WA cities expanded renter protections as state efforts stalled

Efforts to pass renter protections at the state level stalled in 2024, but cities across Washington — from Olympia to Woodinville to Spokane — expanded local ordinances and policies aimed at protecting tenants.

One of the most significant proposals in the Washington State Legislature in the 2024 session was House Bill 2114, which would have prohibited landlords from raising rent by more than 7% and limited certain types of fees. It failed to advance. Other tenant protection proposals also died, including limiting the amount landlords can charge for pet fees, creating a business and occupation tax on landlords, streamlining enforcement of tenant protections and requiring landlords to submit documentation of tenants’ on-time payments to a national consumer reporting agency.

Ryan Makinster, executive director of government affairs for the landlord and property owner advocacy group Washington Multi-Family Housing Association, described it as a “successful legislative session” in an end-of-session recap sent to members.

“We were able to stop all the bad bills,” Makinster wrote.

https://www.cascadepbs.org/news/2024/12/wa-cities-expanded-renter-protections-state-efforts-stalled