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Washington rent increase law: the notice form, the exemptions and what a bad notice costs

DoorKeeping team

4 min read

Since 2025 Washington has a statewide limit, and it comes with paperwork. RCW 59.18.700 caps a 12-month raise at 7 percent plus the Seattle-area consumer price index or 10 percent, whichever is less. RCW 59.18.140 requires 90 days' written notice, and RCW 59.18.720 requires a notice that is substantially the same as a form the statute prints.

What does a valid Washington notice need?

Four things have to line up, according to the statutes read on 2026-10-30.

  1. Time. RCW 59.18.140(3)(a) requires "a minimum of 90 days' prior written notice," and the increase "may not become effective prior to the completion of the term of the rental agreement." A subsidized tenancy where rent is based on income needs 30 days under (3)(b).
  2. Form. RCW 59.18.720(1) requires a notice "in a form that is substantially the same as the form provided in subsection (3)." The form tells the tenant their rights, asks the landlord to check whether the raise is lower than the maximum, the maximum or authorized by an exemption, and states the new total per month.
  3. Service. Both sections require service in accordance with RCW 59.12.040: personal delivery, or leaving a copy with a person of suitable age and discretion at the premises and mailing a copy, or posting and mailing where the tenant's residence is not known.
  4. Support for exemptions. If you claim one, RCW 59.18.700(2) says the notice must include the facts supporting it.

How is the yearly limit worked out?

RCW 59.18.700(1)(a) bars a raise "during the first 12 months after the tenancy begins" and, after that, in any 12-month period, an amount greater than "seven percent plus the consumer price index, or 10 percent, whichever is less." The statute defines the index as the June 12-month percent change in the consumer price index for all urban consumers, all items, for the Seattle area, and the department of commerce publishes the maximum each year. Because 10 percent is the ceiling, the limit can never be higher than 10.

Example a made-up owner in Spokane charges $1,600, and suppose the Department of Commerce publishes 9.2 percent as the year's maximum. The most the rent can rise is 9.2 percent of $1,600, which is $147.20, so up to $1,747.20. Whatever the published figure is for your notice date, use that figure, not this one.

The statute also says you can adjust the rent by any amount after a tenant vacates and the tenancy ends (59.18.700(1)(b)), and that terms for month-to-month tenants cannot be more burdensome than for term leases, with at most a five percent rent difference between lease types for the same unit (59.18.700(4)).

Which rentals are exempt from the cap?

RCW 59.18.710(1) lists the tenancies not limited by 59.18.700. Among them:

  • A unit whose first certificate of occupancy was issued 12 or fewer years before the date of the notice.
  • Units owned by public housing authorities, public development authorities and certain nonprofits where other rules regulate maximum rents, and qualifying low-income housing developments.
  • A tenancy where the tenant shares a bathroom or kitchen with the owner, who lives on the property.
  • A single-family owner-occupied home where the owner rents no more than two units or bedrooms.
  • A duplex, triplex or fourplex where the owner lived in one unit at the start of the tenancy and still does.

Subsection (2) takes the last three off the list if the owner is a real estate investment trust, a corporation, or an LLC with at least one corporate member. Even an exempt raise still needs the 90-day notice and the form, with the supporting facts filled in.

What happens if the notice is wrong?

Under 59.18.700(5), a tenant or the attorney general may sue. The court awards the excess rent paid, damages of up to three months of the unlawful rent, fees or costs, and the tenant's reasonable attorney fees. The attorney general can also seek civil penalties of up to $7,500 for each violation. Before suing over an over-limit raise, a tenant has to give the landlord a written demand to reduce it (subsection 3), and a tenant who gives 20 days' written notice can end the agreement before the effective date without fines or fees. You may not report the unpaid, unlawfully increased part of the rent to a screening service (subsection 7).

Can you raise rent after a tenant complains?

RCW 59.18.240 forbids reprisals while the tenant is in compliance with the chapter, because of good-faith and lawful complaints to a governmental authority about conditions that may endanger health or safety, or because of the tenant's assertion of rights under the chapter. "Reprisal or retaliatory action" includes eviction, "increasing the rent required of the tenant," reducing services and increasing the tenant's obligations. Document why a raise happens when it follows a complaint, and compare it with the raise offered to similar units.

How DoorKeeping helps in Washington

DoorKeeping keeps every lease end date and renewal offer in one place, so you can ask Claude or ChatGPT which leases need a rent notice by a given date. Anything that goes to a tenant waits for your one-tap approval. DoorKeeping never holds your rent. This is general information, not legal advice: check the current statute and your own lease before you send a notice.

Sources

  1. RCW 59.18.140, Reasonable obligations or restrictions; written notice of an increase of rent (Washington State Legislature), read Oct 30, 2026
  2. RCW 59.18.700, Prohibition on certain rent increases (Washington State Legislature), read Oct 30, 2026
  3. RCW 59.18.710, Exemptions (Washington State Legislature), read Oct 30, 2026
  4. RCW 59.18.720, Notice of rent increases, form (Washington State Legislature), read Oct 30, 2026
  5. RCW 59.18.240, Reprisals or retaliatory actions by landlord (Washington State Legislature), read Oct 30, 2026
  6. RCW 59.12.040, Service of notice (Washington State Legislature), read Oct 30, 2026

Questions

How much notice for a rent increase in Washington?
At least 90 days' written notice, and the increase cannot take effect before the lease term ends (RCW 59.18.140(3)(a)). Income-based subsidized rent needs 30 days.
Is there a rent increase cap in Washington?
Yes. RCW 59.18.700 limits any 12-month increase to 7 percent plus CPI or 10 percent, whichever is less, with exemptions in RCW 59.18.710. The section expires July 1, 2040.
Do I have to use a form for a Washington rent increase?
Yes. RCW 59.18.720 requires a notice substantially the same as the form in the statute, unless the tenancy is income-based subsidized.

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