Free Washington Rent Increase Notice

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Washington now caps rent increases statewide. Under the 2025 HB 1217 rent stabilization law, after the first 12 months a landlord may not raise the rent by more than the lesser of 7% + CPI or 10% in any 12 months – 9.683% for 2026 (manufactured-home lots: 5%) – with at least 90 days’ written notice (RCW 59.18.140), no increase in the first year, and no retaliation (RCW 59.18.240). Generate a compliant notice below.

90-day (statewide) RCW 59.18.140 / 59.18.700 Washington Free PDF

This Washington Rent Increase Notice raises the rent on a residential tenancy under the state’s new rent stabilization law. The 2025 HB 1217 amendments to the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (RCW 59.18) cap most increases at the lesser of 7% + CPI or 10% in any 12-month period – 9.683% for 2026, and 5% for manufactured-home lots – allow no increase during the first 12 months, and require at least 90 days’ written notice under RCW 59.18.140. An increase may not be retaliatory (RCW 59.18.240). Our how to raise rent guide covers the timing, and the tenant screening laws by state hub helps you place reliable tenants in the first place.

Complete the fields below to generate a Washington rent increase notice. The new rent and effective date must give the tenant the full statutory notice period. Service should comply with applicable Washington law; retain proof of service.

A Washington rent increase notice is the written notice a landlord gives to raise the rent on a residential tenancy. In 2025 Washington became a rent-stabilized state: Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1217, signed and effective May 7, 2025, amended the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (RCW 59.18) and added the rent-stabilization section RCW 59.18.700. For the first time, the amount a landlord may raise the rent is capped statewide. After the first 12 months of a tenancy, a landlord may not increase the rent in any 12-month period by more than the lesser of 7% plus the Consumer Price Index or 10%. The Department of Commerce calculates and publishes the maximum each year from the June-over-June Seattle-area CPI, and for the period January 1 through December 31, 2026, the cap is 9.683% – because 7% plus that year’s CPI came in just under the 10% ceiling. Manufactured- and mobile-home lots are capped lower, at 5% in any 12-month period.

Two timing rules sit on top of the cap. First, no increase of any amount is allowed during the first 12 months of a tenancy – that applies whether the tenancy is month-to-month or for a fixed term, so a landlord cannot raise the rent until the tenant has been in place a full year. Second, RCW 59.18.140 now requires at least 90 days’ prior written notice of a rent increase, up from the old 60-day rule, and the notice must use the form the Department of Commerce prescribes. Income-based subsidized tenancies, where the rent is set by the tenant’s income, get a shorter 30-day notice. If the landlord is claiming an exemption from the cap, the notice must say so and state the facts supporting the exemption.

Some units are exempt from the cap, though never from the 90-day notice. The most common exemption is new construction: a residential building is exempt from the cap for 12 years following the issuance of the first certificate of occupancy for the unit. The word first matters – the exemption is meant for genuinely new buildings, not renovated or rehabilitated ones. Certain subsidized and affordable-housing arrangements are also exempt or follow their own rules. A landlord relying on an exemption may raise the rent above the cap, but must give the 90-day notice and state the exemption and its supporting facts (for new construction, the certificate-of-occupancy date and confirmation that it falls inside the 12-year window). Our how to raise rent guide walks through the timing, and screening applicants with verified reports keeps tenancies stable so the increases you serve actually stick.

Even within the cap and the notice period, an increase can be unlawful because of its motive. RCW 59.18.240 bars a landlord from taking reprisals against a tenant – including by raising the rent – because the tenant made a good-faith complaint to a government agency about a code violation or asserted rights under the Act. RCW 59.18.250 backs this with a rebuttable presumption: if the landlord raises the rent within 90 days of the tenant’s protected act, or within 90 days of a resulting government inspection or proceeding, the increase is presumed retaliatory and the landlord must rebut that presumption with evidence. Federal and Washington fair-housing law independently bar an increase aimed at a tenant because of a protected characteristic.

HB 1217 also fixed how the notice is served. The landlord must attempt personal service of the rent-increase notice on the tenant; if personal service is not available, the landlord must post the notice at the premises and send it by first-class mail, and should keep an affidavit or other proof of service. Certified mail with a return receipt is a good backup paper trail. Whatever the method, the notice should state the current rent, the new rent, and the effective date, use the current Commerce form, and be kept with proof of delivery. The Attorney General enforces HB 1217 under the Consumer Protection Act, and a tenant has a private right of action: a tenant charged an unlawful increase can recover the excess paid, up to three months of the unlawful rent, and attorneys’ fees and costs, with civil penalties up to $7,500 per violation.

Finally, the state rules are a floor, not a ceiling, and a city may set stronger protections that control where they apply. Seattle is the clearest example: a Seattle landlord must give 180 days’ notice of any rent increase – far longer than the state’s 90 days – and an increase of 10% or more over the lowest rent charged in the prior 12 months triggers Economic Displacement Relocation Assistance and must be delivered by certified and regular mail or by hand. Other Washington cities have their own rules too, so a landlord should always check the local code before serving. Put together, a clean Washington increase is exact: confirm the tenant is past the first year, keep the amount within the cap (9.683% for 2026, 5% for a manufactured-home lot) unless a stated exemption applies, give at least 90 days’ written notice on the Commerce form (or the longer local period), keep the timing and motive outside the RCW 59.18.240/.250 retaliation bar, attempt personal service and keep proof, and never let the increase track a tenant’s protected complaint. None of this replaces the screening you do at move-in – a tenant chosen for steady income and a clean payment history is the one most likely to absorb a lawful increase without a dispute.

• Statewide cap (HB 1217, RCW 59.18.700) — after the first 12 months, no more than the lesser of 7% + CPI or 10% in any 12-month period (9.683% for 2026); manufactured-home lots capped at 5%.
• No increase in the first 12 months of any tenancy, month-to-month or fixed-term.
• At least 90 days’ written notice (RCW 59.18.140) on the Department of Commerce-prescribed form; 30 days for income-based subsidized housing.
• Exemptions from the cap — new construction for 12 years from the first certificate of occupancy, and certain subsidized housing; the notice must still give 90 days and state the exemption.
• No retaliatory increase (RCW 59.18.240); an increase within 90 days of a protected tenant act is presumed retaliatory (RCW 59.18.250).
• No discriminatory increase based on a protected class (federal Fair Housing Act and the Washington Law Against Discrimination).
• Stronger local rules control — Seattle requires 180 days’ notice and adds relocation assistance for increases of 10% or more.

• HB 1217 requires the landlord to attempt personal service of the rent-increase notice on the tenant first.
• If personal service is not available, post the notice at the premises and send it by first-class mail, and keep an affidavit or other proof of service.
• Certified mail with a return receipt gives a dated paper trail; in Seattle a 10%-or-greater increase must be delivered by certified and regular mail or by hand.
• Use the current Department of Commerce notice form, keep a signed, dated copy, and allow added days for receipt when you mail.

• Raising the rent during the first 12 months of the tenancy, when no increase is allowed at all.
• Exceeding the cap — more than 9.683% on a standard unit for 2026, or more than 5% on a manufactured-home lot, without a valid exemption stated in the notice.
• Giving less than 90 days’ written notice, or skipping the Department of Commerce-prescribed notice form.
• Ignoring a stricter local rule — Seattle requires 180 days’ notice and relocation assistance for a 10%-or-greater increase.
• Raising the rent within 90 days of a tenant’s code complaint or rights assertion, which RCW 59.18.250 presumes is retaliation.

• Confirm the tenancy is past its first 12 months and the amount is within the HB 1217 cap (or a stated exemption applies) before you serve.
• Give at least 90 days’ written notice on the current Department of Commerce form, and longer where local law requires it.
• State the current rent, the new rent, and the effective date plainly, and the exemption facts if you claim one.
• Attempt personal service first, then post-and-mail if needed, and keep proof of service and the dated notice.

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