances impose significant penalties for failing to comply with these notice requirements. If a landlord fails to give the required 60 days’ notice to a tenant, or fails to properly post written notice of the increase in rent on the property 60 days in advance , the rent increase becomes void and unenforceable under King County ordinance. Ordinance 19296 also expressly gives any tenant the right to seek injunctive relief in King County Superior Court to prevent the landlord from enforcing the rent increase.
Although the King County ordinances providing for limits on residential rent increases are couched in terms of "maximum rental rate" (Ordinance 19295) and "additional maximum rental rate increase" (Ordinance 19296) they do not prohibit a landlord from entering into a lease or rental agreement that provides for a term lease or rental agreement with a rate of rent that is higher than the legally permissible maximum rental rate.